Electrotechnik

Name: Electrotechnik
Address: S603, 234-242 George Street, Barangaroo, NSW, 2000, AU
Telephone: 1300 093 795

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Electrotechnik

AI-powered Electrical Power Systems Design Software

ELEK Power Software products include:
Cable Pro
Cable HV
SafeGrid Earthing
Cable Pulling
LineRate

Visit our website to Download Trial Software, watch videos, read technical information and publications

(ELEK, CableCALC, SafeGrid and LineRate are trademarks of Electrotechnik Pty Ltd)

02/09/2026

Non-continuous support brackets fixed to walls, beams, or gantries are a common method for installing high-voltage cables in industrial settings. The brackets support the cables at discrete intervals, leaving free air around them. Even with the effective cooling that free air provides, the rating depends on the configuration, whether trefoil, vertical or horizontal, touching or spaced.

The IEC 60287 standard in-air configurations can be used to represent bracket-supported installations.

𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗞 𝗖𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 makes this straightforward: engineers select the in-air arrangement that best matches the supported cable configuration.

Benefits include:
• • Accurate IEC 60287 cable rating calculations
• Support for a wide range of in-air cable formations
• Correct representation of the cables' thermal environment

Model real-world in-air installations with confidence.

Get ELEK Cable High Voltage with a 14-day free trial by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/elek-cable-high-voltage/

31/08/2026

A multicore cable with an overall metallic screen or armour is a common cable system construction that provides mechanical protection and a low-impedance return path during earth faults.

Since it offers a low-impedance return path, a relatively large portion of the fault current flows through this metallic layer, effectively reducing the fault current injected into the earthing grid. The amount of current flowing through the screen or armour and the earthing grid depends on their relative impedances.

If these current splits are ignored, engineers may assume that the entire fault current enters the grid. This can result in:
• • Overestimated grid current
• Inflated touch and step voltage calculations
• Unnecessarily conservative earthing designs
• Higher construction costs than required

The 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗞 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 software helps eliminate this uncertainty.

The 𝗙𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 accurately calculates the fault current splits for multicore cables with an overall armour or screen using cable resistance and return-path information. The resulting grid current can then be used in the earthing calculations, providing more realistic touch and step voltage assessments.

By accounting for current return through the overall cable screen or armour, engineers can produce more accurate earthing studies and avoid unnecessary overdesign while maintaining compliance and safety.

Get the 14-day free trial of ELEK SafeGrid Earthing by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/safegrid-earthing/

26/08/2026

A cradled arrangement is common for three-phase single-core cables in conduits, as the phase conductors naturally lie against the conduit wall. It gives sufficient phase spacing and efficient use of the available conduit space.

A three-phase circuit can be installed in a conduit in several ways, with trefoil being another common option. These small differences in the relative positions of the conductors change the thermal behaviour and, with it, the calculated rating. The effect is often small, but it matters when accurate current-carrying capacity is required, and accounting for such minute geometric variation by hand is impractical.

ELEK Cable High Voltage models a cradled arrangement directly. To set one up:
• • Create a ducted cable circuit.
• Select the Flat arrangement.
• The software positions the three single-core cables in a cradled configuration inside the conduit and carries the resulting geometry into the rating calculation.

The thermal effects of the actual conductor arrangement are then captured without manually adjusting conductor positions or thermal parameters.

Get ELEK Cable High Voltage with a 14-day free trial by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/elek-cable-high-voltage/

25/08/2026

General AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude can give you what appear to be correct answers in seconds.

But there are 3 major problems with using AI for cable sizing:

1. No licensed access to standards tables: Values can be recalled from training data rather than retrieved from the actual tables.

2. No edition control: Withdrawn standards can be referenced without disclosure.

3. No guaranteed verification: Checks such as voltage drop, short-circuit rating, earth sizing, and neutral sizing can be overlooked.

We tested a leading AI model on two straightforward cable sizing problems. It got both answers very wrong, and the AI never once sounded unsure.

See the results and learn how to prompt AI for cable sizing in our full article.

Read the article → https://elek.com/articles/ai-cable-sizing/

20/08/2026

Finite-element analysis is the recommended methodology for high-voltage cable installations outside the scope of IEC 60287.

A common example is a group of circuits in engineered backfill with adjacent circuits installed outside the backfill area, whether because the groups have different requirements or because one is an existing installation. These circuits are thermally coupled, so accurately accounting for mutual heating between them is critical to determining system performance.

IEC 60287 provides no provisions for installations like this, and building an accurate thermal model manually is difficult.

ELEK Cable High Voltage uses the finite element method (FEM) to assess circuit ampacities in these cases, numerically solving heat transfer across the entire installation and capturing interactions between circuits inside and outside the backfill.

