POWER SYSTEM (EL308)

ELECTRICAL DEPARTMENT
School of Engineering, RK University

Subject Faculty:
Prof. Punit Sompura

03/04/24 1
03/04/24 2
 Chapter 5
Underground cable
 Construction of cables,
 Insulating materials for cables,
 Classification of cables,
 Cables for 3-Phase service,
 Insulation resistance of a single-core cable,
 Capacitance of a single-core cable,
 Dielectric stress in a single-core cable,
 Most Economical conductor size in a cable,
 Grading of cables,
 Capacitance grading, Intersheath grading,
 Capacitance of 3-core cables,
 Types of cable faults.

03/04/24 3
 Power System

Section-I

 Introduction:
 Electric power can be transmitted or distributed either by overhead
system or by underground cables.
 The underground cables have several advantages such as less liable
to damage through storms or lightning, low maintenance cost, less
chances of faults, smaller voltage drop and better general appearance.
 However the major drawback is that they have greater installation
cost and introduce insulation problems at higher voltages compared
with the equivalent overhead system.
 For these reason underground cables are employed where it is
impracticable to use overhead lines.

03/04/24 4
 Such location may be thickly populated areas where municipal
authorities prohibit overhead lines for reason of safety, or
around plants and substations or where maintenance condition
do not permit the use of overhead construction.

03/04/24 5
 Underground cables:
 An underground cable essentially consists of one or more
conductors covered with suitable insulation and
surrounded by a protecting cover.
 The types of cable used depends upon the working voltage
and service requirements. In general a cable must fulfil the
following necessary requirements:-
1. The conductor used in cables should be tinned stranded
copper or aluminium of high conductivity. Stranding is
done so that conductor may become flexible and carry
more current.

03/04/24 6
2. The conductor size should be such that the cable carries the
desired load current without overheating and causes voltage
drop within permissible limit.
3. The cable must have proper thickness of insulation in order
to give high degree of safety and reliability at the voltage for
which it is desired.
4. The cable must be provided with suitable mechanical
protection so that it may be withstand the rough use in laying
it.
5. The material used in manufacturer of cable should be such
that there is complete chemical and physical stability
throughout.
03/04/24 7
 Construction of cables:

03/04/24 8
03/04/24 9
(1) Core or conductors:-
 A cable may have one or more than one core (conductor)
depending upon the types of service for which it is intended.
The conductor are made of tinned copper or aluminum and are
usually stranded in order to provide flexibility to cable.

03/04/24 10
(2) Insulators:-
Each core or conductor provided with suitable thickness of
insulation, the thickness of layer depending upon the voltage to
be withstood by the cable.
The commonly used material for insulation are impregnated
paper, varnished cable, or rubber mineral compound.

03/04/24 11
(3) Metallic Sheath:- In order to protect the cable from
moisture, gases or other damaging liquids (acid or alkaline) in the
soil and atmosphere, a metallic sheath of lead or aluminum is
provided over the insulation.

(4) Bedding:- over the metallic sheath is applied a layer of

bedding which consists of a fibrous material like jute or hessian
tape.
The purpose of bedding is to protect the metallic sheath against
corrosion and from mechanical injury due to armoring.

03/04/24 12
(5)Armouring:-
Over the bedding, armouring is provided which consists of one
or two layers of galvanized steel wire or steel tape.
Its purpose is to protect the cable from mechanical injury while
laying it and during the course of handling.

(6) Serving:- in order to protect armouring from atmospheric

conditions, a layer of fibrous material like jute similar to bedding
is provided over the armouring , this is known as serving

03/04/24 13
 Insulating materials
for cable
 In general the insulating material used in underground cable
should have following properties:-
1. High insulation resistance to avoid leakage current.
2. High dielectric strength to avoid electrical breakdown of the cable.
3. High mechanical strength to withstand the mechanical handling of
cable
4. Non hygroscopic i.e. it should not absorb moisture from air or soil.
5. Non inflammable
6. Low cost so as to make UG system a viable proposition
7. Unaffected by acids and alkalines to avoid chemical action.

03/04/24 14
 Materials:-
1. Rubber:-
 It may be obtained from milky sap of tropical trees or it may
be produced from oil products.
 It has relative permittivity varying between 2 to 3 and
dielectric strength is about 30kV/mm and resistivity of
insulation is 10^(17) ohm-cm.
 It has major drawback :- readily absorb moisture, maximum
safe temperature is low (about 38 deg. C), soft and liable to
damage due to rough handling and ages when exposed to light,
so pure rubber can not be used as an insulating material.

