POWER CABLES

POWER CABLES
Commonly used for distribution
But can be used for transmission.
The basic components of the cable
1. Conductor
2. Insulation
3. Outer sheath

Medium Voltage Cables

 Large amount of power to be transmitted requires large conductors i.e. 600, 800, 1000, 1200,
1600, mm2
 High transmission voltage i.e. 66,110. kV requires thicker insulation.
 Heavy and large cable, thus High cost cables
 Accordingly single core cables are normally used for medium voltage distribution and
transmission
Why using cables for power transmission?
 Inside urban areas (interconnecting)
 Across rough areas where TL can not be used
 In-coming & out-going of substations

Cable Classifications
 Rated voltage, 66,132, 220, 220, 400, 500 kV
 Conductor Shape :- compacted circular, sector type ;
• Dielectric : PVC “polyvinyl chloride” ;
• XLPE Cross-Linked polyethylene;
• Gas or Oil field;
 Use, Underground, marine, aerial.
 No of cores; single, 3, 4, 5 cores

Cable Construction
• Conductor , Copper OR Aluminum

• Insulation, PVC OR XLPE OR Gas OR Rubber OR Mineral

• Screening

• Sheathing
  Conductor
 Copper & Aluminum
 Compact round conductors, composed of
several layers of concentric spiral-wound
wires. (a) (b)
 Segmental conductors (Milliken), composed
of several segments-shaped conductors
assembled together to form cylindrical core.
(c)(d)
Function of the Conductor
 To carry current:-
 under normal operating conditions
 Under overload operation conditions.
 Under short-circuit operating conditions.
 To withstand pulling stresses during cable lying.
a) Standard concentric, b) Compact round,
c) Compact sector, d) Segmental.

 Conductor screen and Insulation Screen

Conductor screen consist of semi-conducting tape having a smooth even surface on intimate
contract with the cable insulation and the conductor, but easily strippable from the conductor
and insulation.
Function:- to ensure close contact with the insulation (for the conductor) with the insulation
and the screen (for the insulation) to smooth electric field at the conductor and at the
insulation.
  Insulation

Each conductor is provided with a suitable thickness of insulation, the thickness of layer
depending upon the voltage to be withstood by the cable. In general, the insulating material
used in cables are polymer material (cambric) such as PVC and XLPE, they have the following
properties:
 High insulation resistance to avoid leakage current.
 High dielectric strength to avoid electrical breakdown of the cable.
 High mechanical strength to withstand the mechanical handing of cables.
 Non-inflammable.
 Low cost so as to make the underground system a viable proposition.
 Unaffected by acids and alkalis to avoid any chemical action.

 Metallic sheath
It is lead alloy, or copper wire screen, or welded aluminum screen over the insulation
sheath.
Function:
 An electric screen (no electric field outside the cable).
 Radial waterproofing (to avoid contact between the insulation and water).
 Active conductors for the capacitive and zero-sequence short-circuit current.
 A contribution to mechanical protection.

 Protective covering

All cables whether armored or not are furnished with anti-corrosion protective covering. it
became standard practice to apply an extruded plastic sheath of either P.V.C. or polythene.
A coating of graphite is applied to the outer surface of anti-corrosion coverings on power
cables. Its purpose is to form the earth electrode for high voltage DC tests that insures the
integrity of the covering.

Function of Protective Covering

 To insulate the metallic screen from the surrounding medium and contribute to
mechanical protection.
 To reduce the contribution of cables to fire propagation

Cable parameters & Losses

Cable Capacitance

A single-core cable can be considered to be equivalent to

two long coaxial cylinders. The conductor (or core) of the
cable is the inner cylinder while the outer cylinder is
represented by lead sheath which is at earth potential.
Consider a single core cable with conductor diameter ‘d’
and inner sheath diameter ‘D’ figure below. Let the
charge per meter axial length of the cable is ‘Q’ coulombs and ε is the permittivity of the
insulation material between the conductor and lead sheath
ε = εo . εr , where εr is the relative permittivity of the insulation.
Consider a cylinder of radius x meter and axial length 1 meter.
According to gauss theorem electric flux passing through
this cylinder is Q coulombs. The surface area is 2πx * 1 = 2πx m2.
Electric flux density at any point P on the considered cylinder is:

Electric intensity at point P is:

The work done in moving a positive charge from point P through a distance dx in the direction
of electric field is Exdx.

