publicgood
Senior Member
- Location
- WI, USA
AmpLookUp
Available on Apple App Store (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amplookup/id1461682153
See attached included files for screenshots.
Not all applications justify underground duct bank calculations. For instance, NEC sizing for a standard office building would not need these calculations since the load will likely be no more than half the design capacity. For mission critical applications though (data centers, high power labs, etc), underground duct bank calculations are important to ensure the underground duct bank arrangement does result in the conductor temperature rating being exceeded.
What options are available to perform these calculations? AmpCalc (CalcWare LLC), SKM (Windows Power Tools, Cable Ampacity Module, Etap, Cyme Cymcap... are the tools I am aware of. These software tools can be costly, but your specific application may require their use.
IEEE 835-1994, Standard Power Cable Ampacity Tables, is another reference. The ultimate goal is performing Neher-McGrath calculations, which are noted as "Engineering Supervision" within the NEC.
Are there any no-cost options to perform underground duct bank calculations? Yes - NEC 310.60 provides guidance for applications 2001 to 35kV. See Annex B of the NEC for low-voltage (less than 2000V) applications. In both of these references, there are caveots such as depth of duct bank and even options to determine ampacities for slightly different duct bank configurations.
What is this new iOS (iPhone) app? This app, "AmpLookUp," quickly performs the NEC look-ups for you. It is intuitive also: reducing your load factor increases your ampacity (if the NEC provides this option). Note: this app does not perform Neher-McGrath calculations, it only makes it easier to use the NEC provided values.
At this time, it is only available on iOS. In the future I may code for other phone platforms.
I appreciate any feedback and hope this new app gives another inexpensive option to help us all perform due diligence.
Available on Apple App Store (iOS): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/amplookup/id1461682153
See attached included files for screenshots.
Not all applications justify underground duct bank calculations. For instance, NEC sizing for a standard office building would not need these calculations since the load will likely be no more than half the design capacity. For mission critical applications though (data centers, high power labs, etc), underground duct bank calculations are important to ensure the underground duct bank arrangement does result in the conductor temperature rating being exceeded.
What options are available to perform these calculations? AmpCalc (CalcWare LLC), SKM (Windows Power Tools, Cable Ampacity Module, Etap, Cyme Cymcap... are the tools I am aware of. These software tools can be costly, but your specific application may require their use.
IEEE 835-1994, Standard Power Cable Ampacity Tables, is another reference. The ultimate goal is performing Neher-McGrath calculations, which are noted as "Engineering Supervision" within the NEC.
Are there any no-cost options to perform underground duct bank calculations? Yes - NEC 310.60 provides guidance for applications 2001 to 35kV. See Annex B of the NEC for low-voltage (less than 2000V) applications. In both of these references, there are caveots such as depth of duct bank and even options to determine ampacities for slightly different duct bank configurations.
What is this new iOS (iPhone) app? This app, "AmpLookUp," quickly performs the NEC look-ups for you. It is intuitive also: reducing your load factor increases your ampacity (if the NEC provides this option). Note: this app does not perform Neher-McGrath calculations, it only makes it easier to use the NEC provided values.
At this time, it is only available on iOS. In the future I may code for other phone platforms.
I appreciate any feedback and hope this new app gives another inexpensive option to help us all perform due diligence.
