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2. Data Gathering
The first step is to collate the relevant information that is required to perform the sizing calculation. Typically, you will need to obtain the following data: (1) Basic cable data - the basic characteristics of the cable's physical construction, which includes: Conductor material - e.g. copper or aluminium Insulation or cable type - e.g. PVC, XLPE, EPR (for IEC cables), TW, THHW, XHH, etc (for NEC cables) Number of cores - single core or multicore (e.g. 2C, 3C or 4C) (2) Load data - the characteristics of the load that the cable will supply, which includes: Number of phases, e.g. three phase or single phase System / source voltage Full load current (A) - or calculate this if the load is defined in terms of power (kW)
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Full load power factor (pu) Distance / length of cable run from source to load - this length should be as close as possible to the actual route of the cable and include enough contingency for vertical drops / rises and termination of the cable tails (3) Cable installation - how the cable will be installed, which includes: Installation method - e.g. cable tray / ladder, in conduit / raceways, against a wall, in air, directly buried, etc Ambient or soil temperature at the installation site Cable grouping, i.e. the number of other cables that are bunched together or installed in the same area Cable spacing, i.e. whether cables are installed touching or spaced Soil thermal resistivity (for underground cables) For single core three-phase cables, are the cables installed in trefoil or laid flat?
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I c = I b . kd where I c is the installed / derated ampacity of the cable (A) I b is the base cable ampacity (A) kd are the product of all the derating factors For example, suppose a cable had an ambient temperature derating factor of kamb = 0.94 and a grouping derating factor of kg = 0.85, then the overall derating factor kd = 0.94x0.85 = 0.799. For a cable with a base ampacity of 42A, the installed / derated ampacity would be I c = 0.799x42 = 33.6A.
Where V is the three phase or single phase voltage drop (V) I is the nominal full load or starting current as applicable (A) Rc is the ac resistance of the cable (Ohms/km or Ohms/ft) X c is the ac reactance of the cable (Ohms/km or Ohms/ft) \cos\phi is the load power factor (pu) L is the length of the cable (m or ft)
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When sizing cables for voltage drop, a maximum voltage drop is specified, and then the smallest cable size that meets the voltage drop constraint is selected. For example, suppose a 5% maximum voltage drop is specified. 16mm2, 25mm2 and 35mm2 cables have calculated voltage drops of 6.4%, 4.6% and 3.2% respectively. The 25mm2 cable is selected as it is the smallest cable that fulfils the maximum voltage drop criteria of 5%. Maximum voltage drops are typically specified because load consumers (e.g. appliances) will have an input voltage tolerance range. This means that if the voltage at the appliance is lower than its rated minimum voltage, then the appliance may not operate correctly. In general, most electrical equipment will operate normally at a voltage as low as 80% nominal voltage. For example, if the nominal voltage is 230VAC, then most appliances will run at >184VAC. Cables are typically sized for a more conservative maximum voltage drop, in the range of 5 to 10% at full load.
Where A is the minimum cross-sectional area of the cable (mm2) i is the prospective short circuit current (A) t is the duration of the short circuit (s) k is a short circuit temperature rise constant The temperature rise constant is calculated based on the material properties of the conductor and the initial and final conductor temperatures. IEC 60364-5-54 calculates it as follows:
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Where \thetai and \thetaf are the initial and final conductor temperatures respectively. As a rough guide, the following temperatures are common for the different insulation materials: M ax Operating Temperature o C 75 90 90 Limiting Temperature o C 160 250 250
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