ELECTRICAL WIRES

&
CABLES
Electrical wires - Introduction
• Wires & cables are the medium to transmit electricity from one place to
other.
• The difference between wire & cable is that a wire is a non insulated
conductor whereas a cable is an insulated conductor.
• But in day to day life we generally call low rating cables as wires & power
cables as cables.
• An insulated cable has following advantages,
– Prevents leakage of current
– Provides protection against electrical shock.
• The over head conductors are not insulated as they run at quiet a good
height & generally out of reach of the human being.
• The over head conductors are of three types that is A) A Aluminium
conductor B) Aluminium alloy conductor C) Aluminium conductor steel
reinforced.
• Some cables have multi layer insulation & those are generally used as
underground cables. The No. of layers & type of insulating material
depends on the voltage, current & soil conditions to which the cable is
subjected.
Domestic wires

• The wires used for house hold wiring are known

as domestic wires.

• These are insulated wires.

• They are thinner & have less current carrying

capacity compared to wires used in main line.
Construction of Wire

A wire consists of following two constituents,

• Conductor

• Insulation
Conductors

• The material used for domestic wires is mainly copper or

Aluminium.
• Copper is a good conductor, more flexible, long lasting but
is very costly.
• Cost is the main factor wile using copper conductors.
• Because of cost factor Aluminium conductors are widely
preferred to copper in electrical installations.
Insulation
• This is the insulating material coated over aluminium or copper
conductor to prevent leakage current and electrical shock.
• Following are the commonly used insulating materials for
domestic wires.
• Cotton and silk: These are used to cover bare conductors but
have limitations for use as they are not resistant to moisture and
heat. Generally used for inner sheathing as additional insulation.
• Paper: This is also used as inner sheathing over conductors after
soaking in oil. They too have the same drawback of cotton and silk.
Generally used in power cables.
• Rubber: The raw rubber obtained from trees is not heat resistant
& melts at very low temperature. So it is treated by adding sulphur
to it & the process is known as vulcanization. The vulcanized
rubber is used as insulating material.
Insulation

• POLY VINYL CHLORIDE (P. V. C.):PVC is

most commonly used insulating material used for electrical
conductors. It is moisture and heat resistant, flexible,
economical and gives long life.
• PLASTIC: Plastic is also used as insulating material for
electrical conductors. It is moisture and heat resistant,
flexible, economical and gives long life. The wires with
plastic insulations are known as flexible wires.
Types of wires
Domestic wires are generally available in following types:
a) V.I.R. WIRE: This is vulcanized India rubber wire commonly
used for household wiring along with conduit and casing capping
wiring.
b) C.T.S. WIRE: This is cable tyre sheath wire. This has an
additional hard rubber insulation layer over rubber insulation.
This is moisture and heat resistant. Generally used with wooden
batons. This is available in one, two and three cores.
c) P.V.C WIRE: Poly venyl chloride wires are flexible, moisture
& heat resistant and last longing. This can be used conduit,
casing capping and baton wiring. Should not be used for hanging
connections.
Types of wires

