Magnetic field shielding of underground cable duct banks

Abstract

In this paper an in-depth parametric analysis of shielding effectiveness obtained when using ferromagnetic or conductive screens to mitigate the field generated by duct banks is presented. Due to the need of a case-by-case approach, all the simulations, performed by a finite element software (GetDp), are applied to a case study composed by 9 (3 × 3) ducts, with six of them including high voltage single-core cables and the three left empty for eventual future expansion. Two shielding geometries are tested: horizontal and U-reverse, changing in each one the main parameters: width, thickness, clearance to conductors, etc. Moreover, the conductors are grouped in two balanced in-phase three-phase circuits arranged in three configurations: vertical, horizontal and triangular. The mutual phase ordering of both circuits is the one that minimizes the field, so no further field reduction can be obtained by simple methods. The power losses and cost of different shielding solutions are also presented, including the effect of adding a third circuit if required.