Electrical Workshop Practice and Technology (CTE 112)

INSULATING AND CONDUCTING MATERIALS

Insulators
"Insulator" is a material which does not allow the free passage of an electric current.
Insulators are used to surround the conductor with a material that prevents the direct touch of live
conductor and to provide a protection from outer damages.
Types of insulators
Plastic materials Organic materials Mineral materials Liquid materials
Bekalite Cotton Mica Mineral oil
Formica Rubber Amiate SF6
Polyester Paper Glass
Synthetic rubber Wood Porcelain
PVC (poly-vinyl-chloride)

Table 1 different type of insulators.

Conductors
A "conductor” mean a material which allow the free passage of an electric current along it,
with very little resistance.
The conductor can be classified according its state as:
S/No. Conductor Applications Properties
1 Copper - Cable and wires. - Very good conductor.
- Busbars and contactors. - Easily-worked metal.
- Industrial applications. - Tough.
2 Aluminium - Power Cables. - Cheaper than copper.
- Industrial applications. - Low cost and weight.
- Ease for fabrication.
3 Nickel - Heating elements. - Hard element.
- Manufacture resistance. - Resists corrosion.
4 Carbon - Motor bruches. - Hard.
- Resistors. - Low friction with other metals.
- Some types of contants.
5 Silver - Fine instrument wires. - Best conductor.
- Plating contact surface. - Expensive.
6 Gold - Plating contact surface. - Expensive.
- Does not corrode.
7 Brass -Terminals. - Easily cast.
- Parts of electric fittings. - Easily tinned for soldering.
- Plug pins.
8 Tungsten - Lamp filaments. - Easily drawn
9 Zinc - Switch gear components. - Cheap.
- Conduit and fittings.
- Resistance grids

10 Mercury - Special contacts. - Liquid at normal temperature.

- Discharge lamps. - Vaporises readily.
The table 2 shows different types of conductors.

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Types of Cables
 PVC Insulated and Sheathed Cables
Domestic and commercial installations use this cable, which may be clipped direct to a surface,
sunk in plaster or installed in conduit or trunking. It is the simplest and least expensive cable.
Figure 1 shows a sketch of a twin and earth cable.
The conductors are covered with a colour-coded PVC insulation and then contained singly or
with others in a PVC outer sheath.

Figure 1 A twin and earth PVC insulated and sheathed cable.

 Mineral-Insulated Metal-Sheathed Cables

Mineral insulated cable (MI cable) is also known as Mineral insulated metal sheath (MIMS)
is made from a seamless metal tube, tightly packed with Magnesium Oxide powder.
Thermocouple wires run through the metal tube and the magnesium oxide powder helps keep
these wires insulated and separated which makes it waterproof and fire and corrosion-resistant.
These characteristics often make it the only cable choice for hazardous or high-temperature
installations such as oil refineries and chemical works, boiler houses and furnaces, petrol pump
and fire alarm installations.
The cable has a small overall diameter when compared to alternative cables and may be
supplied as bare copper or with a PVC over sheath. It is colour coded orange for general
electrical wiring, white for emergency lighting or red for fi re alarm wiring. The copper outer
sheath provides the CPC, and the cable is terminated with a pot and sealed with compound and a
compression gland (see Fig. 2).

Figure 2 MI cable with terminating seal and gland.

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The advantages:
1. Wide temperature range
2. Excellent uniformity
3. Easy handling
4. Longer product life time
5. Mechanical strength
6. Insulation material
The disadvantages:
1. The termination points
2. Vibration: MICC is not suitable for use where it will be subject to vibration or flexing,
for example connection to heavy or movable machinery. Vibration will crack the
cladding and cores, leading to failure.
3. Labour Cost
4. Voltage rating: MI cable is only manufactured with ratings up to 1000 volts.
7. Moisture absorption: The magnesium oxide insulation has a high affinity for moisture.
Moisture introduced into the cable can cause electrical leakage from the internal
conductors to the metal sheath.
8. Corrosion: The copper sheath material is resistant to most chemicals but can be severely
damaged by ammonia-bearing compounds and urine.
9. Repair: If the MI cable jacket has been damaged the magnesium oxide will wick moisture
into the cable and it will lose its insulating properties causing shorts to the copper
cladding, and thence to earth. Depending on the size and number of conductors, a single
termination can take between one and two hours of labour.