03/04/24 15
(2)Vulcanized India Rubber (VIR):-
It is prepared by mixing pure rubber with mineral material such as
zinc oxide, red leads etc. and 3 to 5% of sulphur. The compound so
formed is rolled into thin sheets and cut into strips. The rubber
compound is then applied to the conductor and is heated to temperature
of about 150 deg.C
The whole process is called vulcanization and the product obtained is
called VIR.
It has greater mechanical strength, durability and wear resistant
properties than pure rubber.
Its main drawback is that sulphur reacts very quickly with copper .
It is used for low and moderate voltage cables.

03/04/24 16
(3) Impregnated paper:-
It consists of chemically pulped paper made from wood
chippings and impregnated with some compound such as
paraffinic or naphthenic materials.
Advantages:- low cost, low capacitance, high dielectric
strength, high insulation resistance,
Disadvantages:- paper is hygroscopic and even if it is
impregnated with suitable compound, it absorb moisture and
lower the insulation resistance of cable.

03/04/24 17
(4) Varnished cambric:-
It is a cotton cloth impregnated and coated with varnish.
This type of insulation is also known as empire tape.
The cambric is lapped on the conductor in the form of a
tape and its surface are coated with petroleum jelly
compound to allow for sliding of one turn over another as the
cable is bent.
Its dielectric strength is about 4kV/mm and permittivity is
2.5 to 3.8

03/04/24 18
(5) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-
The insulating material is a synthetic compound. It is obtained
from the polymerization of acetylene and is in the form of white
powder, then it is compounded with plasticizers which are liquid
with high boiling point.
It has high insulation resistance, good dielectric strength, and
mechanical toughness over a wide range of temperature.
It is inert to oxygen and almost inert to many alkalines and acids.
This type of insulation is preferred over VIR in extreme
environment conditions,
It is used for low and medium domestic lights and power
installation.

03/04/24 19
 Classification of cables:-
 Cables for underground service may be classified in two
ways according
 1. the types of insulating materials used in manufacturer
 2. the voltage for which are they are manufactured.
 According to voltage, UG cable may be classified as
1. Low tension (L.T.) cable ------- up to 1000V
2. High tension (H.T.) cable-------up to 11000V
3. Super tension (S.T.) cable---------from 22kV to 33kV
4. Extra high tension (E.H.T.) cables----from 33kV to 66kV
5. Extra super voltage cable ----beyond 132kV.
03/04/24 20
03/04/24 21
 A cable may have one or more than one core depending upon
the type of service for which they are intended.
 It may be (i) single core (ii) two core (iii) three core (iv)four
core etc.
 For a 3 phase service either 3 single core cable or three core
cable can be used depending upon the operating voltage and
load demand.
 Fig. shows a single core low tension cable
 It consists of one circular core of tinned stranded copper or
aluminum insulated by layer of impregnated paper.

03/04/24 22
 The insulation is surrounded by lead sheath which prevent the
entry of moisture into the inner parts.
 In order to protect the lead sheath from corrosion, an overall
serving of compounded fibrous material like jute is provided.

03/04/24 23
 Cables for 3
phase service
 The following types of cable are generally used for 3 phase
service:-
1. Belted cable----upto 11kV
2. Screened cable– from 22kV to 66kV
3. Pressure cable----beyond 66kV

03/04/24 24
 (1) Belted cables:-
 These cables are used for voltage upto 11kV but in
extraordinary cases, their use may be extended upto 22kV.
 Fig. shows a constructional details of 3 core belted cables.

03/04/24 25
 The core are insulated from each other by a layer of impregnated
paper.
 Another layer of impregnated paper tape called paper belt is wound
round the grouped insulated cores.
 The gap between insulated core is filled with fibrous insulating
materials like jute etc. so as to give circular cross section to the cable.
 The cores are generally stranded and may be of non circular shape to
make better use of available space
 The belt is covered with lead sheath to protect the cable against
ingress of moisture and mechanical injury.
 The lead sheath is covered with one or more layer of armouring with
an outer serving.

03/04/24 26
 These type of construction is suitable only for low and
medium voltage as the electrostatics stresses developed in the
cables.
 These stresses act along the layer of paper insulation and set
up a leakage current and cause local heating which result in
risk of breakdown of insulation
 In order to overcome these difficulty screened cable are used.

03/04/24 27
 (2) Screened Cables:-
 These cable are meant for use up to 33kV but in particular
case it may be extended up to 66kV
 Two principle types of cables are H type cables and S.L. type
cable
 (2.1) H type Cables:-
 Fig shows the constructional details of a typical 3 core H type
cable.

