Computation of temperature field and moisture content in the vicinity of current carrying underground power cables

A new method of numerically modelling coupled heat and moisture flow around power cables in steady state and time varying conditions based on the Philip and De Vries model for flow in soils is presented. The method has been implemented within a computer program for an IBM or compatible personal computer which utilises the Galerkin approach in the finite element method. The program employs advanced, sparsity-based algorithms which can handle large finite element grid structures and calculate accurately the steady state and time dependent temperature and moisture distributions and isothermal contours for power cables buried in media containing complex configurations of soil, boundaries, heat sources and sinks. Validation of the program has been achieved with data from field tests. A good comparison between predicted and measured results was obtained