CABLE SIZING

Cable (or conductor) sizing is the process of selecting appropriate sizes for electrical power cable
conductors. Cable sizes are typically decribed in terms of cross-sectional area, American Wire
Gauge (AWG) or kcmil, depending on geographic region.
The proper sizing of cables is important to ensure that the cable can:
•Operate continuously under full load without being damaged
•Provide the load with a suitable voltage (and avoid excessive voltage drops)
•Withstand the worst short circuits currents flowing through the cable
Cable sizing methods do differ across international standards (e.g. IEC, NEC, BS, etc.) and some
standards emphasise certain things over others.
However the general principles that underpin all cable sizing calculation do not change. When
sizing a cable, the following general process is typically followed:

Gather data about the cable, its installation conditions, the load that it will carry, etc.
•Determine the minimum cable size based on ampacity (continuous current carrying capacity)
•Determine the minimum cable size based on voltage drop considerations.
•Determine the minimum cable size based on short circuit temperature rise.
•Select the cable based on the highest of the sizes calculated in the steps above
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)

• Full load power factor

• 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?

4. Cable Selection Based on Ampacity

Current flowing through a cable generates heat through the resistive losses in the conductors,
dielectric losses through the insulation and resistive losses from current flowing through any
cable screens / shields and armouring.

5. Cable Selection Based on Voltage Drop

• A cable's conductor can be seen as an impedance and as a result, whenever current flows
through a cable, there will be a voltage drop across it, derived by Ohm's Law (i.e. V =
IZ). The voltage drop will depend on two things:

• Current flow through the cable - the higher the current flow, the higher the voltage drop

• Impedance of the conductor - the larger the impedance, the higher the voltage drop

6. Cable Selection Based on Short Circuit Temperature Rise

During a short circuit, a high amount of current can flow through a cable for a short time.
High temperatures can trigger unwanted reactions in the cable insulation, sheath materials and
other components, which can prematurely degrade the condition of the cable. As the cross-
sectional area of the cable increases, it can dissipate higher fault currents for a given temperature
rise. Therefore, cables should be sized to withstand the largest short circuit that it is expected to
see.

CONCEPT OF CAPACITORS

• A capacitor is a passive electronic component that stores energy in the form of an

electrostatic field. In its simplest form, a capacitor consists of two conducting plates
separated by an insulating material called the dielectric.

• The capacitance is directly proportional to the surface areas of the plates, and is inversely
proportional to the separation between the plates. Capacitance also depends on the
dielectric constant of the substance separating the plates.
TYPES OF CAPACITOR

• The types of capacitors available range from very small delicate trimming capacitors
using in oscillator or radio circuits, up to large power metal-can type capacitors used in
high voltage power correction and smoothing circuits.

• The comparisons between the different types of capacitor is generally made with regards
to the dielectric used between the plates.  Few of the more “common” types of capacitor
available.

a) Dielectric Capacitor

• Dielectric Capacitors are usually of the variable type were a continuous variation of

capacitance is required for tuning transmitters, receivers and transistor radios.

b) Film Capacitor Type

• Film Capacitors are the most commonly available of all types of capacitors, consisting of
a relatively large family of capacitors with the difference being in their dielectric
properties.

• These include polyester (Mylar), polystyrene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, metalized

paper, Teflon etc.
Film capacitors also come in an assortment of shapes and case styles which include:

• Wrap & Fill (Oval & Round) – where the capacitor is wrapped in a tight plastic tape and
have the ends filled with epoxy to seal them.

• Epoxy Case (Rectangular & Round) – where the capacitor is encased in a moulded plastic
shell which is then filled with epoxy.
Metal Hermetically Sealed (Rectangular & Round) – where the capacitor is encased in a metal
tube or can and again sealed with epoxy
Radial Lead Type Axial Lead Type

Ceramic Capacitors
Ceramic Capacitors or Disc Capacitors as they are generally called, are made by coating two
sides of a small porcelain or ceramic disc with silver and are then stacked together to make a
capacitor.
Electrolytic Capacitors
Electrolytic Capacitors are generally used when very large capacitance values are required. Here
instead of using a very thin metallic film layer for one of the electrodes, a semi-liquid electrolyte
solution in the form of a jelly or paste is used which serves as the second electrode
Capacitors have many uses in electronic and electrical systems. They are so ubiquitous that it is
rare that an electrical product does not include at least one for some purpose.
Energy storage
A capacitor can store electric energy when it is connected to its charging circuit. And when it is
disconnected from its charging circuit, it can dissipate that stored energy, so it can be used like a
temporary battery. In car audio systems, large capacitors store energy for the amplifier to use on
demand.
Pulsed power and weapons
These include electromagnetic forming, Marx generators, pulsed lasers (especially TEA lasers),
pulse forming networks, fusion research, and particle accelerators.
Large capacitor banks (reservoirs) are used as energy sources for the exploding-bridgewire
detonators or slapper detonators in nuclear weapons and other specialty weapons.
Power conditioning
• Capacitors are connected in parallel with the DC power circuits of most electronic
devices to smooth current fluctuations for signal or control circuits.
Motor starters
To start the motor, a secondary winding is used in series with a non-polarized starting capacitor
to introduce a lag in the sinusoidal current through the starting winding.