03/04/24 28
03/04/24 29
 each core is insulated by a layer of impregnated paper.
 The insulation on each core is covered with a metallic screen
which usually consists of perforated aluminum foil.
 The cores are laid in such a way that metallic screens make
contact with each another.
 An additional conducting belt is wrapped round the three cores,
 The cable has no insulating belts but lead sheath, bedding,
armouring and serving is as follow as usual.
 As all four screens i.e. three core and one conducting belt and
the lead sheath are at earth potential therefore electrical stress
are radial and reduced.

03/04/24 30
 (2.2) S.L. (Separate lead) type cables:-
 Fig. shows the constructional details of 3 core S.L. type
cables.

03/04/24 31
 It is basically H type cable but the screen round each core
insulation is covered by its own lead sheath.
 There is no overall lead sheath but only armouring and serving
are provided.
 It has two main advantages over H type cable
 1. the separates sheath minimize the possibility of core to core
breakdown.
 2. bending of cables becomes very easy due to elimination of
lead sheath
 However disadvantages is that three lead sheath of S.L. type
cable are much thinner than single sheath of H cable so greater
care required.
03/04/24 32
 (3) Pressure cables:-
 For voltage beyond 66kV, solid type cables are unreliable
because there is a danger of breakdown of insulation due to
presence of voids.
 When the operating voltage are greater than 66kV then
pressure cable are used.
 In such cable voids are eliminated by increasing the pressure
of compound and for these reason they are called pressure
cables.
 Two types:- 1. oil filled cables 2. gas pressure cable

03/04/24 33
 (3.1) Oil filled cable:-
 In such type of cables, channels or ducts are provided in the cable
for oil circulation.
 The oil under pressure is kept constantly supplied to the channel by
means of external reservoir placed at suitable distances say 500m
along the route of the cable.
 Oil under pressure compresses the layer of paper insulation and is
forced into any voids that may have formed between the layers.
 Due to elimination of voids these can be used for higher voltage
from 66kV to 220kV.
 These are three types:- (1) single core conductor channel
 (2) single core sheath channel (3) three core filler space channel
03/04/24 34
 (3.1.1) Single core conductor channel, oil filled cable:-

03/04/24 35
 Fig shows the constructional details of single core conductor
channel, oil filled cable.
 The oil channel is formed at center by stranding the
conductor wire around a hollow cylindrical steel spiral tape.
 The oil under pressure is supplied to channel by means of
external reservoir.
 As the channel is made of spiral steel tape, it allow the oil to
percolate between copper strands to wrapped insulation
 The oil pressure compress the layers of paper insulation and
prevents the possibility of voids formation

03/04/24 36
 The system is so designed that when oil gets expanded due to
increase in temperature at heavy load condition of cable,
extra oil is get collected in the external reservoir.
 When there is fall in temperature during light load condition
same oil is sent back during contraction.
 The major disadvantages of such type of cable is that
complicated jointing system as the channel is at the middle of
cable and is at full of voltage with respect to earth.

03/04/24 37
 Fig. shows another type of single core oil filled cable.

03/04/24 38
 In this type of cable, conductor is made similar with solid
type of cable and solid insulated oil ducts are provided in
the metallic sheath either by grooving the sheath or by
arranging the spacers between dielectric and lead sheath.

03/04/24 39
 Fig. shows a cross sectional view of a 3 core oil filled cable. In
this type of cable, oil ducts/channel are located within the
filling space.
 The channel are made up of perforated metal ribbon taking.

03/04/24 40
(3.2) Pressure cable:-
 Constructional pressure cable is similar to that of an ordinary
solid type of cable except that it has triangular shape.
 Triangular formation helps to reduce the weight of the cable

03/04/24 41
 also the thickness of lead sheath is 75% of that of solid type
of cable.
 Bedding and serving are not provided to pressure cable which
helps in decreasing the thermal resistance.
 Cable is installed in gas tight metal pipes of some what larger
area and the pipe is filled with nitrogen gas at a pressure of 12
to 15 atmosphere which continuously compresses the cable
radially from outside so that radial breathing of cable occurs
and any voids etc. are closed

