CABLE 101

Brief Introduction to Electric

cables

Gopal Ponnuram
For EESA
Feb 2021
Cable Types

Fibre cable
CABLE CLASSIFICATION (GENERAL OVERVIEW

• A cable is known or classified by:

• voltage rating
• conductor size (CSA or Cross Sectional Area)
• conductor construction (type, shape and number of cores)
• conductor material (e.g. copper or aluminium)-Power or fibre for data
• dielectric or insulation material (e.g. PVC, paper, rubber)
• general construction Armoured, braided
• environment where it will be installed (buried, under sea).
• Application -Power, Data, Instrumentation
Cable Components
• All cables follow a similar make up of components
• Conductor – To carry current / Signal
• Insulation –To provide separation between wires to carry voltage (no short
circuit)
• Multicores twisted to form an assembly
• Fillers and Tapes to hold the assembly
• Bedding sheath to provide circularity and soft bed for armour
• Armour – Provides protection from diggers, mechanical damage
• Outer Jacket /Sheath – To provide mechanical , chemical and environmental
protection
CONDUCTOR MATERIALS

• An electrical conductor is any substance that will carry electricity from one point
to another. No material is a perfect conductor. That is, all conductors have some
resistance at normal temperatures. However, the properties that you should seek in
a conductor are:
• low resistivity (high conductivity) - see Table Conductor Materials
• good corrosion and oxidation resistance
• high thermal conductivity
• good mechanical strength
• easily worked
• easily jointed
• readily obtainable
• Low in cost
Common conductor materials
Conductor Construction
Shape Construction Typical sizes Typical applications
Uncompacted 1.5 – 95mm² Conduit
circular Multi-core cables

Compacted 16 – 630mm² Multi-core cables (Aust)

circular MV-XLPE, Neutral screen

Sectored 25 – 300mm² Paper lead

stranded Neutral screen
Some multi-core cables
Solid 25 – 300mm² Special purpose
shaped Multi-core cables

Bunched 0.5 – 95mm² Welding flex

Flex. cords
Autocables
Circular All sizes Special purpose power
Solid (no flexibility requirements)
 Process of Conductor making Wire Drawing

Copper /Aluminium Rod drawn to smaller sizes

 Stranding Process

Individual wires are twisted to

form a strand
Typically 1+6+12+18
formation.
For Flexible conductors they
are bunched
Insulation
• Insulation requirements are:
• high dielectric strength
• good mechanical strength
• resistant to acids, oils, temperature extremes
• non hydroscopic, and
• be cost effective

• Insulation breakdown can be caused by:

• (a) Ionisation (over voltage) - voltage breakdown in the insulation through voids.
• (‘Treeing’ - carbon tracking)
• (b) Thermal (over temperature) - increase temperature increase insulation losses
• (c) Transient voltages (lightening or switching surges)
• (d) Mechanical (chipping or cracking)
Insulation Materials –The critical part of the Cable
• Insulation being the critical component of the cable ,the material selection is
based on number of electrical and physical properties.
• Electrical
• Dielectric Strength -Max voltage that it can withstand
• Insulation Resistance –It is ability to resist flow of current through it. Want
current to flow in the wire
• Dielectric constant/Dissipation factor –Reduces loss of signal strength in
communication cables and contributes to Capacitance and power factor.
• Thermal
• Maximum operating Temperature before it starts to melt
• Thermal expansion and resistance
Insulation properties
 Mechanical. Involves toughness and flexibility, consideration of jacketing or armouring, and resistance to
impact, crushing, abrasion, and moisture.
•
 Chemical. Stability of materials on exposure to oils, flame, ozone, sunlight, acids, and alkalis.
•
 Fire resistance (F.R.) In certain critical applications (e.g. emergency lights, smoke exhausts, fire alarm
circuits) fire resistant cables may be specified. These cables must be able to maintain function during a fire
to provide power for a specified period of time, dependent on the standard and application.
•
 Low Smoke and Fume (L.S.F.). This generic terminology generally applies to zero-halogen (does not
contain fluorine, chlorine or bromine) fire retardant compounds. However, the term may also be applied to
low smoke and reduced acid gas emission PVC compounds.
• Toxicity
• Abrasive resistance, Cut through Resistance, Tensile strength and elongation before and after ageing,
specific gravity are some of the other factors considered
Insulation - Thermoplastic
Insulation -Thermoset
 Insulation Process
• Insulation on conductor is applied by extruding the insulation
material over it
• The polymeric material is melted and pushed through a die to
required diameter and cooled

