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CABLES

EPM412

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CONTENTS
Introduction

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

 Advantage and Disadvantage of Cable

 Summary of Costs: Overhead vs. Underground

 Construction of Cable

 Insulating Materials for Cables

 Classification of Cables

 Laying of Cables

 Insulation Resistance of a Single-Core Cable

 Capacitance of a Single-Core Cable 2

INTRODUCTION

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 An underground cable essentially consists of one or
more conductors covered with suitable insulation and
surrounded by a protecting cover.

 The interference from external disturbances like

storms, lightening, ice, trees etc. should be reduced to
achieve trouble free service.

 The cables may be buried directly in the ground, or may

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be installed in ducts buried in the ground.
ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

Advantages

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 Better general appearance
 Less liable to damage through storms or lighting
 Low maintenance cost
 Less chances of faults
 Small voltage drops

Disadvantages

 The major drawback is that they have greater

installation cost and introduce insulation problems at
high voltages compared with equivalent overhead
system. 4
SUMMARY OF COSTS: OVERHEAD VS. UNDERGROUND

 Transmission: Underground may be 4-20 times Overhead.

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 Sub transmission: Underground may be 4-20 times
Overhead

 Distribution: Underground may be 2-10 times Overhead

 New underground may be cheaper than overhead in special

conditions and costs vary greatly from utility to utility and
place to place.

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CONSTRUCTION OF CABLE

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CONSTRUCTION OF CABLE

 Core or Conductor: A cable may have one or more than one

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core depending upon the type of service. The conductor are
made of aluminum or copper and is stranded in order to
provide flexibility to the cable.

 Insulation: The core is provided with suitable thickness of

insulation, depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the
cable.

 Metallic Sheath : A metallic sheath of lead or aluminum is

provided over the insulation to protect the cable from
moisture, gases or others damaging liquids

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CONSTRUCTION OF CABLE

 Bedding: Bedding is provided to protect the metallic sheath

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from corrosion and from mechanical damage due to
armoring. It is a fibrous material like jute or hessian tape.

 Armoring: Its purpose is to protect the cable from mechanical

injury while laying it. It consists of one or two layers of
galvanized steel wire or steel tape.

 Serving: To protect armouring from atmospheric conditions, a

layer of fibrous material is provided.

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INSULATING MATERIALS

 High resistivity.

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 High dielectric strength.
 Low water absorption.
 Non – inflammable.
 Chemical stability.
 High mechanical strength.
 Capability to with stand high rupturing voltage.
 High tensile strength
Note: No insulating material possesses all the above properties

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INSULATING MATERIALS

1. Rubber

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 High reasonably insulating properties

 Absorbs moisture & Max save temp. is about 35oC

2. Vulcanized India Rubber

 Mixing pure rubber with mineral compounds (zinc oxide, red
lead and sulphur and heated upto 150 C).

 Greater mechanical strength.

 It is suitable for low and moderate voltage cables.

The sulphur reacts quickly with copper so tinned copper

conductors are used. 10
INSULATING MATERIALS

3. Impregnated (Saturated) Paper

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 Wood chippings and impregnated in paraffinic or
naphthenic material.

 Low cost & High insulating properties

 Absorbs moisture and thus lowers the insulation
resistance.

4. Varnished Cambric
 Cotton cloth and impregnated in varnish.

5. PVC
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 Synthetic compound from polymerization of acetylene.
CLASSIFICATION OF CABLES

1) Low tension (L.T) --- up to 1000V

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2) High tension (H.T) --- up to 11kV

3) Super tension (S.T) --- from 22kV to 33kV

4) Extra high tension (E.H.T) --- from 33kV to 66kV

5) Extra super voltage cables --- beyond 132kV

I. Single-core

II. Two-core

III. Three-core
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IV. Four-core
CLASSIFICATION OF 3-CORE CABLES
1) Belted Cables --- up to 11kV

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2) Screened Cables --- from 22kV to 66kV (H-type and S.L type)

3) Pressure cables --- beyond 66kV (Oil-filled and Gas Pressure)

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LAYING OF UNDERGROUND CABLES

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 The reliability of underground cable network depends to
a considerable extent upon proper laying.