03/04/24 42
Insulation Resistance of Single Core Cable:-
 The cable conductor is provided with a suitable thickness of
insulating material in order to prevent leakage current.
 The path for leakage current is radial through the insulation,
 The opposition offered by insulation to leakage current is
called insulation resistance of cable.
 For satisfactory operation the insulation resistance of the cable
should be very high.
 Consider a single core cable of radius r1 and intersheath radius
r2, “L” be the length of cable and “ρ” be the resistivity of the
insulation.
03/04/24 43
 Consider a very small layer of insulation thickness dx at a
radius x, the length through which leakage current flow is dx
and the area of cross section offered to this flow is “2πxl”

03/04/24 44
03/04/24 45
 Capacitance of a Single Core Cable:-

 Consider a single core cable with conductor diameter “d” and

intersheath diameter “D”. Let the charge per meter of axial
length of the cable is “Q” coulomb and “ε” be the permittivity
of the insulation material between core and sheath.
03/04/24 46
 The work done in moving a unit positive charge from point P
through a distance dx in the direction of electric field is E xdx

03/04/24 47
 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

03/04/24 48
03/04/24 49
 Dielectric Stress in a Single Core Cable:-

03/04/24 50
03/04/24 51
03/04/24 52
03/04/24 53
• Most Economical Conductor Size in a Cable
 It has already been shown that maximum stress in a cable
occurs at the surface of the conductor. For safe working of the
cable, the dielectric strength of the insulation should be more
than the maximum stress
 Rewriting the expression for maximum stress

03/04/24 54
03/04/24 55
03/04/24 56
• Grading of Cables:-
 It has been discussed earlier that in a single core cable, the
electrostatic stress is maximum at the conductor surface and
goes on decreasing towards the sheath.
 The maximum working voltage that can be safely applied to
the cable is decided by the electrostatic stress at the conductor
surface.
 To have a safe working of a cable, if someone uses the
dielectric of higher strength, then it is useful to conductor
surface only where the stress is maximum.

03/04/24 57
 But as we move away from conductor surface, the stress
decreases, therefore the dielectric will be unnecessarily strong
and expensive.
 As the unequal stress distribution in cable either lead to
breakdown of insulation or to avoid breakdown, thicker
insulation is required which increase the size of cable.
 To overcome this difficulty the stress can be so distributed that
its value in outer layers of dielectric is increased without
increasing the stress near the conductor, therefore thinner
insulation is sufficient for any given working voltage.

03/04/24 58
 Thus the process of achieving uniform electrostatic stress in
the cables is known as grading of cables.
 There are two methods of grading of cables:-
 1. Capacitance grading
 2. Intersheath grading

03/04/24 59
• Capacitance Grading:-
 The process of achieving uniformity in the dielectric stress by
using layer of different dielectric is known as capacitance
grading.
 In these the homogenous dielectric is replaced by a composite
dielectric. The composite dielectric consists of various layers
of different dielectric in such a manner that relative
permittivity εr of any layer is inversely proportional to the
distance from the conductor

03/04/24 60
 Under such condition the value of potential gradient at any
point in the dielectric is constant and is independent of its
distance from the center. It means the dielectric stress in the
cable is same everywhere and the grading is ideal one.
 However the ideal grading requires the use of infinite number
of dielectric which is impossible so two or three dielectric is
used in the decreasing order of permittivity.

03/04/24 61
03/04/24 62
03/04/24 63
03/04/24 64
03/04/24 65
• Intersheath Grading:-
 In these method of cable grading, homogenous dielectric is
used, but it is divided into various layers by placing metallic
inter sheaths between core and lead sheath.
 The inter sheaths are held at suitable potentials which are in
between the core potential and earth potential.
 This arrangement improves voltage distribution in the
dielectric of the cable and consequently more uniform
potential gradient is obtained.

03/04/24 66
03/04/24 67
03/04/24 68
03/04/24 69
03/04/24 70
• Capacitance of 3 core cables:-
 The capacitance of a cable system is much more important
than that of a overhead line because in cables:-
(1) conductors are near to each other and to earthed sheath
(2) they are separated by a dielectric of permittivity much
greater than that of air.
Since the potential difference exists between pairs of conductors
and between each conductor and sheath, electrostatic field is
set up in the field.

03/04/24 71
 fig 1 shows these electrostatic field gives rise to core to core
capacitance Cc and conductor to earth capacitance Ce

03/04/24 72
 The three delta connected capacitance Cc can be converted
into equivalent star connected capacitance .. Ceq= 3Cc

03/04/24 73
03/04/24 74
03/04/24 75
Measurement of Cc and Ce:-

03/04/24 76
03/04/24 77
03/04/24 78
Types of cable fault:-

03/04/24 79
03/04/24 80
03/04/24 81
 Thank You

03/04/24 82