Case Study: Hellenic Cables achieves more accurate subsea cable design and validation with COMSOL Multiphysics

Hellenic Cables reduces cable temperature underestimation by up to 8°C with Comsol

Hellenic Cables, a manufacturer of underground and subsea cables, faced the challenge of designing resilient power cables for offshore wind farms. The existing international standards for calculating cable losses and performance, such as IEC 60287, were outdated and led to overestimations, preventing cost-effective and optimized designs. To overcome this, Hellenic Cables partnered with Comsol and utilized their COMSOL Multiphysics software with the AC/DC Module for finite element modeling.

The solution implemented by Comsol enabled Hellenic Cables to create highly accurate finite element models of complex cable geometries, including short-twisted periodic models that drastically reduced computational effort. This allowed for precise analysis of losses, thermal effects, and electromagnetic interference. As a result, Hellenic Cables achieved significantly more realistic simulations than the old standards provided, identifying discrepancies of up to 8°C in thermal calculations which they reduced to just 1°C. This validated accuracy from Comsol gave Hellenic Cables the data needed to optimize conductor sizes, reduce material costs, and build client confidence in their superior cable designs.

Hellenic Cables