Economic Optimization of an Underground Power Cable Installation

This paper presents a mathematical model for the selection of an optimal power cable conductor cross section and the dimensions of a corrective backfill. To this end, a detailed model for the calculation of the life-cycle cost of cable ownership is presented. The formula considers the material and labor costs in the production of a power cable as well as the cost of losses during its operation. Simultaneously, the procedure seeks the optimal size of the corrective backfill, taking ampacity constraints into account. Since the formulation is complex, a genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the optimization problem. A real-life numerical example is presented.