The backfill materials around under-ground power cables
affect the maximum current carrying capacity of these
cables. Usually backfill soils around under-ground
power cables lose their moisture content, forming dry
bands around the cables and leading to an increase in the
thermal resistance and decreasing in maximum current
carrying capacity. But according to the results of the
experimental works which are carried out in this paper, it
is noticed that some types of soil lost their moisture
content faster than the other. This means that the dry band
around the cable in some soils form faster than the others.
The aim of this paper is to determine the best type of
artificial soil that can be used as backfill material to
minimize the effect of dry bands that cause thermal failure
to the cable insulation.