Spatial soil temperature measurement data around an underground power cable under controlled thermal loading.

Area of Science:

• Geotechnical Engineering
• Thermal Analysis
• Experimental Soil Science

Background:

• Understanding underground thermal environments is crucial for power cable performance and safety.
• Accurate soil thermal data is needed to model heat dissipation from buried infrastructure.
• Existing data may not fully capture dynamic thermal loading conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a comprehensive experimental dataset of soil temperature fields.
• To investigate soil thermal responses to steady-state and cyclic heat loads from a cable-representative source.
• To provide benchmark data for validating thermal models of underground power cables.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a cylindrical electrical heater embedded in dry sand to simulate a power cable.
• Collected time-resolved temperature data using thermocouples at multiple radial and vertical positions.
• Implemented controlled steady-state (70°C, 90°C) and cyclic (90°C) heating regimes.

Main Results:

• Detailed spatially and temporally resolved soil temperature fields were recorded.
• Vertical temperature gradients and radial heat dissipation patterns were captured.
• Data covers long-duration steady-state and dynamic cyclic thermal loading.

Conclusions:

• The dataset offers valuable insights into soil thermal behavior under realistic underground power cable conditions.
• This resource facilitates the benchmarking and improvement of thermal models for buried power systems.
• Enables further research into soil thermal properties and heat transfer mechanisms.