MEDIUM VOLTAGE CABLE SHIELDING AND GROUNDING
by
H e r b e r t C. Doepken, Jr., Robert S c h o o l c r a f t and O l i n W i l l i s
Cablec C o r p o r a t i o n
P.O. Box 188
Marion, I N 46952
A b s t r a c t : T h i s paper describes t h e p u r -
poses o f t h e s h i e l d s (conductor s h i e l d , i n s u l a t i o n
s h i e l d and metal s h i e l d ) i n medium v o l t a g e cables.
S h i e l d losses, s h i e l d grounding and s h i e l d t e r -
m i n a t i o n s a r e a l s o discussed.
Introduction
The purpose o f a power c a b l e i s t o c a r r y
e l e c t r i c power from one l o c a t i o n t o another. Power
i s t h e product o f t h e v o l t a g e on t h e c a b l e times
t h e c u r r e n t i n t h e c a b l e (P = V x I ) . The h e a v i e r
t h e i n s u l a t i o n on t h e c a b l e i s , t h e h i g h e r i t s
v o l t a g e r a t i n g i s . The l a r g e r t h e area o f t h e con-
ductor is, the larger the current r a t i n g o f the
c a b l e i s . The v o l t a g e r a t i n g o f a c a b l e i s d e t e r -
mined by t h e d i e l e c t r i c s t r e n g t h and t h i c k n e s s o f
t h e i n s u l a t i o n m a t e r i a l s used i n i t s c o n s t r u c t i o n
w h i l e t h e c u r r e n t r a t i n g i s u s u a l l y determined by
t h e maximum a l l o w a b l e temperature o f t h e conductor.
The maximum a l l o w a b l e conductor temperature
g e n e r a l l y depends on t h e t y p e o f i n s u l a t i o n
m a t e r i a1 empl oyed.
Medium Voltage Cable Designs
Cable designs become more complex as t h e
v o l t a g e increases. 5 t o 35kV medium v o l t a g e cables
g e n e r a l l y have a conductor s h i e l d , an i n s u l a t i o n
s h i e l d and a metal s h i e l d whereas 600V and 2OOOV
c a b l e s g e n e r a l l y do n o t have a conductor s h i e l d , an
i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d o r a metal s h i e l d . The most com-
mon medium v o l t a g e c a b l e i s 15kV (8.66kV from phase
t o ground). F i g u r e 1 shows a t y p i c a l medium
v o l t a g e cable. S t a r t i n g w i t h t h e conductor i n t h e
c e n t e r and working outwards, t h e design, m a t e r i a l s
and f u n c t i o n o f each o f t h e elements o f a t y p i c a l
medium v o l t a g e c a b l e f o l l o w s .
Conductor
The conductor i s u s u a l l y round and i s
u s u a l l y made o f stranded copper. Conductor s i z e i s
g i v e n by t h e c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area o f t h e conductor.
For small s i z e w i r e s t h e American Wire Gauge (AWG)
i s used. The s m a l l e r t h e AWG s i z e , t h e b i g g e r i s
t h e c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area. The area o f l a r g e conduc-
t o r s i s g i v e n i n k c m i l (thousands o f c i r c u l a r m i l s
where a c i r c u l a r m i l i s t h e area o f a c i r c l e 1 m i l ,
.001 i n c h , i n d i a m e t e r ) .
PPIC-8945
METAL
SHIELD
\ INSULATION
EXTRUDED CONDUCTOR
JACKE1 EXTRUDED SHIELD
INSULATION
SHIELD
Figure 1
Conductor S h i e l d
The n e x t l a y e r o f t h e c a b l e i s t h e ex-
t r u d e d conductor s h i e l d . This l a y e r c o n s i s t s o f a
carbon b l a c k loaded c r o s s l i n k e d p l a s t i c o r rubber
compound w i t h an e l e c t r i c a l r e s i s t i v i t y between
about one and 500 ohm-mzters. Such a compound i s
o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o as a semi-conducting compouna".
Great c a r e i s needed d u r i n g t h e manufacturing p r o -
cess t o ensure t h a t t h e conductor s h i e l d s u r f a c e i s
round and smooth and i s i n i n t i m a t e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e
i n s u l a t i o n m a t e r i a l . I n essence, t h e conductor
s h i e l d i s an e l e c t r i c a l e x t e n s i o n o f t h e conductor
and t h e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d i s an e l e c t r i c a l e x t e n s i o n
o f t h e o u t e r metal s h i e l d , t o g e t h e r t h e y ensure t h a t
a l l t h e v o l t a g e i s i n s u l a t e d from t h e o u t e r s u r f a c e
o f t h e conductor s h i e l d t o t h e i n n e r s u r f a c e o f t h e
i n s u l a t i o n shield (i.e. w i t h i n the insulation).
