Thermal Sand for Underground

Cables
A significant source of problems with
underground cables is poor selection and
installation of thermal backfill materials. To
prevent premature failures, you must ensure
you place cable systems in a hospitable
environment.


Importance of Thermally Stable Backfill
All the heat generated by an underground
power cable must be dissipated through the
soil. This is quantified by the soil thermal
resistivity (or thermal rho, C-cm/W), which
can vary from 30 to 500C-cm/W.

The ability of the surrounding soil to transfer the
heat determines whether an operating cable
remains cool or overheats. Improving the
external thermal environment and accurately
defining the soil and backfill thermal rho
commonly results in a 10% to 15% increase in
cable capacity and sometimes up to 30%.

The use of a soil thermal rho of 90C-cm/W
has become cable engineering practices. Soil
studies performed in the 1950s found this was a
safe value for most moist soils. Howver for
transmission cables, it is assumed that the
thermal backfill placed around the cables will
have a thermal rho of less than 90C-cm/W.

Thermal Backfills

Most moist soils (with the exception of organic
clays and silts, volcanic soils, peat and fills with
ash and slag) have a rho of less than 90C-
cm/W. Sands when moist may even have a rho
of less than 50C-cm/W.

However many soils, especially uniform sands,
can dry substantially when subjected to heat
from the cables. The thermal rho of a dry soil
would exceed 150C-cm/W, and possibly
approach 300C-cm/W for a dry uniform sand.
Most contractors would use readily available
fine sand or concrete sand as the backfill as this
sand makes an inexpensive backfill material, but
thermally, it is very poor because it dries out
easily under high cable loads.

Poorly compacted trench backfill is another
major problem. Not only is the thermal rho of
uncompacted soil significantly higher, but the
loose soil will dry more easily.




Corrective Thermal Backfills

Native soils usually do not make good thermal
backfills because their thermal rho values are
poor. The operational reliability gained by
placing a properly constituted thermal backfill
around the cable has advantages over the
variability of re-compacted native soil.
Yuleba Minerals (www.yulebaminerals.com.au)
has a graded and tested thermal backfill that
has been used in Roma, Miles and Surat basin
projects. There is a need for quality assurance
during installation. If the gradation of the
backfill is not the correct size moisture or not
enough compaction effort is applied then the
maximum density will not be achieved and the
thermal capability degraded.

Cement stabilized sand frequently has been
used as a cable trench backfill. A typical mix
design consists of 15 parts sand to 1 part
cement, mixed with about 10 parts water.
However, this backfill is quite strong and thus
would be difficult to excavate.


Achieving soil density is needed in the restricted
trench areas near cables or around cable pipe
groups where proper compaction is difficult.
Yet, it is precisely in these zones adjacent to the
cables, where the heat flux is highest.

Fluidized Thermal Backfills
Fluidized thermal backfills (FTB) is a slurry
backfill consisting of medium aggregate, sand, a
small amount of cement, water and a fluidizing
agent. FTBs can be made with locally available
sand and aggregates. The component
proportions are chosen by laboratory testing of
trial mixes to minimize thermal resistivity and
maximize flow without segregating the
components.

Fluidized thermal backfills do not have to be
compacted; they flow in a fashion similar to
concrete. In fact, FTB is typically supplied from
concrete trucks, and may be poured or pumped.
It solidifies to a uniform density by
consolidation, with excess water seeping to the
top. It hardens quickly so that the ground
surface may be reinstated the next day, but the
low strength (100 to 250 psi [0.7 to 1.8 MPa])
allows it to be broken up with a backhoe if
required.
If a higher strength is required, the cement
content can be increased and the water
adjusted without degrading the thermal
performance.
Backfills The Right Way
The use of a well-designed thermal backfill can
enhance the heat dissipation and increase the
allowable increased capacity of an underground
power cable, as well as alleviating thermal
instability concerns.
The corrective backfill will reduce the heat flux
experienced by the native soil so that it will not
dry out; therefore, the stability of the native soil
is no longer a concern. A good backfill should be
better able to resist total drying and also have a
low dry thermal rho if it is completely dried. It
should be available at a reasonable cost, and be
easy to install and easy to remove if required.
The thermal backfill must be laboratory
evaluated and include specifications for mineral
quality, gradation (sieve analysis), thermal dry
out curve and optimum density. Typically, the
entire trench width is filled with thermal backfill
to a minimum height of 300 mm (12 inches)
above the cables. For poor native soil conditions
or heavily loaded cables, the thickness of the
backfill can be increased to maintain a low
composite thermal rho. A fluidised thermal
backfill is the ideal way of providing a high-
quality cable backfill.






For further information please visit
http://www.yulebaminerals.com.au/