d) FLEXIBLE WIRE: As the name indicate they are

very much flexible and have PVC insulation. The
strands of this wires are very thin. These are used on the
basis of number of strands and wire gauge used for
different applications. In construction, they come in pair
of two wires. These are used for extension from wall
socket to appliance. Some times by covering more than
one pair with PVC insulation, these are used as flexible
cables for specific applications.
Cores of wires
• The number of wires inside insulation is known as cores. In other words the
number of current carrying conductors in an insulating layers can be termed
as cores.
• The wires with a single conductor are known as single core wires and those
with two conductors are known as two or twin core conductors and so on.
• If a cable is denominated as 3/18, indicates that it has 3 cores of 18 gauge
wires.
• In a cable generally multi cores are used. This increases flexibility and
current carrying capacity.
• As cables are round in shape, the number of conductors in it are such that the
round shape is not hampered.
• Generally the number of conductors is 3,7,19,37…. & so on.
• The cores may or may not be insulated from each other as per the type of the
cable.
Conductor size
• The size of a conductor is decided on the basis of its diameter.
• Different diameters are allotted with different numbers and are known
as standard wire gauge.
• As the diameter goes on increasing, the wire gauge number on
decreasing.
• The maximum wire gauge number is 40 with wire diameter 0.121mm
and the minimum is 7/0 with wire diameter 12.7mm.
• Same way different wire diameters are given different standard wire
gauge numbers.
• Next slide shows a table of standard wire gauge numbers and their
respective diameters.
BRITISH SWG
GAUGE DIA IN MM GAUGE DIA IN MM
7/0 12.7 18 1.2192
6/0 11.786 19 1.0160
5/0 10.9728 20 0.9144
4/0 10.1600 21 0.8128
3/0 9.4488 22 0.7112
2/0 8.9392 23 0.6096
0 8.2296 24 0.5588
1 7.6200 25 0.5080
2 7.0104 26 0.4572
3 6.4008 27 0.4166
4 5.8928 28 0.3759
5 5.3848 29 0.3454
BRITISH SWG
GAUGE DIA IN MM GAUGE DIA IN MM
6 4.8768 30 0.3150
7 4.4704 31 0.2946
8 4.0640 32 0.2743
9 3.6576 33 0.2540
10 3.2512 34 0.2337
11 2.9464 35 0.2134
12 2.6416 36 0.1930
13 2.3368 37 0.1727
14 2.0320 38 0.1524
15 1.8288 39 0.1321
16 1.6256 40 0.1219
17 1.4224
Selection of wires
• The selection of wires solely depends upon the current the wire has
to carry.
• If a wire has to carry 20 amps current, the current carrying capacity
must be minimum 20 amps.
• But under a fault condition, the wire has to carry the fault current
momentarily. So the selected rating must include the fault current
value.
• The selection of type of insulation depends upon the voltage and
climatic conditions to which it is subjected.
Wire joints
• Generally wires are available in bundles of 100 meters length.
• During wiring many a times it is required to cut and join wires.
• The wire joint must be mechanically strong and electrically good
joint.
• At an improper joint the resistance increases and this causes
excessive heat which will burn the wire.
• Loosely connected joints, there are very chances of arcing which may
cause burning of wires, damage to the appliances or actuation of
protection circuits.
Straight Joint of 7/22 VIR Wires
STRAIGHT JOINT OF 3/20 VIR WIRES
T JOINT OF 7/22 VIR WIRES
TWISTED STRAIGHT JOINT OF 1/18 VIR WIRE
TAIL JOINT OF 1/18 VIR WIRES
Electrical cables
Electric supply has to be distributed from one place to another. In cities
the same is done by laying underground cables. In cross country and in
rural areas, distribution of power supply is done through overhead lines
of bare conductors. An electrical cable is defined as being an insulated
electrical conductor.

It is meant to provide:

A general appreciation of the factors that should be generally

considered when confronted with cabling information; and
A general understanding on what is involved in sizing and installing
electrical cables.
Electrical cables
Any cabling system must meet the following requirements:
Safety:

1. The cable must be able to withstand the voltage to which it will

normally be subjected;
2. A cabling system must be installed in such a manner that it
presents no danger to any person likely to come in contact with the
cables.
3. The cables must not develop a hazard by induction, or through
other means, in other equipment, and
4. The type of insulation must suit the type of installation and the
environment. The temperature rating of the cable must be suited to
ambient conditions. Also if the cable is to be installed where it is
subjected to direct sunlight, resistance to UV becomes a factor. If the
cable is to be installed in an area where it is subjected to flammable
dust or liquid, additional factors must be considered.
Cable construction
Conductors
Copper and aluminum materials for conductors:
• Aluminum conductors of cross-sectional area less than 16 mm2 have
proved difficult to terminate due to its tendency to 'cold flow'.
Therefore below 16 mm2 , aluminum cables are not generally used.

• Copper is a better conductor than aluminum. To achieve the same

current flow as a copper conductor, an aluminum conductor would
need to have 1.6 times the cross sectional area. Because of the
equivalent aluminum conductor requiring a larger cross sectional area
than that of copper the size of the cable is larger. This will require
greater space to terminate an aluminum conductor than a copper
conductor of equivalent current carrying capacity. The termination of
an aluminum conductor requires great care to avoid the formation of
aluminum oxide on the metal surface, which will interfere with the
conductivity of the termination.
Cable construction
 Factors to be considered are:

1. Current required by the load being supplied. This includes the rated
full load and the starting current (if applicable).
2. Possible short circuit withstand currents.
3. Type of protection being provided for the circuit to which the cable
is to be connected.
4. Method of the cable laying: underground direct buried,
underground in conduit, above ground, in cable ladders.