conductor s h i e l d i s g e n e r a l l y between .015" t o .025 Thz
t h i c k depending on t h e conductor size.
Insulation
The i n s u l a t i o n f o r thermoset o r cross-
l i n k e d c a b l e s which have a 90°C conductor r a t i n g
i s u s u a l l y EP o r XLPE. EP i s a rubber compound
which i s based on a copolymer o f e t h y l e n e and
propylene ( o r a t e r p o l y m e r o f ethylene, propylene
and a t h i r d monomer) t h a t i s m i n e r a l - f i l l e d and
c o n t a i n s p e r o x i d e and o t h e r i n g r e d i e n t s t o g i v e
i t optimal mechanical and e l e c r i c a l p r o p e r t i e s
f o r c a b l e i n s u l a t i o n . XLPE i s c r o s s l i n k e d
43 Oi90--217Z89/0000/OC43$1 .OO C0PYRK;HT (C) IQ89 IEEE
Insulation, cont'd.
p o l y e t h y l e n e which i s a p o l y e t h y l e n e w i t h small
amounts o f a p e r o x i d e c r o s s l i n k i n g agent and an
a n t i o x i d a n t i n i t . When e i t h e r o f these
m a t e r i a l s a r e subjected t o a h i g h temperature i n
a CV (continuous v u l c a n i z e r ) d u r i n g manufacture,
a chemical r e a c t i o n occurs which l i n k s t h e chains
o f t h e polymer ( o r c r o s s l i n k s i t ) g i v i n g t h e
r e s u l t a n t m a t e r i a l much b e t t e r p r o p e r t i e s a t e l e -
v a t ed t empe r a t u r e s .
The i n s u l a t i o n w a l l t h i c k n e s s depends
on t h e v o l t a g e - t h e h i g h e r t h e v o l t a g e i s , t h e
t h i c k e r t h e i n s u l a t i o n w a l l i s . For 15kV cables,
t h e i n s u l a t i o n w a l l t h i c k n e s s i s u s u a l l y .175" o r
.220", b u t f o r 35kV c a b l e t h e i n s u l a t i o n t h i c k -
ness i s u s u a l l y .345" o r .420".
Insulation Shield
The extruded i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d i s a
carbon b l a c k loaded c r o s s l i n k e d p l a s t i c o r rubber
compound t h a t has a f u n c t i o n s i m i l a r t o t h e con-
d u c t o r s h i e l d . The i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d i s
g e n e r a l l y be-tween .030" t o .070" depending on
t h e diameter o f t h e cable. The conductor s h i e l d
m a t e r i a l and t h e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d m a t e r i a l do
n o t have t o be based on t h e same polymer as t h e
i n s u l a t i o n - b u t t h e conductor s h i e l d m a t e r i a l
and t h e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d m a t e r i a l must b o t h be
compatible w i t h the i n s u l a t i o n material.
C o m p a t i b i l i t y can be demonstrated by a t e s t such
as t h e A E I C Q u a l i f i c a t i o n Tests.
n e u t r a l w i r e s w i t h an e n c a p s u l a t i n g semiconducting
CPE ( c h l o r i n a t e d p o l y e t h y l e n e ) j a c k e t ; he1 i c a l l y
a p p l i e d d r a i n w i r e s w i t h a b i n d e r and CSPE ( c h l o r o -
s u l f o n a t e d p o l y e t h y l e n e ) , CPE, o r PVC j a c k e t ; a
l e a d sheath ( w i t h o r w i t h o u t a j a c k e t ) ; and i n t e r -
locked armor c o n s t r u c t i o n s w i t h o r w i t h o u t a Jacket.
S h i e l d Losses i n Medium Voltage Cables
U s u a l l y t h e l a r g e s t l o s s i s t h e 12R con-
d u c t o r l o s s due t o t h e f l o w o f c u r r e n t i n t h e con-
d u c t o r . Because o f t h e AC magnetic f i e l d s genera-
t e d by conductor c u r r e n t s ( I ) , t h e r e i s a l o n g i t u d -
i n a l v o l t a g e induced i n t h e s h i e l d o f t h e cable. If
t h e c a b l e s h i e l d s a r e grounded a t several l o c a t i o n s
(which i s t h e most common case) t h e s h i e l d s a r e s a i a
t o be " s h o r t c i r c u i t e d ' (see F i g u r e 2 ) and t h e i n -
duced l o n g i t u d i n a l v o l t a g e causes l o n g i t u d i n a l c u r -
r e n t s t o f l o w i n t h e sheaths r e s u l t i n g i n a d d i t i o n a l
losses. These losses g e n e r a l l y a r e n o t n e g l i g i b l e
as w i l l be shown below. I n general, t h e c a l c u l a t i d n
o f shield losses w i t h short-circuited sheilds i s
complex. The method i s o u t l i n e d on page 10-19 and
10-20 o f r e f e r e n c e 1.