Hence, the work done in moving a unit positive charge from conductor to sheath,
which is the potential difference V between conductor and sheath, is given by:

:Capacitance of cable is

, , then

If the cable has length of L meter then capacitance of the cable is:

Belted Type Cable

CAPACITANCE OF 3-CORE CABLES

The capacitance of a cable system is much more

important
than that of overhead transmission line conductors
because in cables:
 Conductors are nearer to each other and to
metallic sheath Separated by dielectric of permittivity much greater than that of air. Since
potential difference exists between pairs of conductors and between each conductor and the
sheath, electrostatic fields are set up in the cable a shown in figure above. These electrostatic
fields give rise to core-core capacitances Cc and Ce. The three Cc are delta connected whereas
the three Ce are star connected the sheath forming the star point.
The lay of belted cable makes it reasonable to assume equality of each a belted cable makes it
reasonable to assume equality of each CC and each Ce. The three delta connected capacitance
CC, can be converted into equivalent star connected capacitance as shown in figure.
It can be easily shown that equivalent star-capacitance
Ceq is equal to three times the delta-capacitance CC
i.e. Ceq = 3CC

INSULATION RESISTANCE OF SINGLE-

CORE CABLE:
• Consider a single-core cable of
conductor radius r and internal
sheath radius R as shown in
the figure.
• The resistance of a thin shell
between radii (x), and (x + dx)
for a cable length of L meter is:

d x
dR 
• Where: 2xL
• ρ = resistively or specific
resistance of dielectric.
• Therefore

R d x  R
R  log
r 2xL 2L r

Calculation of Dielectric Loss (Wd)

• The dielectric losses of a.c. cables are proportional to capacitance, the frequency, the
phase voltage, and loss factor. The loss component of the loss factor (or the power
factor) is made up of the following.
• Leakage current flowing through the dielectric, which is independent of frequency.
• Dielectric hysterics, which is caused by the interaction of alternating field with the
molecules of the constitutions of the insulation and is only present with a.c. voltage
application. This is by far the largest effect.
• Ionization i.e. partial discharge in the dielectric.
• The power factor of the cable insulation is dependent on frequency, temperature and
applied voltage. It is of a very low order for low and medium voltage cables but this
value rises rapidly with higher voltages.
• The dielectric loss per unit length in each phase is given by:

• Wd = ω c Uo2 tanδ (W/m)

 Calculation of Dielectric Loss (Wd)
• φ less than 90 byδ

• Cosφ is the power factor of

Ir= ωc Uo
the cable
I
• δ is very small⇒ sinδ =δ
Uo C R
• cos φ =cos ( 90- δ ) = sinδ

• = Dielectric loss
Uo Ia =Uo Icos φ U =o2 Iδ δ
• Charging current I = Uo2ωc
φ
• Dielectric loss = Uo2 ωcδ
Ia = Uo/R
 = Wdω c Uo2 tanδ )W/m(

Calculation of Dielectric Loss (Wd)

W d = ω c Uo2 tanδ (W/m)
)v( ‫ = جهد الطور بالفولت‬Uo •
‫ وحدة الطول‬/‫ = السعة بالفاراد‬C •
‫ هرتز‬50 ‫ للتردد‬314 = ω •
‫ = القطر الخارجي للعازل األولي بإعتبار درع العازل األولي البالستيكي بالمم‬Di •
‫ قطر الموصل بإعتبار درع الموصل البالستيكي بالمم‬D =c •
PVC ‫ لكوابل‬8 = ‫ = الموصلية النسبية للعازل‬ε •
‫ ك فولت‬30 ‫ أعلى من‬3 ، ‫ ك فولت‬30 ‫ أقل من‬XLPE ‫ لكوابل‬2.5 = •
‫ = يسمى بمعامل الفقد‬Tanδ •
Tanδ =0. 1for PVC cables •
=0. 001 > for XLPE cables 30Kv •
=0. 004 < for XLPE cables 30Kv •


C  10 9 Farad / meter
Di
18 Ln( )
dc
AMPACITY
• AMPACITY is a term given by Del Mar in 1951 to the current-carrying capacity of a
cable.
Ampacity in underground cable system is determined by the capacity of the installation to
extract heat from the cable and dissipate it in the surrounding soil and atmosphere.
• The maximum operating temperature of a cable is a function of the damage that the
insulation can suffer as a consequence of high operating temperatures. The insulation
withstands different temperatures as function of the duration of the current circulating in
the conductors. There are three standardized ampacity ratings:
steady state, transient (or emergency) and short-circuit.
• The temperature rise in the cable is due to the heat generated:
in the conductors (I2R),
in the insulation (W),
in the sheath, and in the armour (λI2R) ( if there is).
with allowance being made by multiplying each of these by the thermal resistance of the
layers through which the heat flows (T).

FACTORS AFFECTING CABLE AMPACITY

There are many factors which will limit the amount of current that can be passed through a wire.
The major determining factors are:
• 1. Conductor Size:
The larger the cross-sectional area, the greater the current carrying capacity.
The amount of heat generated should never exceed the maximum temperature rating of the
insulation.
• 2. Ambient Temperature:
The higher the ambient temperature, the less heat required to reach the maximum temperature
rating of the insulation.

• 3. Conductor Number:
Heat dissipation is less as the number of individually insulated conductors, bundled together,
are increased.
• 4. Installation Conditions:
Restricting the heat dissipation by installing the conductors in conduit, duct, trays or
raceways lessens the current carrying capacity. This restriction can be alleviated somewhat by
using proper ventilation methods, forced air cooling, etc.

• Taking into account all the variables involved, no simple chart of current ratings can be
developed and used as the final word when designing a system where amperage ratings
can become critical.
The chart shows the current required to raise the temperatures of single insulated conductor in
free air (30°C ambient) to the limits of various insulation types.