Enhancing Dehumidification in the Cable Room of a Ring Main Unit through CFD-EMAG Coupling Simulation and Experimental Verification

Abstract

The cable room, located at the base of the ring main unit, is prone to water vapor due to its proximity to damp cable holes and its relatively enclosed structure. This may penetrate internally and ultimately affect operational safety. Therefore, a dehumidifier was introduced to utilize dry air for internal circulation. To enhance the dehumidification in the cable room, the cable room device was designed for experimental research. Meanwhile, computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-electromagnetic (EMAG) coupling simulation is used to calculate the power loss of heat sources and their influence on multiple physical fields in numerical simulations. The feasibility of this study was confirmed by comparing the relative humidity, temperature, and velocity values between the experimental and numerical approaches. Furthermore, the layout of the ventilation pipes was modified to a vertical distribution, with upward supply and downward suction, to improve the airflow. The results indicate that the maximum relative errors in temperature, relative humidity, and velocity are only 3.61%, 7.14%, and 7.14%, respectively, which fall within an acceptable range. On this basis, additional simulation analysis was conducted on the humidity, dew point temperature, and airflow within the cable room, using an optimized model with a more comprehensive internal structure and cables. After implementing an optimized ventilation pipe layout, the relative humidity at the corresponding measuring points can decrease by up to 10.6%. The dew point temperature has decreased by 2.61 °C and the airflow has become more stable.