 There are three main methods of Laying underground cables:

1) Direct Laying

2) Draw in system

3) Solid system

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LAYING OF UNDERGROUND CABLES

1. Direct Laying

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 This method is cheap and simple and is most likely to be used in
practice.
 A trench of about 1.5 meters deep and 45 cm wide is dug.
 A cable is been laid inside the trench and is covered with concrete
material or bricks in order to protect it from mechanical injury.
 This gives the best heat dissipating conditions.
 It is clean and safe method

Disadvantages:
 It can be costlier in congested areas where excavation
is expensive and inconvenient.
 Localization of fault is difficult
 The maintenance cost is high
 1615
LAYING OF UNDERGROUND CABLES
1. Direct Laying

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LAYING OF UNDERGROUND CABLES
2. Draw-in System
In this conduit or duct of concrete is laid in ground with main holes

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
at suitable positions along the cable route.
 The cables are then pulled into positions from main holes.

Disadvantages:
 Reduced current carrying capacity of the cables due to
close grouping of cables
 Heat dissipation conditions are not good
 Very high initial cost

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LAYING OF UNDERGROUND CABLES
3. Solid System
In this system the cable is laid in open pipes or troughs dug out in

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
earth along the cable route.
 The troughing is of cast iron or treated wood.
 Troughing is filled with a bituminous after cables is laid.
 It provides good mechanical strength

Disadvantages:
 It has poor heat dissipation conditions
 It requires skilled labour and favorable weather conditions
 It is very much expensive system

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INSULATION RESISTANCE OF A SINGLE-CORE
CABLE

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CAPACITANCE OF A SINGLE-CORE CABLE

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DIELECTRIC STRESS IN A SINGLE-CORE CABLE
 The insulation of a cable is subjected to electrostatic forces which is
known as dielectric stress Ex.

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 The potential gradient (Electric intensity):

 The potential difference V:

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DIELECTRIC STRESS IN A SINGLE-CORE CABLE
 Hence;

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 Then; Maximum Potential Gradient:

 Then; Minimum Potential Gradient:

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CURRENT CARRYING CAPACITY OF A CABLE
 Current Carrying Capacity of a Cable is determined by the
maximum permissible temperature rise for each cross section

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area of the conductor.

 The losses in a cable:

1. Copper losses in the conductors.
2. Hysteresis losses in the dielectric.
3. Eddy current losses in the sheath.

 The safe temperature is 65oC for armored cables and 50oC

for lead- sheathed cables in ducts.

 The cable temperature is affected by:

1. Group of cables 2. Laying 23

3. Ambient temperature 4. Soil thermal resistivity
MOST ECONOMICAL CONDUCTOR SIZE IN A CABLE
 The maximum stress in a cable occurs at the surface of the
conductor.

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 For given value of V and D, the most economical conductor
diameter will be at minimized gmax.

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MOST ECONOMICAL CONDUCTOR SIZE IN A CABLE
 Hence;

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 The minimized gmax;

 For LV and MV cables, (d = 2V / gmax) is too smaller than that from

current carrying capacity. Therefore, conductor diameter is
determined from the consideration of current carrying capacity.

 For HV, (d = 2V / gmax) is larger than that from current carrying

capacity.

 So that Aluminum is used in HV instead of copper.

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MOST ECONOMICAL CONDUCTOR SIZE IN A CABLE

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GRADING OF CABLES
o Since the stresses are maximum at surface
of the conductor or inner most part of the

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dielectric.

o The stress goes on decreasing as outer most

layer is reached.

o The process of achieving the uniform

electrostatic stresses by using layers of
different dielectrics is known as Grading.

o If the permittivities are such that

and the three dielectrics are worked at the
same maximum stress, then;

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GRADING OF CABLES
Potential difference across the inner layer:

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Similarly;

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GRADING OF CABLES

o Total potential difference in above expressions should be peak

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values (not rms), as gmax is the permissible peak value.

o If maximum stress in the three dielectrics is not the same, then;

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TYPES OF CABLES FAULTS
 Cables are generally laid in the ground or in ducts in the
underground distribution system. For this reason, there are

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little chances of faults in underground cables.

 However, if a fault does occur it is difficult to locate and repair

the fault because conductors are not visible. Nevertheless,
the following are the faults most likely to occur in
underground cables

1) Open Circuit Fault

2) Short Circuit Fault

3) Earth Fault
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