Artificial Intelligence in Thermal Rating to Improve Monitoring of HV Power Cables
by Florian Ainhirn – Graz University of Technology
The calculation of the thermal load capacity for stationary and cyclical loads on power cables is carried out with the analytical methods, specified in the IEC standards whose origins of development date back to the 1950s. Due to the assumptions, approximations and simplifications made, these tend to lead to conservative results, which was acceptable in the past for a number of reasons. The main reason was and is that cable ratings were and still are mainly carried out in the context of feasibility studies, for example in the contractual and designing phase of cable projects.
In the last two decades, the calculation methods have been further developed and extended through the use of numerical approaches, first and foremost the finite element method (FEM). FEMs capability to handle more complex geometries than analytical methods can, makes it particularly superior in regards of electromagnetic calculations, like induced currents, skin effects and such. Nevertheless, there is a number of constraints for these methods, like the need of constant boundary conditions, the difficulty to model complex environmental parameters and a certain disagreement in their application…