CABLE AND LAYING

-B. Prasad
Chartered Engineer
amieclub@gmail.com

Cable cut view

TYPE OF CABLE BASED ON

CONSTRUCTION

Coaxial cable

Mineral-insulated copper-clad cable

Twinax cable

Flexible cables

Non-metallic sheathed cable (or nonmetallic building wire,

NM, NM-B)[1]

Metallic sheathed cable (or armored cable, AC, or BX)[1]

Multicore cable (consist of more than one wire and is

covered by cable jacket)

Shielded cable

Single cable (from time to time this name is used for wire)

Twisted pair

Twisting cable

Cable for electrical

PVC cable upto 3.3KV

XLPE cable upto 33KV
LT and HT ABC cable
Instrumentation cable
Concentric core cable
Flexible cable & wire
FR/FRLS/LSOH cable
Fire survival cable
Under water cable

Elastomer

Trailing cable
Locomotive cables
Ship wiring cable
Wind mill cable/solar cable
Welding cable
Mining cable
LFH cable and wire
Fire survival cable
EPR, Silicon, EVA cables

Telecom

PIJF cable
5-2400 pair
Indoor telephone cable
QUAD/PCM cable
Optical fibre cable
Armoured/duct/aerial
Torpedo cable
TOW cable
Composite cable

Fiber-Optic Cable
Advantages:
It operate at high speeds
It has a large carrying capacity
The signals can be transmitted further without being
strengthened.
It is immune to interference caused by electromagnetic
noise such as radios, motors, or other nearby cables.
It is cheaper to maintain.
You do not have to worry about grounding1 the cable.
Disadvantages:
The cable is more expensive than copper cables.
It is difficult to install.

Construction of cable

Construction of XLPE

Construction of EHV XLPE single core

XLPE has replaced conventional cable

Insulating material

PVC (Polyvinyl
Chloride)
PE (Polyethylene)
XLPE (Cross-Linked
Polyethylene)
EPR (Ethylene
Propylene Rubber)
LSF (Low smoke and
fume)
Polytetrafluoroethylene
(PTFE)

Thermoplastic
Rubber (TPR)
Neoprene
(Polychloroprene)
Styrene Butadiene
Rubber (SBR)
Silicone
Rubber
Chlorosulfonated
Polyethylene (CSPE)

Junction bus
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.

Electrical Junction Boxes

Wiring Junction Boxes
Electric Junction Boxes
Plastic Junction Boxes
Cable Junction Boxes
Plastic Electrical Junction
Boxes
Weather proof junction boxes
Flameproof junction boxes

Cable lug

Material:
copper &
aluminium
Conductivit
y :
Copper
99.7%
iacs
Aluminium
61.2%
iacs (1050).

Cable lug ---contd

Cable manufacturers

Name of manufacturer

Brand

1.

N.C cable industries

National

2.

Evershine Electric Works

ECKO

3.

Electric Cable Industries

ECI

4.

Paragon Cable Company

paragon

5.

Surya Power Limited

ALCAB

6.

National insulated cable co.

NICCO

7.

Indian cable company

INCAB

8.

Aluminium industries limited

ALIND

R.K Electrical

KALINGA

10.

Polycab Industries

POLYCAB

11.

Plaza Cable

PLAZA

12.

Empire Cable Industries

EMPIRE

13.

Hovels cable

HAVELL

14.

Cable corporation of India

CCI

15.

Kei Industries Limited

KEI

9.

