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Medium Voltage Cable Shield Grounding
Medium Voltage Cable Shield Grounding
This article discusses the medium voltage (MV) or High Voltage (HV) cable shield grounding or termination methods.
Why do high voltage cables have shields? Shielding of electric power cable results in symmetric electric field
distribution within the cable insulation and prevents stress damage. Refer to ‘Medium voltage cable construction’
for additional details on cable shield and its uses. Proper routing of shielded cable when applied with zero
sequence ground fault CT is also discussed in this article.
1)Conductor
2)Conductor Shield
3)Insulation
4)Insulation Shield
5)Outer Shield
Outer Shield, screens, armor for Medium voltage (MV) or High Voltage (HV / HT) cables need to be connected to
ground / earth in some manner. Grounding / earthing of shielded cable can be done in two ways:
Advantages:
*Since shield is only grounded at one point, no closed circuit exists and hence no induced shield currents can flow.
Small eddy currents will still circulate within the shield but that is not part of this discussion.
*Shield is useful in providing protection against capacitively induced noise. This may not be of concern at power
system voltages.
Disadvantages
*Since the shield is only grounded at one location, shield current cannot flow. This results in voltage across the open
circuit portion of the shield with maximum voltage appearing at the end that is farthest away from grounded point.
IEEE standard 575 limit this voltage to 25V and less.
*Single point grounded shield is not useful in providing protection against inductively induced noise. This may not
be a concern at power system voltages.
Table below illustrates single conductor cable length with shield grounded only at one point to limit shield voltage
to 25V.
When cables are operating with less than full load, the lengths could be longer.
Advantages:
*Since shield is connected to ground at both ends, no shield voltage can exist. Hence this connection increases
safety.
*Shield provides protection against both capacitively and inductively induced noise.
Disadvantages:
*Since shield is connected to ground at both ends, current is induced in the shield that has a closed path now. This
current varies with the loading on the main cable and results in additional cable heating. Derating of the cable
ampacity is usually required.
Refer to IEEE Std 575 for details on different types of multi grounded systems.
How does open circuit shield voltage appear on single point grounded cables?
Shield voltage is electromagnetically induced by the main conductor on the shield. Since there is no closed path in
single point grounded shield, the voltage appears on the ‘non-grounded’ end of the shield. This voltage is not
constant and depends on various cable parameters.
Shield voltage is limited by standards to below 25V. If the shield voltage gets higher then it may lead to electric
discharge and create unsafe conditions.
*The stress cone termination needs to be done between the zero sequence CT and the cable lugs.
*The shield wire needs to be routed back through the zero sequence CT and terminated to ground bus on the other
(load) side of CT.
*Between stress cone termination and the final ground connection, the shield wire should not contact any other
grounded structure (either enclosure or other ground connection).
*Incoming metallic conduit must be connected to the switchgear ground bus on the load side of zero sequence CT.
The incoming metallic conduit ground need not be routed through the zero sequence CT.
Zero Sequence CT Shield Wire Routing