CABLE SIZE & VOLTAGE DROP CALCULATION
Calculate Voltage Drop and Size of Cable for Below given data.
Electrical Details: Electrical Load of 120KW,
Distance between Source and Load is 170 Meter,
System Voltage 415V Three Phase,
Power Factor is 0.8,
Permissible Voltage drop is 5%,
Demand Factor is 1,
Cable Laying Detail: Cable is directed buried in Ground in trench at the depth of 1 meter.
Ground Temperature is approximate 35 Deg.
No of Cable per Trench is 1.
No of Run of Cable is 1 Run.
Soil Details: Thermal Resistivity of Soil is not known.
Nature of Soil is Very Wet Soil.
Let’s Begin Calculation:
Consumed Load= Total Load x Demand Factor
Consumed Load in KW= 120 x 1 =120KW
Consumed Load in KVA= KW / P.F.
Consumed Load in KVA =120/0.8=150KVA
Full Load Current = (KVAx1000) / (1.732xVoltage)
Full Load Current= (150×1000) / (1.732×415) = 218Amp.
Calculating Correction Factor of Cable from Below data.
Temperature Correction Factor (K1) When Cable is in Air is.
Ground Temperature Correction Factor (K2):
Thermal Resistance Correction Factor (K4) for Soil (When Thermal Resistance of Soil is known):
Soil Correction Factor(K4) of Soil (When Thermal Resistance of Soil is not known):
Cable Depth Correction Factor (K5):
Cable Distance correction Factor (K6):
Cable Grouping Factor (No of Tray Factor) (K7):
According to above Detail correction Factors are
Ground Temperature Correction Factor (K2) =0.89
Soil Correction Factor (K4) =1.21
Cable Depth Correction Factor (K5) =1.0
Cable Distance correction Factor (K6) =1.0
Total De rating Factor= k1x k2 x k3 x K4 x K5 x K6 x K7
Total De rating Factor= 1.07
Selection of Cable:
For selection of Exact Cable following Conditions should be satisfied.
(1) Cable De rating Amp should be higher than Full Load Current of Load.
(2) Cable Voltage Drop should be less than Defined Voltage drop.
(3) No of Run of Cable >= (Full Load current / Cable De rating Current).
(4) Cable Short Circuit Capacity should be higher than System S.C Capacity at that Point.
Selection of Cable Case (1):
Let’s Select 3.5Core 95 Sq.mm cable for Single run.
Current Capacity of 95 Sq.mm cable is 200 Amp, Resistance=0.411 Ω / Km and
Reactance = 0.074 mho / Km
Total De rating Current of 95 Sq.mm Cable = 200×1.07 = 214 Amp.
Voltage Drop of Cable= (1.732x Current x (R cos Ǿ + J sin Ǿ) x Cable Lengthx100) / (Line Voltage
x No of Runx1000)
Voltage Drop of Cable= (1.732x218 x (0.411×0.8 + 0.074×0.6) x 170x100) / (415x1x1000) = 5.77%
Voltage Drop of Cable = 5.77%
Here Voltage drop for 95 Sq.mm Cable (5.77%) is higher than Define Voltage drop (5%)
so either select higher size of cable or increase No. of Cable Runs.
If we Select 2 Run of Cables (95 sq. mm) than Voltage drop is 2.88% which is within limit (5%) but to use
2 No’s. of cable of 95 Sq.mm Cable is not economical so It is necessary to use next higher size of Cable.
Selection of Cable Case (2):
Let’s Select 3.5 Core 120 Sq.mm cable for Single run, S.C Capacity = 8.2KA.
Current Capacity of 120 Sq.mm cable is 225 Amp, Resistance = 0.325 Ω / Km and
Reactance = 0.072 mho / Km
Total De rating Current of 120 Sq.mm Cable= 225 × 1.07 =240.75 Amp.
Voltage Drop of Cable= (1.732x218x(0.325 × 0.8 + 0.072 × 0.6) x 170 x 100) / (415x1 x 1000) = 4.68%
Voltage Drop of Cable = 4.68%
To decide 120 Sq.mm Cable, Cable selection condition should be checked.
(1) Cable De rating Amp (240 Amp) is higher than Full Load Current of Load (218 Amp) = O.K
(2) Cable Voltage Drop (4.68%) is less than Defined Voltage drop (5%) =O.K
(3) No of Run of Cable (1) >= (218A / 240A =0.908) =O.K
(4) Cable S.C Capacity (11.28KA) is higher than System S.C Capacity at that Point (8.93KA) = O.K
120 Sq.mm Cable satisfied all three conditions, so it is advisable to use 3.5 Core 120
Sq.mm cable
