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Cables
Contents…
 Types of Cables
 Construction of Cable
 Components of cable/ Details
 Conductor
 Insulation
 Screen
 Armour
 Sheath
 Power Cables : Selection and Specification
 Control Cables : Selection and Specification
 Instrumentation Cables : Selection and Specification
 Sizing of Power Cables
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Cables
Types of Cables
 Power Cables
 HV Power Cables : 3.3, 6.6, 11,22 and 33kV
 MV Power Cables : 1.1kV (For use on 415/240 V System)
 Control cables
 Instrumentation Cables

* EHV cables are excluded from scope of this presentation

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Cables
Typical Cross Section

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Code for designating cable
CODE CONSTITUENT
A Aluminium conductor, stranded, grade H4, class 2 as per IS 8130
C Copper conductor, stranded, class 2 as per IS 8130
2X XLPE Insulation
Y PVC Insulation
W Galvanised Steel Round Wire Armour
F Galvanised Steel Strip armour
Fa Non Magnetic Strip Armour
FF Double Steel strip Armour
WW Double Steel Round wire Armour
Wa Non magnetic round wire armour/string
Ts Metal Screen
Tx Metal sheath/Moisture Barrier
PE PE Outer Sheath
CC Conductive coating/Conductive layer
AW/AS Hard drawn aluminium single wire/strip

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MV Power Cables….

A: Aluminium conductor, stranded, grade H4, class 2 as per IS 8130

C: Copper conductor, stranded, class 2 as per IS 8130
Y: PVC Insulation
2X: XLPE insulation
W: Galvanised single steel wire
F: Galvanised single steel strip
AW/AS:Hard drawn aluminium single wire/strip

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HV Power Cables….

A: Aluminium conductor, stranded, grade H4, class 2 as per IS 8130

C: Copper conductor, stranded, class 2 as per IS 8130
Y: PVC Insulation
2X: XLPE insulation
W: Galvanised single steel wire
F: Galvanised single steel strip
AW/AS:Hard drawn aluminium single wire/strip
Conductor Screen
A semi-conducting tape to maintain a uniform electric field and minimise electrostatic stresses (for MV/HV power
cables).
Insulation Screen
A semi-conducting material that has a similar function as the conductor screen (ie. control of the electric field for
MV/HV power cables).

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Control cables
A Coated, Stranded Copper Conductors
B Insulation
C Marker Strip
D Flame and Moisture Resistant Fillers
E Cable Tape
F Jacket / Outer sheath

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Instrumentation Cables

Twisted pair / triad cables are often shielded in an attempt to prevent electromagnetic
interference. Because the shielding is made of metal, it may also serve as a ground.
However, usually a shielded or a screened twisted pair cable has a special grounding
wire added called a drain wire.

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Cables
Conductor Materials
 Material
 Aluminum (Al): Grade H2 or H4
 Copper (Cu): Annealed, high conductivity Copper
 Form of Conductor
 Solid Conductor
 Stranded Conductor
 Increases flexibility
 Less susceptibility to damage

 Selection Criteria
 Based on Cost
 Upto 4sq.mm/6sq.mm. solid conductor acceptable.
 Beyond 6 sq.mm. stranded conductor preferred

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Cables
Conductor Materials
Remember following
 For UPS application, use Cu Cable
 For Control cables, only Cu
 For Power cable below 6mm2, use Cu
 For Control cable and especially Instrumentation Cables,
tinned Cu preferable. For Power cables, untinned Cu is acceptable.

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Cables
Insulating Materials

 Paper (PILC cables - not recommended anymore)

 Thermosetting Compounds
 Thermoplastic Compounds
 Heat resistant inorganic materials

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Cables
Insulating Materials
Thermosetting Compounds
1. Butyl Rubber
- Being discontinued in favour of EPR/XLPE

2. Ethylene Propylene rubber (EPR)

- Excellent heat stability
- Poor flame retardance property
- Good corona resistance property
- High Cost

3. Cross Linked Polyethylene (XLPE)

- Excellent heat stability; Max. conductor temp. 90deg C
- Poor flame retardance property
- Poor corona resistance property

4. Silicon rubber
- Good Electrical Properties

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Cables
Insulating Materials
Thermoplastic Compounds
1. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
- Highly resistant to moisture, ozone, chemicals and oils
- Flame retardant and high melting point
- Max. conductor temp. 70deg C