 Armoured P.V.C Insulated, PVC Sheathed Cables

PVC insulated steel wire armour cables are used for wiring underground between buildings, for
main supplies to dwellings, rising sub-mains and industrial installations. They are used where
some mechanical protection of the cable conductors is required.
The conductors are covered with colour-coded PVC insulation and then contained either singly
or with others in a PVC sheath (see Fig. 3). Around this sheath is placed an armour protection of
steel wires twisted along the length of the cable, and a final PVC sheath covering the steel wires
protects them from corrosion. The armour sheath also provides the circuit protective conductor
(CPC) and the cable is simply terminated using a compression gland.

Figure 3 A four-core PVC/SWA cable.

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Advantages of Armored Cable

1. Armored cables provide the protection and durability required without the need for
electrical conduit, elbows, costly offsets, and conduit couplings.
2. Metal-clad armor resists corrosion, making it suitable for areas exposed to moisture.
3. Interlocked armor is flexible, unlike conduit or even continuously welded armor,
ensuring damage will not affect inner conductors. It is also more easily installed where
complex, close-spaced bends would be difficult for conduit.
4. No specialty cutting or bending tools are needed for installation.

Cable Colour Coding

Fixed cable core colours
 Single-phase supplies red line conductors, black neutral conductors, and green combined
with yellow for earth conductors.
 Three-phase supplies red, yellow and blue line conductors, black neutral conductors and
green combined with yellow for earth conductors.
These core colours must not be used after 31 March 2006.
New (harmonized) fixed cable core colours
 Single-phase supplies brown line conductors, blue neutral conductors and green
combined with yellow for earth conductors (just like flexible cords).
 Three-phase supplies brown, black and grey line conductors, blue neutral conductors and
green combined with yellow for earth conductors.

ELECTRICAL WIRING
Electrical wiring is the process of connecting various accessories for distribution of electrical
energy through cables and wires from supplier’s meter board to home appliances such as lamps,
fans and other domestic appliances.

Cable Selection for Electrical Wiring

To choose the correct size of cable for electric wiring, some important points to be remember.
1. Conductor material
2. Insulation
3. Type of wiring
4. Load current
5. Voltage drops
6. Ambient temperature
7. Mechanical injury
8. Condition of installation at site

Factors Determine the Choice of Wiring System

1. Type of Building
2. Voltages
3. Nature of Work in Building
4. Weather Condition
5. Safety
6. Flexibility
7. Economical

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8. Availability of Material
9. Beauty of Building

Types of Wiring

Surface Wiring
Open wiring is the easiest way to lay electrical lines. Unlike hidden, it is not laid in the thickness
of building structures, but above their surface. It is rarely used in modern homes. At the same
time, this method requires much less time and is associated with less labor costs than laying a
closed-type line. There is also no need for chipping, due to which the integrity of the ceiling and
walls is practically not disturbed.
Advantages:
1. Ease of installation.
2. Minimal violation of the integrity of the walls (ceiling).
3. No need for additional equipment.
Disadvantages:
1. Unattractive appearance.
2. The need to take into account the technical standards of the room.
3. The need for strict compliance with the installation of fire and electrical safety standards.

Conduit
A conduit is a tube, channel or pipe in which insulated conductors are contained. The conduit, in
effect, replaces the PVC outer sheath of a cable, providing mechanical protection for the
insulated conductors. A conduit installation can be rewired easily or altered at any time, and this
flexibility, coupled with mechanical protection, makes conduit installations popular for
commercial and industrial applications. The types of conduit used in electrical installation work:
steel and PVC.

PVC conduits
Advantages of PVC conduit include:
1. light weight
2. flexibility
3. resistance to combustion, corrosion and chemicals
4. simplicity of installation
Disadvantages of PVC conduit include:
1. Physical weakness compared to metal. PVC can break and splinter when exposed to
physical stress. It also
2. Needs to be supported when installed in longer runs due to sagging.

