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Sizing of power cables for circuit breaker controlled feeders (part 1)

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following three criteria apply for the sizing of cables for circuit breaker controlled feeders: I. Short circuit current withstand capacity T his criteria is applied to determine the minimum cross section area of the cable, so that cable can withstand the short circuit current. Failure to check the conductor size f or short-circuit heating could result in permanent damage to the cable insulation and could also result into f ire. In addition to the thermal stresses, the cable may also be subjected to signif icant mechanical stresses. II. Continuous current carrying capacity T his criteria is applied so that cross section of the cable can carry the required load current continuously at the designed ambient temperature and laying condition. III. Starting and running voltage drops in cable

T his criteria is applied to make sure that the cross sectional area of the cable is suf f icient to keep the voltage drop (due to impedance of cable conductor) within the specif ied limit so that the equipment which is being supplied power through that cable gets at least the minimum required voltage at its power supply input terminal during starting and running condition both.

1. Criteria-1 Short circuit capacity

T he maximum temperature reached under short circuit depends on both the magnitude and duration of the short circuit current. T he quantity I2t represents the energy input by a f ault that acts to heat up the cable conductor. T his can be related to conductor size by the f ormula:

A = Minimum required cross section area in mm2 t = Operating time of disconnecting device in seconds Isc = RMS Short Circuit current Value in Ampere C = Constant equal to 0.0297 f or copper & 0.0125 f or aluminum T 2 = Final temp. C (max. short circuit temperature) T 1 = Initial temp. C (max. cable operating temperature normal conditions) T 0 = 234.5 C f or copper and 228.1 C f or aluminum Equation-1 can be simplif ied to obtain the expression f or minimum conductor size as given below in equation-2:

Now K can be def ined as a Constant whose value depends upon the conductor material, its insulation and boundary conditions of initial and f inal temperature because during short circuit conditions, the temperature of the conductor rises rapidly. T he short circuit capacity is limited by the maximum temperature capability of the insulation. T he value of K hence is as given in Table 2. Boundary conditions of initial and f inal temperature f or dif f erent insulation is as given under in Table 1 below.

Table 1
Insulation material Final temperature T 2 PVC Butyl Rubber XLPE / EPR 160 C 220 C 250 C Initial temperature T 1 70 C 85 C 90 C

Table 2
Material Insulation Copper PVC Butyl Rubber Aluminum XLPE / EPR PVC Butyl Rubber XLPE / EPR

(K) 1 Second Current Rating in Amp/mm 2 (K) 3 Second Current Rating in Amp/mm 2

115 66

134 77

143 83

76 44

89 51

94 54

In the f inal equation-2 we have determined the value of constant K. Now the value of t is to be determined. T he f ault current (ISC) in the above equation varies with time. However, calculating the exact value of the f ault current and sizing the power cable based on that can be complicated. To simplif y the process the cable can be sized based on the interrupting capability of the circuit breakers/f uses that protect them. T his approach assumes that the available f ault current is the maximum capability of the breaker/f use and also accounts f or the cable impedances in reducing the f ault levels. T he f ault clearing time (tc) of the breakers/f uses per ANSI/IEEE C37.010, C37.013, and UL 489 are: For medium voltage system (4.16 kV) breakers, use 5-8 cycles For starters with current limiting f uses, use cycle For low voltage breakers with intermediate/short time delay, use 10 cycles For low voltage breakers with instantaneous trips, use 1 cycle Alternatively let us consider that f eeder is f or any large motor which is being f ed f rom LV 415V or 400V switchgear having a circuit breaker with separate multif unction motor protection relay (For this calculation it is assumed to be SIEMENS made 7SJ61). T he instantaneous protection f eature of this relay will be turned ON as and when any f ault occurs. However, the selected cable shall have the capacity to withstand the maximum f ault current f or a f inite duration (that is f ault clearing time of the circuit breaker). T he minimum f aults withstand duration necessary (f or the instantaneous setting) f or cable is calculated as under: Si. No. Parameters 1 2 3 4 5 Relay sensing/pickup time Tolerance/Delay time Breaker operating time Relay overshoot Saf ety Margin Time in ms 20 10 40 20 30 120 Source/Back up SIEMENS 7SJ61 technical data SIEMENS 7SJ61 technical data L&T make C-Power breaker have typical opening time of 40 ms and closing time of 60ms) GEC handbook Network Protection & automation Guide

T OTAL T IME IN MILI SECONDS

T heref ore the cable selected f or a circuit breaker controlled motor f eeder in 415V or 400V switchgear shall be suitable to withstand the maximum rated f ault current of 50kA f or at least 120msec. However taking allowance of 40 Mili seconds in the opening time of circuit breaker due to aging, f requent number of operation, increase in contact resistance of circuit breaker and f inally to cover the variation due f rom manuf acturer to manuf acturer. Hence the cable selected f or a circuit breaker controlled motor f eeder in 415V or 400V switchgear shall be suitable to withstand the maximum rated f ault current of 50kA f or at least (120+40) 160msec. Many consultants recommend f or use operating time of disconnecting device as 200msec also. Value of t more than 160 seconds is a conservative design.

A = (Isc x t)/K = (50000 x 0.16)/94 = 212.766mm 2 Next standard cable size: = 240 mm2 Although it may appear that selection of minimum cross sectional area of cable conductor as 240 mm2 is only just large enough f or the duty, the actual f ault current in the motor circuit is generally less than the switchboard f ault withstand rating of 50kA, hence the selection of cable of cross sectional area 240 mm2 in practice of f ers suf f icient design margin. T he minimum cross sectional area of cable required f or 415V or 400V switchgear motor f eeder f rom f ault withstand point of view shall be 240mm2. We have considered f or circuit breaker controlled motor f eeder and analyzed the duration of short circuit/f ault withstanding time in seconds f or the same. Exactly the Same holds true f or Circuit breaker controlled (Please see the below f igure) outgoing transf ormer f eeder. However operating time of disconnecting device is slightly dif f erent f or circuit breaker controlled incomer and tie f eeders. Duration of f ault withstanding/operating time of disconnecting device f or incomer and tie f eeder is 1 and 0.5 second respectively. T his is because of additional presence of inverse def inite minimum time delay protection relays along with instantaneous protection. T he inverse def inite time delay protection has time settings greater than 0.5 f or incomer f eeders and about 0.5 f or tie f eeders. For all dif f erent type of f eeders the operating time of disconnecting device is indicated in f igure below: T he f inal cable

T he f inal cable size shall be selected considering the other two criteria that is continuous current carrying capacity & voltage drop criteria which would be continued in part-2 and part3.

Typ ic al value o f t (fault c le aring time ). All the c o nne c ting c ab le s has to b e s iz e d fo r s ho rt c irc uit d uratio n (t) ind ic ate d in the d iag ram ab o ve