5. The maximum ambient temperatures expected to be encountered by

the cable.
Cable construction

 Aluminum conductors cost less than copper

conductors.
 Aluminum conductors have approximately half the
specific gravity as copper conductors.
 various standard specifications and the Wiring Rules
should be considered during the sizing of the
conductors.
Insulation

 The type of insulation is influenced by a number of

factors such as:
1. The maximum operating voltage of the cable, and
2. The temperature at which the cable is exposed to and withstand.

This influences the quality and type of the insulation, coverings,

sheathings, insulating sleeves on connections and sealing compounds
used on the cable.
Electrical Cables
 The cable cores (the conductors) are encased in an outer sheath to
provide additional protection and insulation. Typical combinations of
outer sheathing and protection are:

1. On 415 volt cables, the outer covering is a PVC sheath and the
insulation described as PVC-PVC.

2. Mechanical protection can be provided by placing steel or

aluminum wire along the length of the cable between a plastic
bedding material wrapped around the insulated cores and the outer
sheath.
3. Higher voltage cables are generally subject to greater electrical
stresses than 415 volt cables. This is due to them normally being
connected to loads of higher fault ratings through circuit breakers
rather than fuses. The circuit breakers do not restrict the fault current
as much as fuses thereby placing the high voltage cable under greater
stress.
Electrical Cables - Construction

Typical construction diagrams of several types of

cables can be viewed at the bottom of this page:

• 11 kV single core cable;

• 3.3 kV single core cable; and

• 3.3 kV multi-core cable.

Electrical Cables - Construction
Electrical Cables - Construction
Electrical Cables - Construction
Installation of Electric Cables
The requirements for the installation of cables under the Wiring
Rules AS/NZS 3000: Precautions that must be considered for the
long-term reliability of the cables:

1. Adequate support of the cables - Insufficient support of the cables

can place strain on the cables causing premature electrical and or
mechanical failure.

2. Selection of cables that are unsuitable for the ambient temperature.

Cables selected should be of the right type and construction to suit
the surrounding temperatures to prevent it to fail under short
circuit conditions/ insulation deterioration.

3. Change of original installed conditions can cause cable

problems. For example, cables originally installed as open wiring and
then covered with heat absorbent material can become overheated if
operating at maximum rating and could cause a fire.
Installation of Electric Cables
4. Bending radiuses should not be less than 15 times the cable
diameter. This is particularly important for larger diameter cables
and cables of medium voltage and above. Tables are available which
recommend radii Vs cable diameter and type.
5. The withstand capability of cable fixing methods needs
consideration. For example, if three single-phase cables are installed
in trefoil, care must be taken to ensure that the clamps used are of
sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the effects of a cable fault.

6. Where cables are installed in a location where they can be

subjected to mechanical damage, they must be given suitable
mechanical protection.
Installation of Electric Cables
• When terminating cables, correct terminating
accessories must be used. If terminating lugs are used
they must be:
• Of the correct material to suit the conductor. This is particularly
important if the conductor is aluminium.

• The lugs must be of the correct size and type for the terminating
procedure used and the cable size.

• The terminating of the lugs must be carried out with tools of the
correct type and size to suit the lug and cable size.

• The terminal to which each cable core is to be fixed must be of a size

suited to the size of the cable.
Installation of Electric Cables
• There should be sufficient space in the terminal box to maintain safe
electrical clearances and allow the terminations to be carried out
without undue bending of the cables.

• Segregation of cables should be maintained to prevent undue heating

and induction. This is most important in respect to the separation of
power and control or communication cables.

• Bunching of cables in cable ladders or if passing through openings

can result in cables becoming overheated and failing.

• Cables should be identified with cable numbers and the cores

identified with wire numbers. This is important in assisting trouble
shooting and reconnection at a later date.
Maintenance
Cable maintenance consists primarily of:

• To Check its insulation resistance between phases and to earth.

• To Check the cable insulation for physical deterioration or damage.

• To Check the terminations for signs of overheating and damage, and

correct tightness of the connections.

• To Check cable installations for change in original installation

conditions.
To ensure that mechanical protection is in place and in good condition
where deemed necessary