An empirical method for determining transient temperatures of buried cable systems [includes discussion]

This paper endeavors to describe a method for determining the temperature of a buried cable as the load cycle varies and how it is possible to determine the attainment factor for a variable load. It is not necessary to go through the detailed calculations for each case as was done for the paper in order to show that various types of systems and different load cycles follow a pattern that can be expressed in a single equation. It is recognized that this empirical method for determining the transient temperature of a buried cable is not as exact as the strict mathematical analysis, yet it gives results that can be accepted practically and as accurate as the accuracy of the thermal constants that are used.