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General considerations when choosing power cable

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T housands of cable types are used throughout the


world. T hey are f ound in applications ranging f rom
f ibre-optic links f or data and telecommunication
purposes through to EHV underground power
transmission at 275 kV or higher.

Certain design principles are common to power


cables, whether they are used in the industrial sector
or by the electricity supply industry. For many cable
types the conductors may be of copper or
aluminium.

T he initial decision made by a purchaser will be based


on price, weight, cable diameter, availability, the
G e ne ral c o ns id e ratio ns whe n c ho o s ing p o we r c ab le
expertise of the jointers available, cable f lexibility and
the risk of thef t.

What to choose?
Once a decision has been made, however, that type of conductor will generally then be retained by that
user, without being inf luenced by the regular changes in relative price which arise f rom the volatile metals
market. For most power cables the f orm of conductor will be solid aluminium, stranded aluminium, solid
copper (f or small wiring sizes) or stranded copper, although the choice may be limited in certain cable
standards.

Solid conductors provide f or easier f itting of connectors and setting of the cores at joints and
terminations. Cables with stranded conductors are easier to install because of their greater f lexibility, and
f or some industrial applications a highly f lexible conductor is necessary.

Where cable route lengths are relatively short, a multi-core cable is generally cheaper and more convenient
to install than single-core cable. Single-core cables are sometimes used in circuits where high load currents
require the use of large conductor sizes, between 500 mm2 and 1200 mm2. In these circumstances, the
parallel connection of two or more multi-core cables would be necessary in order to achieve the required
rating and this presents installation dif f iculties, especially at termination boxes.

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Single-core cable
Single-core cable might also be pref erred where duct sizes are small, where longer cable runs are needed
between joint bays or where jointing and termination requirements dictate their use. It is sometimes
pref erable to use 3-core cable in the main part of the route length, and to use single-core cable to enter
the restricted space of a termination box.

In this case, a transition f rom one cable type to the other is achieved using trif urcating joints which are
positioned several metres f rom the termination box.

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Armoured cables
Armoured cables are available f or applications where the rigours of installation are severe and where a high
degree of external protection against impact during service is required. Steel Wire Armour (SWA) cables are
commonly available although Steel Tape Armour (STA) cables are also available. Generally, SWA is pref erred
because it enables the cable to be drawn into an installation using a pulling stocking which grips the outside
of the oversheath and transf ers all the pulling tension to the SWA. T his cannot normally be done with STA
cables because of the risk of dislocating the armour tapes during the pull.

Glanding arrangements f or SWA are simpler and they allow f ull usage of its excellent earth f ault capability.
In STA, the earth f ault capability is much reduced and the retention of this capability at glands is more
dif f icult. T he protection of f ered against a range of real-lif e impacts is similar f or the two types.

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