Historical progress of cable technology

Historical voltage development in country

Indian and international

standard

Reduction in insulation thickness

Metallic sheath

Lead sheath construction

Electrical Resistivity
Material

Copper

Resistivity (cm@20 deg.C)

1.724

Aluminium
2.826
Steel

13.8

Lead

21.4

Density of material

Importance of cable installation

A poor installation creates unreliable service

other agency my damage the cable.
Telephone cable, communication cable, water
line, gas pipe line may get affected

Location of cabling

Laying direct in ground

In pipes,
Closed or Open ducts,

Cable trays and

On surface of wall

Step of cable installation

Route survey
Permission
Trial pits
Pipe laying
Material shifting, drum placement
Trenching cable laying
Bedding and tiling
Backfilling
Cable installation record
tagging

Route survey

Type of surface like footpath, PCC, RCC, soil

type
Hazardous like tree roots, pillars, sever line,
drain, bus stop, water pipe, gas pipe
Cable root passing from private property
Cable root away from parallel running gas,
water pipe, communication cable etc
Road crossing, over bridge, drain crossing

Trial pit

Along the
proposed cable
root.
Trial pit at the
interval of 15-20
meter

Permission
Before starting the excavation permission to be
taken
Railways
Traffic police and defence
Forrest department
Communication and gas authority
Other service department if any

Digging

To display Men
at work
Don't damage
the other cable
Least use of
pickaxe and
chisel
Correct Depth
depending
upon voltage
grade

Depth of cable
LT cable (1.1KV)
0.75 m
HT cable (11KV)
0.90 m
HT cable (33KV)
1.20 m
Sand - covered with 150 mm
Width of the trench - 350 mm minimum
Loop approximate -3 meter each side

Minimum bending radius

Voltage
rating

PILC cable

PVC & XLPE cable

KV

Single core Multicore

Single core Multicore

Upto 1.1

20D

15D

15D

12D

1.1 to 11

20D

15D

15D

15D

Above 11

25D

20D

20D

15D

Pipe laying
if cable crossing the road, gate, railway track,
water line
Type of pipe: GI, cemented, HDPE pipe
Ends to be sealed to avoid choking, clogging.
Standard depth of pipe: 1m across the road,
1.8 m across railway track.
Standard size of pipe: 1.5 times of cable
Spare pipe: for future expansion , Ends to be
sealed

Bedding

Before and after cable laying and jointing work

is over a bedding of sieved earth or river bed
sand of 100 mm depth both below and above
the cable.
Keep distance between two cable in single
trench.
Avoid zig-zag

Cable under bed/on support

CABLE LAYING IN TRAY

Cable laying on rack

Tagging on cable

Use barricading tape

Cable handling

Cable handling tools

Jack
Roller
Drum
trailer
Crimping
tool

Cable installation record

Type of cable and its size
Voltage level
Cable no, drum no.
Date
Rout map, location of cable joint
Installation test record like IR value,
HV test if any

Testing of cable installation

Insulation resistance test
High voltage test
Continuity test
Value
IR value : minimum 1M-ohm/KV
HV test value : minimum 1KV/KV +1
for 5 minutes

Cable testing
Type test
Routine test
Pre-commissioning test
A) for new cable after installation
B) After repairing the breakdown

Insulation resistance test

S
no.

Before jointing and after

Voltage
Test voltage
Recorded
jointing
New installation
Old installation
IR value

upto1.1KV

500 V dc for 1 min.

1.0KV dc for 1 min.

50M

11KV

1.0KV dc for 1 min.

2.5KV dc for 1 min

200M

33KV

2.5KV dc for 1 min.

5.0 KV dc for 1 min.

500M

66KV

5.0 KV dc for 1 min.

5.0 KV dc for 1 min.

500M

High voltage test value

Sr.

Voltage level
of the cable
under test

Test voltage

Observed leakage
current (maximum)

New
installation

Old
installation

New
installation

Old
installation

upto1.1KV

3KV

660V

0.5mA

2mA

11KV

18KV

6.5KV

0.5mA

2mA

33KV

60KV

19.5KV

0.5mA

2mA

66KV

115KV

38KV

0.5mA

2mA

Cable testing at manufacturers works

a) Tensile Test (For Aluminium Conductor)

b) Wrapping Test (For Aluminium Conductor)
c) Annealing Test (For Copper Conductor)
d) Conductor Resistance Test
e) Test for thickness of Insulation & Sheath
f) High Voltage Test
g) Insulation Resistance Test
h) Tensile Strength & Elongation at break test
for
Insulation and Sheath
I) Hot Set Test - (for XLPE Insulation only)
j) Partial Discharge test (for H.T. Screened cable)

Cable short circuit

ISC = kA / t
K= Constant
Al -- 0.094 (XLPE)
Cu -- 0.14382 (XLPE)
A - Cross Section Area (mm 2)
T- Time in seconds

Earthing

Metal screen
(if any) and
armour of
cable to be
earthed.
All metal
pipes in which
cables have
been installed
need to be
earthed.