Insulation can be coloured , additives

can be added, multi layers can be
extruded
XLPE Cross Linking
• Normal PE has lower mechanical strength and Operating Temperature
• By Cross lining the molecules these properties can be improved
• This can be achieved by adding Chemicals , or by radiation .
• For Power cables most of LV cables are done by chemical cross linking
and 90C .
• Solar cables are done using radiation as they give higher operating
temperature 125 C
• For MV and HV cables this process is done on a Continuous Catenary
line using a inert atmosphere (Nitrogen) and heat .
CCV Process

X ray
Gauge
Other Processes
• Cabling – Multicores laid up Fillers are used to make the cable circular PP,Paper
• Twinning – Twisting of pairs
• Screening /Shielding – Copper/Al foils or Tapes
• MV screening – Copper wire
• Bedding sheath or inner sheath – To make cable circular after cabling or to provide a bedding for
metallic layer
• Braiding – To make flexible
• Armouring – applied over bedding with GS wires, steel tape
• Outer sheath – Extrusion
 Cabling/Screening

Cabling or Laying up of Multicores Copper Taping for screening

Bedding /Armour/Sheath
• Bedding is by extrusion
• Armour can be Steel wire, Steel Tape, Corrugated steel tape
• For some Flexible cable applications GS wire braid also used as armour.
• For Fibre non metallic cables FRP,GRP ,Kevlar is used as armour
• Outer sheath provides mechanical and chemical protection and this is done by
extrusion
 Sheath Materials
• Sheath materials had to provide mechanical and environmental
protection.
• Water, chemical resistance and weather resistance are some
important requirements
• There are also Termite or insect resistance and Fire resistant
requirements.
• Typical materials used are PVC, LLDPE,HDPE, LSZH , and a
combination of these.
• Nylon is found to provide good termite protection in Australian
conditions.
Various other Processes

Instrumentation cable
Pairing machine
Glass Mica Tape for
providing Fire Resistance

Copper wire Screener

Quality Control at every process
• Wire Drawing – Wire diameter, Elongation /Tensile Strength
• Stranding – Conductor area/weight, resistance
• Insulation – Thickness, diameter, degree of cross linking (hot set test),in line
diameter, gauges, x ray gauges, Tensile, elongation ,colour, concentricity
• Cabling – Diameter, Fillers, circularity, binder tape thickness
• Bedding-Thickness, diameter, Tensile, elongation
• Screen /Armour – Wire size, number of wires, diameter
• Outer jacket – Diameter, radial thickness , tensile, elongation, colour,
marking
• Drums –Quality of drum –nails, sharp edges, protrusions, dimensions
• Packing – End sealing , Drum protection, Lagging.
• Shipping – Loading and unloading procedures , Lifting gear, cranes.
Design Parameters
In Process Checks
Conductor weight

Fully PC controlled

On line Laser Diameter gauges

 Lab Tests

Tensile Tester Heating Ovens

Hot set Test

Samples for Silicon oil testing

to check any imperfections,
protrusions

Profile Projector
Electrical Tests

Partial Discharge Test

HV Test
Fire Tests

Bunched cable
Fire Test

Circuit continuity Fire Test

Fibre cables/Instrumentation Cables/Data Cables
• Each of these cables are specialised
• Even though they use similar processes they are different.
• In fibre cables light is transmitted in Glass fibre and converted back in
to signal/data
• In Data cables signal is transmitted as pulses at high frequencies over
copper wire at low voltage
• In Instrumentation cables power signals are transmitted similar to LV
cables. In order to reduce external noises the Data / Instrumentation
cables use screen/shield using Aluminium/copper foils or braids.
• As the designs and requirements are different these will be covered
separately.