2. Polyethylene (PE)
- Very low melting point (1100 C)
- Poor Corona
- Poor flame resistance properties

3. Teflon/PTFE
- Very high operating temperature
- Excellent tensile strength
- Excellent flame retardant properties
- Inert to most chemicals and solvents

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Cables
Insulating Materials
Remember Following
 XLPE insulation is superior to other insulation such as PVC,
paper etc. and is replacing other materials
 Cost difference between PVC and XLPE insulation has
reduced drastically over the years and is now marginal
 For power cables, choosing XLPE will enable a lower size of
cable to be used
 Cable Joints are now available for PVC to XLPE and PILC to
XLPE cable jointing. Hence, even if existing cables are PVC or
PILC, the new cable may be selected with XLPE insulation.
 For most of TCE engineered projects, XLPE cables are specified
for power and XLPE/PVC cables for control, unless Client has
specific preferences.

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Cables
Screen
 Provided for Conductor or Insulation
 Provided for achieving Voltage Grading
 To lower Electrical stress at the surface of conductor
 Types of screens- Metallic/ Semi-conducting

Screening of conductor and insulation is applicable to HV

cables (11 kV voltage class and onwards).

For instrumentation cables, screening is required to reduce the

Electrical Noise.
Types of screens:
Metallic/ Semi-conducting.

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Cables
Armour
 Armour is recommended for
 Protection against mechanical damages
 Protection against rodent attacks
 Flame proof wiring

 Armouring Material
 Galvanized round steel wires or Galvanized flat steel strip for
multicore cables (Round Wire upto cable diameter of 13 mm.
generally)
 Aluminium for Single core cables

Armouring is designated as below-

W - Galvanised single steel wire
F - Galvanised single steel strip
AW - Hard drawn single aluminium wire
AS - Hard drawn single aluminium strip

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Cables
Reference Standards
 IS 1554 for PVC Insulated Cables
 IS 7098 for XLPE Insulated Cables
 IS 5831 for PVC Sheath
 IS 3961 for Recommended Current Ratings for
Cables
 IEC 189 for Instrumentation Cables
 TCE-M6-EL-PCA-6100 – Design Guide for
Power, Control and Instrumentation Cables

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Cables
Power Cables : Selection
 Voltage Grade depends on the Nominal Voltage of the System
where the cable is to be used.
 Conductor – Normally Aluminium. Copper for small sizes
(<6sq.mm.) or if Client has specific preference
 No. of cores – 1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4
 Earthed (E) Grade or Unearthed (UE) Grade- depending on the
system neutral earthing
 Insulation – XLPE preferred
 Inner sheath : Extruded PVC type ST -1
 Armour :
 Up to 13mm inner sheath dia. : galvanized round steel wires,
 Above 13mm inner sheath dia. : galvanized steel strips
 Outer sheath : Extruded black FRLS PVC compound type ST-1

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Cables
Control Cables : Selection
 1100 Volt grade, PVC insulated (or XLPE) with stranded,
annealed, Cu conductor
 Cross-section area : 1.5mm2 or 2.5mm2
 2.5mm2 shall be used for
 Control of outdoor CB and isolators
 Control of indoor switchgear
 Control of HV and LV motors
 Control of transformers viz coolers and OLTC controls
 Boiler controls like igniter, burner, soot blower etc
 Instrument transformer leads (CT cables may be 4mm2 or 6mm2 )
 Power supply to solenoids and actuators

 1.5mm2 shall be used for

 Wiring of field device contacts
 Interpanel connection
 Interlock circuits

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Cables
Control Cables : Specification
 Control cables – Multi core
 No of Cores : 2,3,4,5,7,14,19,27
 Insulation Extruded PVC or XLPE
 Inner sheath : Extruded PVC type ST -1
 Armour :
 Up to 13mm inner sheath dia. : galvanized round steel wires,
 Above 13mm inner sheath dia. : galvanized steel strips
 Outer sheath : Extruded black FRLS PVC compound type ST-1
 Core identification :
 Up to 5 cores : colour code
 More than 5 cores : Numbered

