Abstract: Underground design can sometime be viewed as the dark art of the black magic that is electrical engineering. Not only can you not see electricity, but with underground cabling you can’t see the cables either. This presentation will help improve understanding of this part of engineering and present some practical tips for Underground Design. Using studies from cable capacity modelling software CYMCAP some different scenarios for cable layout are explored. Is it better to have cables in conduit or direct buried? What is the effect of reducing spacing between cables compared to increasing the size of the conductor? What physical ground properties should you be aware of when considering a design? These and other questions will be discussed using a Solar Plant design scenario.

Biography of Presenter

Catherine Tuxen has spent a lot of her career thinking about the world under the surface of our feet. She completed her Bachelor of Science in 2007, with a double major in Geoscience. After working as a Geologist in the NT and then with Melbourne based Geothermal consultancy and research company Hot Dry Rocks. Moving forward to 2017 she joined the Underground Design Team at CitiPower/Powercor. She completed a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering in 2019 and moved into a Graduate Engineer role with CitiPower/Powercor. 2020 has been an exciting year and since the commencement of COVID-19 lockdowns Catherine has worked on-site at a Solar Generation Plant and from home working with the Technical Standards department.

Additionally, Catherine has also been active in the industry professional bodies. Appreciating the value such organisations give to the profession, she has chosen to give back by acting as a committee member in IEEE PES Victoria for the last several years and is currently taking on the role of Treasurer.

Registration (Free): Members and visitors are welcome, RSVP at https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/practical-tips-on-underground-cabling-design-tickets-120709034973

Venue: Zoom Link: https://deakin.zoom.us/j/97373815967

Event Contact: Further enquiries about this event at [email protected]