✅ Models circuits installed both inside and outside engineered backfills
✅ Accurately represents multiple soil and backfill thermal resistivities
✅ Calculates thermal interaction between all neighbouring circuits
✅ Produces reliable cable ratings for installations beyond the scope of IEC 60287

When an installation is more complex than the assumptions in IEC 60287 allow, FEM provides a practical and accurate alternative, enabling engineers to evaluate real-world installations with greater confidence in the resulting cable ratings.

Get ELEK Cable High Voltage with a 14-day free trial by visiting this link:

https://elek.com/electrical-software/elek-cable-high-voltage/

17/08/2026

Brownfield projects pose unique challenges for earthing system assessments. Older installations, in particular, may include corroded conductors, reducing conductivity and impacting the earth grid's performance.

Engineers must carefully assess expansion projects and upgrades, considering the grid's current performance and how best to achieve the project objectives.

ELEK SafeGrid Earthing software allows engineers to model the actual conditions of existing facilities and identify weak points, helping to assess the required scope of an expansion project.

CAD drawings of the existing earthing grid can be imported and modelled, and users can assign low-conductivity materials to aged and corroded conductors and earth rods to simulate deterioration. This enables engineers to study the legacy system's response and evaluate the resulting touch and step voltages.

With this context, engineers can effectively plan the expansion required for the brownfield installation.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲:
• Import existing earthing layouts from DXF files
• Model degraded conductors and corroded earth rods using adjusted material properties
• Assess touch and step voltages for the existing grid condition
• Design and optimise expansion sections within the same model
• Evaluate how additional rods and conductors improve earthing performance

By combining brownfield assessment and expansion design within a single simulation environment, the software helps engineers make safer and more informed design decisions for aged infrastructure.

Get the 14-day free trial of ELEK SafeGrid Earthing by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/safegrid-earthing/

14/08/2026

Equipment within substations and industrial facilities is often installed at varying elevations. Determining the lightning protection zones at these elevations is essential to ensuring the lightning protection system is adequate.

With ELEK SafeGrid Earthing, you can easily perform 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 protection calculations using the rolling sphere method at multiple user-defined protection heights. Simply model your site, specify the required elevations, and the software automatically generates colour-coded protection zones to help you assess and optimise your lightning protection design.

Save time, reduce manual verification, and design with greater confidence.

Get the 14-day free trial of ELEK SafeGrid Earthing by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/safegrid-earthing/

13/08/2026

⚡ New: Standards-Verified AI Cable Sizing.

The ELEK Cable Pro Web calculation engine is now available to use in ChatGPT and Claude.

With ELEK Cable Pro Web AI, you can:

✅ Ask cable sizing questions in plain language
✅ Receive verified, standards-compliant results
✅ Refine calculations conversationally without manually re-entering project details
✅ Generate submission-ready reports directly from the chat

ChatGPT and Claude handle the conversation. The ELEK Cable Pro Web calculation engine performs the standards-verified calculation.

Get It Now → https://elek.com/articles/new-feature-cable-pro-web-ai/

12/08/2026

Project costs increase significantly when engineers fail to optimise an earthing design, resulting in higher material costs. However, undersizing conductors introduces safety and compliance risks. Balancing cost and safety is a persistent challenge in engineering design.

Earth grid conductor sizing is not simply a matter of selecting the largest available conductor. While a larger conductor can safely withstand higher fault currents and thermal stress, part of the design process is determining whether the selected conductor provides the most cost-effective solution.

Conservative assumptions can lead to oversized conductors, increasing both material and installation costs due to greater copper usage, especially in large-scale projects.

ELEK SafeGrid Earthing Software helps engineers optimise earth grid conductor sizing by determining the minimum conductor size based on project-specific fault currents and design parameters.

𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻:
✅ Assess conductor performance under fault current conditions.
✅ Reduce unnecessary copper usage and material costs.
✅ Improve confidence in standards compliance.
✅ Optimise earthing designs without compromising safety.

Smarter earthing design is not just about safety, it is also about engineering efficiency and cost optimisation.

Get the 14-day free trial of ELEK SafeGrid Earthing by visiting this link:
https://elek.com/electrical-software/safegrid-earthing/

07/08/2026

Buried cable installations are common in LV cable design, but applying correction factors for parallel circuits manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

With the Correction Wizard in Cable Pro Web BS 7671, engineers can quickly select the cable arrangement, installation method, and circuit spacing, and the software automatically applies the correct rating factors from the applicable tables.

Less manual lookup. Faster designs. Greater confidence in compliance.

Get the 14-day free trial of ELEK Cable Pro Web here:
AU/NZ - https://elek.com/electrical-software/cable-pro-web-as3008/
UK - https://elek.com/electrical-software/cable-pro-web-bs7671/
International - https://elek.com/electrical-software/cable-pro-web-iec60364/
US - https://elek.com/electrical-software/cable-pro-web-nec/

Address

S603, 234-242 George Street
Barangaroo, NSW
2000

Telephone

1300 093 795

Website

https://elek.com/

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