S t a t e o f t h e a r t cables g e n e r a l l y use a
free-stripping material applied i n a t r i p l e
e x t r u s i o n process w i t h a l l t h r e e l a y e r s c r o s s -
l i n k e d i n a C V i n a s i n g l e pass. The advantages
o f t r i p l e e x t r u s i o n a r e smoother and c l e a n e r
i n t e r f a c e s between t h e i n s u l a t i o n and t h e i n s u l a -
t i o n s h i e l d , and a c o n s i s t e n t s t r i p p i n g f o r c e .
The c o n s i s t e n t s t r i p p i n g f o r c e makes i n s t a l 1a t i o n F i g u r e 2-a. Short-circuited Shields
e a s i e r and prevents a l o o s e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d o r
a s o l i d l y bonded i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d .

Metal S h i e l d s and Jackets

There must be a metal p a t h over t h e

i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d o f a medium v o l t a g e c a b l e f o r
grounding and t o c a r r y t h e c a p a c i t i v e c h a r g i n g
c u r r e n t o f t h e cable. I f t h e metal s h i e l d i s n o t
grounded, t h e c a b l e behaves l i k e a c a p a c i t i v e
d i v i d e r and t h e v o l t a g e on t h e metal s h i e l d can
r i s e t o a s i g n i f i c a n t f r a c t i o n o f t h e conductor
v o l t a g e . This i s a v e r y u n d e s i r a b l e and poten-
t i a l l y lethal situation.

Over t h e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d , many d i f -
f e r e n t c o n s t r u c t i o n s a r e p o s s i b l e depending upon
t h e u l t i m a t e use and customer preference. Some
o f t h e common c o n s t r u c t i o n s i n c l u d e : c o r r u g a t e d F i g u r e 2-b. Open-Circuited S h i e l d s

