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EXPERIMENT # 01
EXPERIMENT NO.01
TYPES OF CABLES
Study of different types of cables and their sizes and selection of cable for a given load
BACKGROUND THEORY:
A power cable is an assembly of one or more electrical conductors, usually held together
with an overall sheath. The assembly is used for transmission of electrical power. Electrical
power distributed either by overhead system or by underground cables. The underground
cables has several advantages such as
Less liable to damage through storm or lighting
Low maintenance cost
Less chances of fault
Smaller voltage drop and better general appearances
However their major drawback is that they have greater installation cost and introduce
insulation problem at high voltages as compared with the equivalent overhead system. For
this reason underground cables are employed where it is impracticable to use overhead lines.
Such location may be quickly populated areas where municipal authorities prohibit overhead
lines for reasons of safety ,or around plants and substations or where maintenance condition
do not permit to use overhead lines.
CONDUCTOR:
Usually stranded Copper (Cu) or Aluminium (Al) conductors are used in a power cable.
Copper is denser and heavier, but more conductive than Aluminium. Electrically equivalent
Aluminium conductors have a cross-sectional area approximately 1.6 times larger than
copper, but are half the weight (which may save on material cost).
INSULATION:
Each conductor is provided with suitable thickness of insulation, the thickness of the layer
depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the cable. The commonly used material for
the insulation are impregnated paper, varnish cambric or rubber mineral compound.
CONDUCTORS:
A cable may have one or more than one core depending upon the type of service for which it
is intended. For instance the 3-conductor cable shown in figure 1-1 is used for 3-phase
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, WAH ENGINEERING COLLEGE, WAH CANTT
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EXPERIMENT # 01
service. The conductor is made up of tinned copper or aluminium and is usually stranded in
order to provide flexibility to the cable.
INSULATION:
Each conductor is provided with suitable thickness of insulation, the thickness of the layer
depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the cable. The commonly used material for
the insulation are impregnated paper, varnish cambric or rubber mineral compound.
SHEATH:
In order to protect the cable from moisture, gases or other damaging liquids (acids or alkalies)
in the soil and atmosphere, a metallic sheath of lead or aluminium is provided over the
insulation.
ARMOURING:
Armouring is provided which consists of one or two layers of galvanized steel wire or steel
tape. Its purposes is to protect the cable from mechanical injury while lying it and during the
course of handling. Armouring may not be done in the case of some cables.
PVC
PE
XLPE
Advantages
o Cheap
o Durable
o Widely available
Disadvantages
o
o
o
o
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Paper /
Oil
o Low-Medium dielectric
losses
o Not harmed by DC testing
o Known history of reliability
CLASSIFICATION
EXPERIMENT # 01
o
o
o
o
o
High weight
High cost
Requires hydraulic pressure
Difficult to repair
Degrades with moisture
OF CABLES:
Cables for services may be classified into two ways according to (I) the type of insulating
material (II) the voltage for which they are manufactured. However later methods of
classification is generally preffered , according to which cables can be divided into following
groups:
Low-Tension (L.T.) Cables------upto 1000V
High-Tension (H.T.) Cables------upto 11,000V
Super-Tension (S.T.) Cables------from 22kV upto 66kV
Extra High-Tension (E.H.T.) Cables------from 33kV to 66kV
Extra Super Voltage Cables------beyond 132kV
A cable may have one or more core depending upon type of service for which it is intended.
It may be:
Single Core Cable
Three Core Cable
1
3 core Cable
2
4 core Cable
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