A model for the evaluation of heat loss from underground cables in non-uniform soil to optimize the system design

Abstract

With the proliferation of technologies and underground systems, analysis of thermal fields in soil has become a topic of great interest in the developing technology of buried structures. In this work, we have investigated the steady-state temperature field (from linear heat sources - buried cable) in a different type of soil and excavation geometry. In a laboratory, a physical model was built on scale, which reproduces an "undisturbed" area containing a linear thermal source. This scale model was produced for experimental activity. A measuring chain was made to analyze the thermal field in various types of soils, by varying the electrical current through the line source. The physical model was recreated using a finite volume calculation software. Analysis of the different field system configurations were completed and we have studied a model for the improvement of the design method.