dr inż. Seweryn Szultka | Politechnika Gdańska

The maximum permissible load of underground power cables (known in U.S. engineering as “ampacity”) is a function of many parameters, in particular, the thermal resistivity of the native soil. If this resistivity is relatively high, thermal/stabilized backfill is applied, i.e., another material is placed around the cables, providing favourable conditions for heat transfer to the environment. It has a positive impact on the reliability...

Contact selectivity is a key parameter for enhancing and improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based solar cells. Carrier selective contacts (CSC) are the key technology which has the potential to achieve a higher PCE for c-Si-based solar cells closer to their theoretical efficiency limit. A recent and state-of-the-art approach in this domain is the tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon)...

In recent decades, a significant increase in the share of renewable energy sources in power grids at various voltage levels has been observed. A number of articles have been published highlighting emerging problems in low-voltage grids with a large share of prosumers and in medium- and high-voltage grids to which photovoltaic (PV) plants are connected. The article analyzes the medium-voltage grid in terms of the possibility of...

Evaluation of fire hazard caused by electrical installations is a difficult and important topic, and it limits the possibility of loss of life or health of people, as well as the occurrence of significant property damage. In particular, this hazard was caused by power cables and especially photovoltaic (PV) installations. The authors proved that power cables directly exposed to strong solar radiation are likely to exceed maximum...

Proper design of power installations with the participation of power cables buried in homogeneous and thermally well-conductive ground does not constitute a major problem. The situation changes when the ground is non-homogeneous and thermally low-conductive. In such a situation, a thermal backfill near the cables is commonly used. The optimization of thermal backfill parameters to achieve the highest possible current-carrying capacity...