GENERAL INSTRUCTION FOR

DRUM HANDILING, TRANSPORTATION, STORAGE & CABLE

INSTALLATION

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Drum handling and storage guide:
A Cable is a valuable product. If handling is not done correctly, the drum and in turn the
Cable
Wound over it can be damaged.

At times, damage might not be discovered until after installation, when repairs can be
extremely difficult/ expensive.

The purpose of this guide is to illustrate, how damages can be avoided by correct handling
and storage practices.

1. Keep the drum upright :

The drum is designed to be handled in upright position. It may not sustain if lifted lying flat.
When kept upright, the cable layers will not get entangled.

This would obviate problems during laying. Always store and move the drum in an upright
position. In no case, the drums be stored 'on the flat' that is with flange horizontal.

2. Roll in direction of arrows only :

When the drum must be rolled for some reason, always roll the drum in the direction of arrow.
This way, the cable will not unwind or loosen on the drum.

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However, this does not mean that the drum can be rolled freely for any distance. Limit rolling
distance to five metres.

If it is rolled beyond this limit, the cable wind will come too tight and cut off the rope holding
the cable end. This may deform the cable and make it unfit for use.

Once placed in position, use proper stoppers to prevent drum from rolling.

3. Lift the drum without damage :

When lifting the drum, use a shaft through the centre of the drum and a spreader beam.

If these are not available, lift with as long a rope as possible, so that the sides of the drum are
not damaged. However, make sure that the cable head is not pinched between rope and
drum.

Ensure that drum thus hoisted is well balanced. Also, ensure that it is not touching other
drums.

Take care, not to give any impact to the drum being lowered. In case a cable drum must be
temporarily in a waiting position, keep it hoisted. Do not repeatedly put it down.

4. Handling with fork lift :

The forks must be longer than the width of the drum being lifted. Preferably, different widths
of drums should be marked on the forks enabling the operator to select the correct position
for the given drum size.

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When moving the drum, tilt the truck mast so that the drum remains in the fork and the points
don't touch the ground. Raise the forks of the forklift at least 6 to 8 inches above ground.

Insufficient clearance may cause the drum to be dragged on the ground and eventually
damaged or dropped off the forks, especially if the ground surface is uneven.

Don't release the drum until the truck has stopped completely. Don't push the drum with the
truck.
Leave sufficient room between drums so that the fork doesn’t damage the drum.

Avoid punching nails into cable drums. If nailing is utmost necessary, make sure that they
don't touch the cable.

5. Don't drop drums

The drums must not be dropped from the vehicle. A ramp or crane may be used for
unloading cable drums. If neither of these is available, a temporary ramp with inclination 1:3
or 1:4 approximately should be constructed.

The cable drum should then be rolled over this ramp by means of ropes and winches.
Additionally, a sand bed at the foot of the ramp may be made to brake the rolling of cable
drum.

Make sure when unloading, the drum doesn't strike another drum.

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6. Transportation:

Following care should be taken during transportation of cables drums:

The cable drums wound with cable should to be transported very carefully by Truck or
Trailor-truck.

While loading the cable Drums special care should be taken so as to prevent the cable drum
from having any injurious shock during transportation.

The cable drum is to be tightly settled on Lorry/trailor-truck with strong ropes and
wooden/steel stoppers, below the drum. The cable Drum shall not be laid FLAT at any
condition.

7. Storage for longer periods :

 The site chosen for storage of cable drums must be level and dry. It should have a
firm, preferably concreted surface. This will avoid sinking of the drums and difficulty in
subsequent shifting.

 Cables ends should be checked at the time of receiving the drums. Both the cable
ends should be properly sealed with end caps for moisture protection.

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  All drums should be stored in such a manner as to leave sufficient space between
them for air circulation.

 During storage, the drum should be rolled to an angle of 900c once every three
months. Also, tie bolts shall be checked and tightened at regular intervals.

 Always turn a cable drum using turn table. Never use crow bar if turn table is not
available. Two well greased plates can be used instead.

