Thermal-electrical interaction of losses in three-core submarine power cables

A large number of oil-impregnated paper (OIP) cables is still in use but in the last decades the insulation material of new submarine power cables is made of XLPE. The maximal acceptable permanent insulation temperature for XLPE is 90 °C. To guarantee that this limit is not exceeded during operation, the losses and thermal conditions of the cable have to be known. In case of exceeding the critical temperature, the lifetime of the cable can decrease dramatically because of the loss of dielectric breakdown strength of the insulation material. This paper describes an investigation about a three-core submarine power cable using a commercial FEA tool to calculate the losses and temperatures in conductors, shield and armour. Heat transfer equations as well as magnetic and electric field…