Corrosion Types Encountered With Power Cables

Anodic Corrosion
(Stray DC Currents)
Cathodic Corrosion
Galvanic Corrosion
Chemical Corrosion
AC Corrosion
Local Cell Corrosion
Other Forms of
Corrosion

Voltage drop calculation

For DC and single phase AC two wire

systems
Voltage drop = (2xIxLxRxt)/1000
Where I = current in ampere
L = length of cable in meter (one conductor
only)
R = resistance of one conductor from table
t = temperature correction factor

Voltage drop ----contd

For three phase AC systems
Voltage drop = (1.732xIxLxRxt)/1000
Note: formula is applied when power factor is
unity. Power factor to be considered in load and
reactance to be considered.
Note:
formula is applied when power factor is unity.
Power factor to be considered in load and
reactance to be considered.

Resistance

Voltage drop value in%

Failure in cable

Internal and surface discharge may result failure of

the insulation.
Proper drying, due to low /bad quality of fluid.
Ingress of moisture and degradation of insulation.
Crack in the sheath, due to abnormal temperature,
electrical stress, mechanical tension.
Voids due to partial discharge.
Overheating, deformation, ionization etc.
NB: permitted size of voids in cable to be 22-25
micron.

Root marker

Aluminium
Cast Iron
Material with
Standard or
Custom design
Fibreglass
Reinforced
Plastic [FRP]

Cable tape

Size:
Length: 5Y,
5m, 10Y, 10m,
20Y, 20m.
Width: 12mm,
15mm. 17mm,
18mm, 19mm,
25mm, 48mm,
50mm.

Cable gland

Type of Cable
Gland Size
Entry
Type/Thread
Specification of
application
Ingress
Protection
required.
Material

Parts of gland

Type of Gland

A1 and A2 Type Cable

Gland
BW Type Cable Gland
CW Type Cable Gland
Single Compression
Cable Gland
Double Compression
Cable Gland
Flameproof Cable
Glands

E1W Type Cable Gland

Flange Type Cable Gland
PG Type Cable Gland
Marine Type Cable Gland
Metric Threaded Cable
Gland
Weather Proof Cable
Glands

Cable ties material

Nylon 66
Nylon 66 UV Stabilized
Nylon 66 Heat Stabilized
Polypropylene
Tefzel

DIN rail and terminal block

De-rating factor

Thermal insulation factors

Ambient temperature
Group factor

Depth of laying
Thermal resistivity

Depth of laying
(cm)
Cable size < 25
sqmm
Cable size < 300
sqmm

75

90

105

120

150

180

0.99

0.98

0.97

0.96

0.95

0.98

0.97

0.96

0.94

0.93

Cable size 300

sqmm

0.97

0.96

0.95

0.92

0.91

Busbar
Material :
Aluminium
Copper
Technical specification
Rating Current:3200Amp.
System:415Vac, TPN,
50Hz.
Fault Level:50KA. For 1
Sec.
Operation Temp:40 C
rise over 45 C ambient

Cable entry
Indoor application:Top and bottom both
Outdoor application:
Only bottom

Conduit Fittings &

Accessories

Construction:
Galvanized steel,
helically wound,
Flexible Conduit
System.
Temp: -50 C to +200 C
Features: Highly
Flexible and
mechanical strength
IP: IP4

ACT FAST AND INITIATE

FIRST

.
----

THANK
YOU