Steel conduit
Advantages of steel conduit include:
1. Protects against impact at all temperatures
2. Steel EMT, RMC and IMC provide superior physical protection
3. Deflects nails and screws, and doesn’t stretch or tear
4. Demonstrates durability and the highest yield / tensile strengths
5. Offers exceptional corrosion resistance

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6. Offers exceptional fire resistance

7. Provides an effective ground fault current path
8. Reduces EMF by up to 95% at power frequencies
9. Has a compatible coefficient of expansion with most construction materials

Disadvantages of steel conduit include:

1. It’s expensive when compared to other surface conducting methods
2. It’s very hard to find any defects in the wiring
3. Installation is difficult as compared to other methods
4. Complicated to add/manage additional connection in the future

Trunking installations
A trunking is an enclosure provided for the protection of cables which is normally square or
rectangular in cross-section, having one removable side. Trunking may be thought of as a more
accessible conduit system and for industrial and commercial installations it is replacing the larger
conduit sizes. A trunking system can have great flexibility when used in conjunction with
conduit; the trunking forms the background or framework for the installation, with conduits
running from the trunking to the point controlling the current-using apparatus. When an
alteration or extension is required it is easy to drill a hole in the side of the trunking and run a
conduit to the new point. The new wiring can then be drawn through the new conduit and the
existing trunking to the supply point.
Trunking is supplied in 3 m lengths and various cross-sections measured in millimetres from 50
× 50 up to 300 × 150. Most trunking is available in either steel or plastic.

Advantages:
1. Cheap and easy installation method
2. The cables are enclosed in trunking, there is no risk of cable insulation to be damaged
3. Cables are safe against dust and humidity
4. Alternations are possible
5. Trunking system has a long life
Disadvantages:
1. Expensive compare to other wiring systems
2. Care and good workmanship are needed to ensure a successful installation

Ducting Wiring System

A duct means a passage or path for spreading one or more cables underground or on
construction, which remains closed from above. Thus, an underground system of ducting, in
which concrete ducts are constructed under the floor or inside the ground, for spreading cables, is
known as ducting wiring system. In other words, a closed path an underground or in an under-
construction building, which is used for passing one or more than one cable, is called ducting
system. Apart from concrete, trunks can also be fabricated from iron, wood, fiber, etc. However,
the usage of wood and fiber is less compared to concrete and iron.
Earth or floor is excavated in a round or rectangular shape for earthing. After this, concrete ducts
are constructed in this digging, on which cables are placed. Then iron or concrete slabs are laid
on them so that they could be removed as and when required. This type of wiring system is used

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in large buildings, government buildings, large stores, offices, airports, oil refineries,
powerhouses, industrial and commercial organizations, etc.

Advantages:
1. Can hold more wires
2. Can add up more wiring for future installation
3. Low cost
4. Easy installation
Disadvantages:
1. More professional workers needed
2. More special tools needed
3. Take long time for installation.

Fire Alarm Circuits

Fire alarm circuits are wired as either normally open or normally closed. In a normally open
circuit, the alarm call points are connected in parallel with each other so that when any alarm
point is initiated the circuit is completed and the sounder gives a warning of fire. The
arrangement is shown in Fig. 4a. In its simplest form this system requires a high-value resistor to
be connected across the call-point contacts, which permits a small current to circulate and
operate an indicator, declaring the circuit healthy. With a monitored system, PVC insulated
cables may be used to wire the alarm calls points.
In a normally closed circuit, the alarm call points are connected in series to normally
closed contacts as shown in Fig. 4b. When the alarm is initiated, or if a break occurs in the
wiring, the alarm is activated.

(a) normally open (b) normally closed

Figure 4 A simple alarm circuit
Fire alarm design considerations
Since all fire alarm installations must comply with the relevant statutory regulations, good
practice recommends that contact be made with the local fire prevention officer at the design
stage in order to identify any particular local regulations and obtain the necessary certification.

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Larger buildings must be divided into zones so that the location of the fire can be quickly
identified by the emergency services. The zones can be indicated on an indicator board situated
in, for example, a supervisor’s office or the main reception area.
In selecting the zones, the following rules must be considered:
1. Each zone should not have a floor area in excess of 2000 m2.
2. Each zone should be confined to one storey, except where the total floor area of the
building does not exceed 300 m2.
3. Staircases and very small buildings should be treated as one zone.
4. Each zone should be a single fire compartment. This means that the walls, ceilings and
floors are capable of containing the smoke and fire.
At least one fire alarm sounder will be required in each zone, but all sounders in the building
must operate when the alarm is activated.
The main sounders may be silenced by an authorized person, once the general public has been
evacuated from the building, but the current must be diverted to a supervisory buzzer which
cannot be silenced until the system has been restored to its normal operational state.
A fire alarm installation may be linked to the local fire brigade’s control room by the
telecommunication network, if the permission of the fire authority and local telecommunication
office is obtained.

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