 Storage of cable drums under shed is not essential unless the storage is for very long
period.

 However, the cable drums shall be protected from direct sun light by covering them by
tarpaulin or thick black polyethylene sheet.

8. Rewinding :

When for any reason, it is necessary to rewind a cable on to another drum; the barrel of the
drum should have a diameter not less than that of the original drum.

It is utmost important while rewinding to avoid dragging of the cable against drum flanges or
sharp edges.

Avoid pulling the cable across long unsupported spans. Provide freely rotating roller
supports.

Do not pull a cable with powered vehicle.

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Check List – Drums Handling:

 As received at stores, check the cable drums for any physical damage to the drum
and outer wooden laggings.

 Also check that the cable end seals are proper and in position. In case of any
damage quickly inform KEC INERNATIONAL LTD VADODARA or nearest Branch
office

 Loading/unloading of the drum to or from truck/ trailer should be done by crane or

use of a ramp as recommended above.

 Flanges of drums shall always be kept in up-right position during storage and
handling and paying off or during transportation of drum

 Roll the drum only in the direction of painted arrow on the drum flanges and only
for short distances.

 Ensure proper security for cable from damage and fire during storage.

 Use pair of jacks and shaft for mounting cable drums before paying off.

 While paying off cable from mounted drum, the cable drum shall rotate in the
direction opposite to that of the arrow marked on the drum flanges.

 Cable end shall be taken out from the top side of the mounted drum of cable and
never from the bottom side

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GUIDELINE & PROCEDURE FOR CABLE INSTALLATION:

. 1. General :

To ensure long service life of the installation, the cable protection is dependent on the cable
laying conditions.

In general, cables should be installed in such a way so as to avoid any mechanical

aggression, both during laying and during its service life.

Cables shall not be bent sharp to a small radius either while handing or in installation. The
minimum safe bending radius for XLPE (HV) cables shall be 15/20 times the overall diameter
of the cable as given below;

Type of Cable Minimum Bending radius

PVC & XLPE Cable , up to 1.1 kV 15 D 12 D

PVC & XLPE Cable above 1.1 kV to 11 kV 15 D 15 D

XLPE Cable above 11 kV 20 D 15 D

Where, D= Overall diameter of Cable

Installation of cable circuits – choice of route:

The following factors should also be looked into, while selecting the route

- Width of the available land

- Sub-soil conditions
- Particular features (drains, bridges, etc.),
- Proximity of heat sources (other cables, district heating systems).

In addition, the location of the joint chambers must also be takes into consideration:

- The maximum production lengths of cable,

- The maximum pulling lengths,
- The grounding technique used (e.g. special sheath bonding).

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2. Route

Before the cable laying work is undertaken, the route of the cable shall be decided by the
Engineer-in-Charge considering the following.

 While the shortest practicable route should be preferred, the cable route shall generally
follow fixed developments such as roads, foot paths etc. with proper offsets so that future
maintenance, identification etc. are rendered easily.

 Cable route shall be planned away from drains and near the property, subject to any
special local requirements that may have to be necessarily complied with.

 As far as possible, the alignment of the cable route shall be decided after taking into
consideration the present and likely future requirements of other services including cables
en-route, possibility of widening of roads/lanes etc.

 Corrosive soils, ground surrounding sewage effluent etc. shall be avoided for the routes.

 Where cables cross one another, the cable of higher voltage shall be laid at a lower level
than the cable of lower voltage.

 Cables under railway tracks shall be laid in spun reinforced concrete, or cast iron or steel
pipes at such depths as may be specified by the railway authorities, but not less than 1m,
measured from the bottom of the sleepers to the top of the pipe.

 Inside railway station limits, pipes shall be laid upto the point of the railway station limits,
pipes shall be laid upto a minimum distance of 3m from the centre of the nearest track on
either side.

3. Methods of laying:

The cables shall be laid direct in ground, pipe, closed or open ducts, cable trays or on
surface of wall etc.

The method(s) of laying required shall be specified in the tender schedule of work.

