CABLE TERMINOLOGY

AWA (Aluminium Wire Armour)

A type of cable armouring for mechanical protection, used for 3 phase cables.

CPE (Chlorinated Polyethylene)

An oil, ozone and heat resistant thermoplastic sheating material.

CSP / CSPE (Chlorosulphanated Polyethylene)

An oil, ozone and heat resistant elastomeric compound used as bedding and outer sheath
material. DuPont manufacture this material under the registered trade name "Hypalon".

Dekoron®
Registered trade name for a range of instrumentation cables insulated and sheathed with a flame
retardant PVC. The standard range includes up to 50 pairs and up to 36 triples in either 0.5mm2
or 1.5mm2 conductors. Larger conductors may be specified, as can options of Lead Sheathing,
SWA, or HF insulation and sheath materials.

DWA (Double Wire Armour)

Two layers of wire armour. Typically used in subsea cables and wrapped contra-helically for
bottom stability.

EPR (Ethylene Propylene Rubber)

A water and ozone resistant, flexible, cross linked high grade insulation material and sometimes
as a sheating material.

FR (Fire Resistant / Flame Retardant)

Fire Resistant - the property of cables to continue to function while under the influence of fire.
Cables that are Fire Resistant tend to provide circuit integrity even when burned and maintains
integrity after the fire has extinguished. In most cases, the cables will withstand a water spray
and still provide circuit integrity.
Flame Retardant - the property of cables to retard or slow the progress of fire and flame along the
cable. This is achieved through the use of materials that do not readily burn and will tend to self-
extinguish.

GSWB (Galvanised Steel Wire Braid)

A type of cable armouring for mechanical protection.

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene)

Generally used as a subsea cable sheating material where it provides high resistance to water
penetration, is very hard, has low coefficient of friction, and is abrasion resistant.

HF (Halogen Free)
Halogenated plastics (ie. those that contain chlorine, fluorine, bromine, iodine and astatine) when
ignited will tend to release toxic and corrosive gases, which has potential safety implications, eg.
obstruction of escape routes. Halogen free plastics, as the name suggests, do not contain
halogens.

HOFR (Heat, Oil and Flame Retardant)

Refer to FR (flame retardant).

LAS (Lead Armour Sheath)

Used for chemical protection against petrochemicals and other chemicals, that can weaken the
insulation materials used. The lead sheath sits under the mechanical protection (e.g. SWA), to
ensure the chemical barrier isn't compromised.

LSF (Low Smoke and Fumes)

Low smoke and fume emissions when the cable is on fire. Note that it may still contain halogens.

LSTA (Low Smoke, Toxicity and Acidity)

Uncommonly used term for bedding and sheathing materials with low smoke, toxicity and
acidity properties. Halogen free materials such as SHF2 are more or less equivalent to LSTA
materials.

LSZH / LS0H (Low Smoke, Zero Halogen)

Refer to HF (halogen free).

MGT (Mica Glass Tape)

A fire resistant tape usually wrapped around the insulated conductor bundle beneath the innear
sheath.

MICC (MI, MIMS)

Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable is a variety of electrical cable made from copper conductors
inside a copper sheath, insulated by inorganic magnesium oxide powder. The name is often
abbreviated to MICC or MI cable, and colloquially known as pyro (because the original
manufacturer and vendor for this product in the UK is a company called Pyrotenax). A similar
product sheathed with metals other than copper is called mineral insulated metal sheathed
(MIMS) cable.

Neoprene®
Refer to PCP (polychroloprene)

NYL (Nylon sheath)

A nylon sheath (or sometimes described as a sock) is typically used for termite protection in
underground cables and also as a sheating material.

PCP (Polychloroprene)
This is an oil resistant, tough sheating material, that is used mainly in mining cables as an outer
sheath. DuPont registered trade name for this product is "Neoprene".

PE (Polyethylene)
Thermoplastic used as a insulation and sheating material.

PETP (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

A polymer resin used in semi-metallic screens eg. PETP/Al

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

Commonly used thermoplastic insulation and sheathing material.
SCN (Screen)
A tape or braid, usually metallic (copper, aluminium) or semi-metallic (PETP/Al), wrapped
around the cable cores to keep out or contain unwanted radiation / interference.

SHF2
Halogen free elastomeric compound commonly used for inner sheath / bedding and outer
sheating materials.

SWA (Steel Wire Armour)

A type of cable armouring for mechanical protection.

TAC (Tinned Annealed Copper)

Annealed copper conductors with surface tinning for rust prevention. Annealing refers to the
process of gradually heating and cooling the copper making it more malleable and less brittle.

TCWB (Tinned Copper Wire Braid)

Typically used for flexible cable armouring of instrument cables.

TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer)

A plastic material compounded so it displays characteristics like an elastomer. TPE is normally
tough, cut resistant, flexible, smooth, with vibrant colouring.

XLPE (Cross-Linked Polyethylene)

High grade insulation material of cross-linked polyethylene chains giving good high temperature
performance.
Protective Earth Conductor
From Open Electrical
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The protective earth (PE) conductor is defined as a conductor that is provided for safety purposes
(e.g. against the risk of electric shock) and which also provides a conductive path to earth. The
PE conductor can be integrated inside a multi-core cable (e.g. 3C+E cable) or can be a separate
cable.

Contents
[hide]

 1 Minimum Protective Earth Conductor Size

o 1.1 Sizing from a Table
o 1.2 Sizing by Calculation

Minimum Protective Earth Conductor Size

The protective earth conductor should be sized so that during a fault, it will be able to withstand
the prospective fault current. IEC 60364-5-54 provides two options for the sizing of protective
earth conductors.

Sizing from a Table

For protective earth conductors constructed of the same material as the phase conductors, the
minimum size for protective earth conductors are as follows:

Phase Conductor Min. PE

(mm2) Conductor (mm2)

0.5 0.5

0.75 0.75

1 1

1.5 1.5
2.5 2.5

4 4

6 6

10 10

16 16

26 16

35 16

50 25

70 35

95 50

120 70

150 95

185 95

240 120

300 150

400 240

500 300

630 400

800 400
 1000 500

For protective earth conductors that are not of the same material as the phase conductors, a factor

must be applied to the minimum size PE conductor in the table above.

The numerator k1 is the k value for the phase conductors and the denominator k2 is the k value for
the PE conductor. Calculation of the k values are described on this page.

Sizing by Calculation

As per Clause 543.1.2 of IEC 60463-5-54, the size of protective earth conductors can be
calculated by the adiabatic short circuit temperature rise equation (for disconnection times <5s):

Where is the minimum cross-sectional area of the PE conductor (mm2)

is the energy of the short circuit (A2s)

is a constant term (this article has guidance for selecting the constant term)