Cable Ampacity using the Nehers-McGrath Method

Heat is generated when current flows through a cable. The ampacity of a cable is the amount of current a
cable can carry without exceeding its temperature rating. Accurately estimating ampacity is critical to
minimizing the total lifetime cost of a cable installation, and minimizing maintenance issues.

Nehers and McGrath (1957) published a steady-state method to compute the temperature rise in cables. This
method forms the the basis of the cable ampacity tables in The National Electrical Code (NEC) 2017 and
IEEE 399-1997.

This application implements the Nehers-McGrath equations and cross-checks the results against those
tabulated in the NEC; the good agreement means that this worksheet can be the basis of more complex cable
ampacity calculations.

The NEC gives cable ampacity for a range of standard conductors, cable arrangements and duct configurations,
and assumes

• a soil temperature of 20°C at a depth of 36 inches and thermal resistivity of 90 K cm/W

• 100% load factor
• one of several duct configurations
• a burial depth of 36 inches and cable separation of 7.5 inches
• all cables have the same ampacity

This narrow range of conditions are not always applicable. For example, the southern US states often reach a
soil temperature of 25°C at a depth of 36 inches, reducing the ampacity by 5% or more. Implementing the
Nehers-McGrath method in Maple can assist electrical power systems engineers with modeling non-standard
configurations.

This table confirms the results of the application for several standard NEC conductors.

References
References
J. H. Neher and M. H. McGrath, "The calculation of the temperature rise and load capability of cable systems,
" Power Apparatus and Systems, Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol.76, no.3,
pp.752,764, April 1957.

Parameters

Thermal resistance of the RHH ri d 500 K$cm$WK1

(Rubber High Heat) insulation

Thermal resistance of the soil rsoil d 90 K$cm$WK1

Soil diffusivity factor d d 0.5 # 10K6 m2$sK1

Temperature coefficient of conductor an d 3.93 # 10K3

K3
copper: 3.93 # 10
K3
aluminium: 4.29 # 10

Electrical resistivity
K8 r d 1.7241 # 10K8 ohm$m
copper: 1.7241 # 10 ohm m
K8
aluminium: 2.62 # 10 ohm m

Maximum allowable conductor Tc d 273.15C75 K

temperature

Ambient soil temperature Ta d 273.15C20 K

Burial depth L d 36 inch

Axial separation d d 7.5 inch

Load factor (fraction of the cable's lf d 1

daily loading)

System frequency f d 60 Hz

Skin effect coefficient for this type ks d 1

of conductor

Proximity effect (0 since cables are yp d 0.0

unsheathed, not touching and axial
separation is much greater than
cable diameter)
Parameters from National Electric Code 2017

Diameter outside of insulation Di d 1.502 inch

NEC Table 5 RHH w/out covering page 684

Diameter over bare conductor dc d 1.060 inch

NEC Table 5A page 688

DC resistance of the uncoated Rdc_75 d 0.0129 # 10K3 ohm$ftK1

conductor at 75°C
NEC Table 8 page 689

AC resistance Rac_75_NEC d 0.015 # 10K3 ohm$ftK1

NEC Table 9 page 690, PVC conduit

Rated ampacity for this problem INEC d 887 A

NEC Table B.310.10 page 707.
The calculated ampacity should closely
match the NEC value.

Conductor

Diameter where contact with the De d Di

soil starts

Insulation thickness ti d 0.5$ Di Kdc = 0.221 in

p$dc2
Area of the conducting material Sd 4 = 0.882 in2

Skin Effect

Tendency of current density to be concentrated near the conductor surface

Nehers-McGrath

8 s2$2$p$f2$10K7
Skin effect factor using Nehers-McGrath Fk d = 1.40 # 10 - 3
Rdc_75$106 ft$ohmK1

Skin effect ys d ks$Fk = 1.40 # 10 - 3

 W
Rac_75 d Rdc_75$ 1Cys Cyp = 1.292# 10K5 ft
AC resistance

Full skin effect needed in rating equation Yc d ys Cyp = 1.40 # 10 - 3

Anders
1.02$r an W
DC resistance at 75C with 2% laying factor Rprime d S $ 1C K $ Tc KTa = 1.14 # 10 - 5 ft

8 s2$2$p$f2$10K7
Skin effect factors Fk2 d = 1.58 # 10 - 3
Rprime$106 ft$ohmK1

xs d Fk2$ks = 0.002
xs2
ys d = 1.301# 10K8
192 C0.8$xs2

W
AC resistance Rac_75 d Rprime$ 1Cys Cyp = 1.14 # 10 - 5
ft

Full skin effect needed in the rating YC d ys Cyp = 1.301# 10K8

equation

Thermal Resistance of Insulation

ft Di ft$K
Nehers-McGrath equation 44 Ri d 0.012 cm $ri$log10 dc = 0.908 W

ri ti K$cm
Anders T1 d $ln 1C2$ d = 27.735 W
2$p c

Thermal Resistance External to Cable

Loss factor where an allowance is made for LF d 0.3$lf C0.7$lf2 = 1.000

cyclical loading

Fictitious diameter at which the effect of

the loss factor commences (Nehers-McGrath Dx d 1.02$ d$24 hour = 0.212 m
equation 45)
2
2$L 2 Cd2
Mutual heating effect of other cables Fd d = 93.160
from Kenelly
 rsoil Dx 4$L$F ft K
External thermal resistivity for T d $ ln De Clf$ln Dx = 4.275 W
m4 2$p
direct buried cables

Total Thermal Resistivity

Effective total resistivity, including the

ft K
effects of the conductor, soil, sheath Rca d T1 CT = 5.185 W
m4
and conduit (where applicable)

Tc KTa ft K
As a check, this is the total resistivity Rca_NEC d = 5.419
Rdc_75$INEC2 W
calculated from the ampacity given in the NEC

Maximum Allowable Current

Tc KTa
Calculated current Icalc d = 906.15 A
Rdc_75$ 1CYc $Rca

Icalc KINEC
Percentage error to NEC tabulated value $100 = 2.159
INEC