3.1 Laying direct in ground

This method shall be adopted where the cable route is through open ground, along
roads/lanes, etc. and where no frequent excavations are likely to be encountered and where
re-excavation is easily possible without affecting other services.

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 3.1.1 Trenching

(i) Width of trench, the minimum width of the trench for laying a single cable shall be 35cm.

 Where more than one cable is to be laid in the same trench in horizontal formation, the
width of the trench shall be increased such that the inter-axial spacing between the cables,
except where otherwise specified, shall be at least 20cm.

 There shall be a clearance of at least 15cm between axis of the end cables and the sides
of the trench.

(ii) Depth of trench

 Where the cables are laid in a single tier formation, the total depth of trench shall not be
less than1.2m for HV cables.

 When more than one tier of cables is unavoidable and vertical formation of laying is
adopted, the depth of the trench in (ii) a above shall be increased by 30 cm for each
additional tier to be formed

3.1.2 Laying of cable in trench

(i) Sand cushioning

 The trench shall then be provided with a layer of clean, dry sand cushion of not less than
8cm in depth, before laying the cables therein.

 However, sand cushioning as per (a) above need not be provided for HV cables, where
there is no possibility of any mechanical damage to the cables due to heavy or shock
loading on the soil above

 Diameter of Duct/Pipe at Road Crossings;

The inner diameter of duct/pipe at road crossings should be > 1.5 d, where d is the over
diameter of the cable. The minimum diameter of the duct/pipe should be cable diameter +
50 mm

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 (ii)Testing before laying

All the time of issue of cables for laying, the cables shall be tested for continuity and
insulation resistance

The cable laying work shall be taken up after successful IR results.

Drum Mounting and Cable pulling

 The cable drum shall be properly mounted on jacks, or on a cable wheel at a suitable
location.

 Make sure that the spindle, jack etc. are strong enough to carry the weight of the drum
without failure.

 Make sure that the spindle is horizontal in the bearings so as to prevent the drum creeping
to one side while rotating.

 There should be arrangement for brake to stop rum rolling as per the requirement.

 After the cable has been so uncoiled, it shall be lifted slightly over the rollers beginning
from one and by helpers standing about 10m apart and drawn straight.

 The cable shall then be lifted off the rollers and laid in a reasonably straight line.

 Cable shall be pulled with smooth tension not exceeding the pulling tension limits.

 Cable shall be pulled using winch fitted with tension meter to read pulling tension

 Proper rollers should be used while cable laying to ensure that there is no damage to the
cable outer sheath.

 There should be no excessive cable bending during cable laying and minimum
recommended bending radius should be maintained.

3.2.1 Maximum Permissible Pulling force for Cables is explained as under, which is as
per IS: 1255/83

For Cables Pulled with Stocking

XLPE insulated armoured power cables

P = 9 D2
Where
P = pulling force in Newtons, and
D = outer diameter of cables in millimetres.

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For Cables Pulled by Pulling Eye

If the cables are pulled by gripping the conductor directly with pulling eye, the maximum
permissible tensile stress depends on the material of the conductor and on their cross-
section as given below:
For copper conductors 50 N/mm2
For Aluminium conductors 30 N/mm2
Example:
Cable size mentioned is 3 × 300 mm2, 33 kV, 2XFY(P)
OD = 95 mm
The maximum pulling force P:
with cable stocking = 9D2 = 3 × 952 = 81225 Newtons
with cable pulling eye = 3 × 300 × 50 = 45000 Newtons

Expected Pulling Force When Pulling Cables by Winch —

The following values of pulling force are expected:
In trenches without large bends 15-20 percent

In trenches with 1 or 2 bends of 90° each 20-40 percent

In trenches with 3 bends of 90° each 50-60 percent

(assuming the use of easy-running
support and corner rollers)

In ducts with bends totalling 360° Up to 100 percent

Pulling shall be carried out in a workmanlike manner so as to minimise risk of cable

damage.
For detailed pulling procedure, please refer IS: 1255

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