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Cables Instrumentation Cables : Selection
 Instrumentation Cables : “Low frequency cables and wires with PVC
insulation and PVC sheath”
 Conductor : High conductivity, annealed, tinned, copper, flexible,
stranded
 Voltage rating of dielectric between conductors:
 Up to 0.6mm conductor diameter : 1000V Ac or 1500V DC for 1 min
 Above 0.8m conductor diameter : 1500V Ac or 2250V DC for 1 min

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Cables Instrumentation Cables : Specification
 No of Cores : Multi core Twisted Pair - 1,2,4,8,16 or 32 twisted
pairs, with colour coding
 Insulation : Extruded PVC type-A
 Insulation Resistance : Minimum 500 Meg Ohm per KM at 20oC
 Mutual capacitance : Maximum 120 n F/KM
 Capacitance unbalance : Shall not exceed 400 PF between any
two pairs for 500 m
 Overall Screening: Copper or Aluminium Mylar tape
 Inner sheath : Extruded PVC Type ST-1
 Rip cord : A non metallic rip cord shall be provided
 Armour : Galvanized round steel wire/strip
 Outer sheath : Extruded FRLS PVC compound type ST-1

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Cables Instrumentation Cables : Specification
 Reduction of Electrical Noise
 Use screened (shielded) cables to reduce static noise
 Use twisted pair cables with minimum 25 mm lay (minimum
40 twists per metre) to reduce magnetic noise
 Each pair of a multi pair twisted cable may be screened to
reduce cross talk
 The screen shall be earthed at one point only to reduce
common mode noise

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Cables
Sizing of Power Cables
 Current carrying capacity
- Base current rating
- Rating factors based on site conditions

 Short circuit rating

- If protected by circuit breaker, cable shall be rated
for Short Circuit Duty
- If protected by fuse, MCCB,MCB, cable need not be
rated for Short Circuit Duty

 Permissible voltage drop

- Less than 5% in running condition
- Less than 15% in starting condition

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Cables

Standard conditions of installation - The above current ratings are based on

the following standard conditions of laying :
a) Thermal resistivity of soil : 150°C cm/w
b) Ground Temperature : 30°C
c) Ambient air temperature : 40°C
d) Depth of laying :
1100 Volt grade cable : 750 mm
3.3 - 11 KV cable : 900 mm

Item (a), (b), and (d) are applicable for cables laid direct in the ground and
in duct. Item (c) is applicable for cables laid in air.

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Cables
Sizing of Power Cables
Rating Factors - The base current ratings of cables shall be de-
rated/up-rated for the following conditions

 Variations in conditions of installation compared to

standard conditions (See ** below)
 Group running of cables

**
Variations in
- Thermal resistivity of soil
- Ambient Ground/Air Temperature
- Depth of Laying

(Derating Factors shall be considered from Cable

manufacturer catalogues or Design Guide)

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Cables
Sizing of Power Cables
Important Aspects in Power Cable Sizing
 For HV power cables protected by circuit breaker, short
circuit current will be the most likely governing factor in
deciding the cable size, rather than Continuous current
or Voltage drop considerations
 For MV (1100V) power cables protected by circuit
breaker, Continuous current and/or Voltage drop
considerations will be more likely governing factor in
deciding the cable size, rather than short circuit current
 Type of motor starting- DOL/ star-delta shall be
considered while computing the currents for cable sizing

calculations

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Cables
Sizing of Power Cables
 Worksheet for Cable Sizing :TCE-M2-EL-CA-D-2160
 Explanation of Terms
 Selection of values from catalogues and / or as per

application

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Cables
Assignment
 Sample SLD for Assignment (Use the SLD prepared for
Electrical power distribution system)
 Cable Sizing using Worksheet for
HV Cables
a) 6.6kV Incomer to Switchboard (Length (L) – 200M)
b) 6.6kV Motor feeder protected by Vacuum Circuit Breaker (L – 200M)
c) 6.6kV Motor feeder protected by Fuse and Contactor (Motor – 500kW,
L-500M)
MV Cables
d) 415V Bulk feeder protected by ACB (to PDB with 500 kVA load, L-
250M)
e) 415V Incomer to PCC protected by ACB (75M)
f) 415V Motor feeder protected by Fuse and Contactor (50kW, L-150M)

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 Link
• Standards
– IS 1554 - PVC Insulated Cables
– IS 8130 - Conductors
– IS 7098 – XLPE Insulated Cables

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Thank You

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