Abstract:

In order to accurately calculate the current-carrying capacity of HVAC ( High-Voltage AC) cable joints,a method based on ANSYS,which employs the two-dimension finite element simulation model of the joint in axial direction and takes the insulation's long-term tolerating temperature as the constraint condition,is presented,and,a simulation is performed,finding that,under the same natural convection and load conditions,the temperature of the joint conductor is higher than that of the cable conductor with equal sectional area,while the current-carrying capacity of the cable is better than that of the joint.Then,in order to verify the precision of the simulation model,an experimental platform to measure the joint's current-carrying capacity is established,and the practical steadystate temperature distribution of the 110 kV cable joint under different loads is measured.Moreover,a comparative analysis is carried out between the simulated and the experimental results,finding a 1. 0% error of the cable joint conductor's temperature calculated with the finite element simulation model when the temperature exceeds the insulation's long-term tolerating temperature,which means that the accuracy of the calculation results may satisfy the demand of engineering application.Finally,a current-carrying capacity of 1220A is obtained for the 10 kV 630 mm2 cable joint by using the dichotomy,which is 17. 79% less than that of the cable body with the same conductor cross section under the same environmental conditions.Thus,it is concluded that the proposed two-dimension finite element simulation model of the joint in axial direction is feasible in calculating the current-carrying capacity.

Key words: high-voltage cable joint, current-carrying capacity, 2D finite element simulation, axial heat conduction, steady-state experiment