Modeling propagation characteristics of power cables with finite element techniques and ATP

Abstract

This investigation details the results of an investigation of different techniques for modeling high frequency electromagnetic wave propagation in power cables. ATP is probably the most widely used simulation tool for modeling transient phenomena in electrical systems, including power cables. However, ATP is not able to include complex geometries and material physical constants such. However the finite element method approach which provides a more basic analysis of the electromagnetic fields in cable materials can cover such complexities. These two methods have been applied to cable simulation and the results compared with laboratory measurements. The results of ATP give lower power loss than both the measured results and the simulated results obtained with the FEM method. The FEM technique does provide good agreement with tests. However, ATP gives a good understanding of modeling of transient system, its simulation time is shorter than FEM and its cost is reasonably low.