44
 The mathematics f o r t h e most common
i n s t a l l a t i o n mode o f t h r e e phases i n a f l a t con-
f i g u r a t i o n i s p a r t i c u l a r l y complex and here o n l y
t h e l e s s common ( b u t m a t h e m a t i c a l l y e a s i e r
because o f symnetry) e q u i l a t e r a l i n s t a l l a t i o n
mode w i l l be considered (see F i g u r e 3). I f S i s
t h e c a b l e c e n t e r t o c e n t e r spacing and C i s t h e
mean s h i e l d r a d i u s ( b o t h i n t h e same u n i t s ) and
i f R i s t h e conductor r e s i s t a n c e and r i s t h e
s h i e l d r e s i s t a n c e ( b o t h i n ohms p e r 1000 f e e t )
t h e n t h e r a t i o ( Q ) o f one phase s h i e l d l o s s
d i v i d e d by one phase conductor l o s s ( t h e same f o r
each phase because o f symmetry) i s
Q = rX2/R(r2 + X 2 ) where X = 0.023 I n (S/C) where
X i s a l s o i n ohms per 1000 f e e t . By d i f f e r e n -
t i a t i n g Q w i t h respect t o r and s e t t i n g dQ/dr =
0, Q i s found t o be maximum when r = X.
F i g u r e 3-a. Equilateral Installation
F i g u r e 3-b. Flat Installation
With a 4/0 conductor 15kV (.175" w a l l )
cable, R = .04 ohms/1000 f e e t , C i s about .54
inches and i f S = 6 inches, X i s about .055 ohms
p e r 1000 f e e t . For a w i r e s h i e l d o f s i x #18
d r a i n wires, r = 1.06 ohms p e r thousand f e e t and
Q = .071 or t h e s h i e l d l o s s i s about 7% o f t h e
conductor l o s s . For a .005" t h i c k copper t a p e
s h i e l d , r = .51 ohms p e r 1000 f e e t and Q = .146.
For a one t h i r d n e u t r a l URD c a b l e r = .133 ohms
p e r 1000 f e e t and Q = .486 or t h e s h i e l d l o s s
i s almost 50% o f t h e conductor l o s s . A t t h e
maximum where r = X = .055 ohms p e r 1000 f e e t ,
Q = .688.
P h y s i c a l l y , what i s happening i s t h a t f o r r > > X ,
c u r r e n t i n each s h i e l d i s l e s s t h a n I and equals
IX/r. For r<<X, t h e c u r r e n t i n t h e s h i e l d i s
t h e same magnitude as ( b u t o p p o s i t e i n d i r e c t i o n
t o ) t h e phase c u r r e n t .
45
C l e a r l y , as Q increases, t h e t o t a l l o s s e s o f t h e
c a b l e (and t h e conductor temperature) increase.
Alternatively, i f the cable i s operating a t the
maximum conductor temperature, i n c r e a s i n g Q w i l l
r e q u i r e r e d u c i n g I.
One way t o reduce t h e s h i e l d losses i s t o
ground each s h i e l d o n l y a t one p o i n t or t o use
" o p e n - c i r c u i t e d " s h i e l d s (see F i g u r e 2 ) . I n t h i s
case, t h e r e i s a l o n g i t u d i n a l v o l t a g e b u i l d u p which
i s I X f o r an e q u i l a t e r a l c o n f i g u r a t i o n . I f I i s
about 300 amperes, t h e v o l t a g e induced i s
(300)(.005) = 16.5 v o l t s p e r 1000 f e e t . It i s i m -
p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e r e w i l l s t i l l be s h i e l d
l o s s e s i n t h e s h i e l d s due t o c u r r e n t s c i r c u l a t i n g
w i t h i n each s h i e l d even though t h e n e t c u r r e n t i n
each s h i e l d i s zero. General p r a c t i c e i s t o ground
t h e c a b l e a t each s p l i c e and each t e r m i n a l .
S h i e l d Terminations
When making a c a b l e t e r m i n a t i o n or a
s p l i c e between two c a b l e ends, t h e v a r i o u s s h i e l d s
must be p r o p e r l y handled. The most c r i t i c a l area
i s where t h e i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d i s removed. F i g u r e
4-a shows a f i e l d p l o t o f t h e e q u i p o t e n t i a l l i n e s
and e l e c t r i c f i e l d around a c a b l e w i t h j u s t t h e
i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d removed. T h i s leaves a v e r y h i g h
e l e c t r i c f i e l d i n t h e a i r adjacent t o t h e i n s u l a t i o n
and i n s u l a t i o n s h i e l d (Region A) which can cause
i o n i z a t i o n o f t h e a i r because o f t h e r e l a t i v e l y low
d i e l e c t r i c s t r e n g t h o f a i r compared t o EP or XLPE.
T h i s i o n i z a t i o n can e v e n t u a l l y cause t r a c k i n g on t h e
s u r f a c e o f t h e c a b l e i n s u l a t i o n and e v e n t u a l l y a
f a i l u r e . There a r e s e v e r a l ways t o reduce t h i s
f i e l d , b u t t h e most common ways a r e w i t h t h e use o f
a s t r e s s cone ( F i g u r e 4-b) o r a h i g h d i e l e c t r i c con-
s t a n t l a y e r placed over t h e c r i t i c a l r e g i o n ( F i g u r e
4-c). I n t h e case o f F i g u r e 4-b, t h e d i e l e c t r i c
s t r e n g t h o f t h e s t r e s s cone m a t e r i a l i s h i g h e r than
a i r so no i o n i z a t i o n takes place. I n t h e case of
F i g u r e 4-c, t h e h i g h d i e l e c t r i c c o n s t a n t m a t e r i a l
reduces t h e e l e c t r i c f i e l d i n t h e a i r t o below t h e
ionization level.
\
Region A
F i g u r e 4-a
U U

-
\ \\
S t r e s s Cone

F i g u r e 4-b

'High Dielectric
Constant Layer

F i g u r e 4-c

References

c11 Underground Systems Reference

Book, p u b l i s h e d by t h e Edison
E l e c t r i c I n s t i t u t e , 1957.

46