Finite Element Analysis of the Influence of Bend Restrictors on Submarine Cable Ampacity

The temperature field models of three core 220 kV AC submarine cable with and without bend restrictors are established by using the professional finite element software ANSYS Workbench. The submarine cable ampacity under different conditions is obtained. The submarine cable ampacity will be significantly reduced after installing the bend restrictors. If buried undersea with installing bend restrictors,the submarine cable ampacity will be further reduced,and the ampacity will decrease with the increase of the buried depth,which may become the bottleneck of the submarine cable ampacity in the whole path. By using the analytical method which regard the bend restrictors as a water filled pipe,a conclusion that consistent with the finite element method can be obtained. Therefore,deep burying should be avoided after installing bend restrictors on submarine cable,which should be paid attention to in practical engineering.