Hendrix Wire & Cable Company, Inc.

53 Old Wilton Road Milford, New Hampshire 03055-0326 (603) 673-2040 (603) 673-1497 (Fax)

Tip
Technical Information Paper
May 1998

A member of The Marmon Group of companies

TIP NO. OH-1

Why Use Compact Conductor For Aerial Cables

In the world of electrical conductors, there are several styles that are used by electric utilities for overhead types of construction. Many of these designs are variations from a solid conductor [Figure 1] utilizing the same cross sectional area of the copper or aluminum metal but putting it into different configurations including the addition of a steel core for added strength. These different configurations involve the combination of several wires, commonly of the same size, that are cabled together to form the overall stranded conductor. The most common reason for stranding a conductor versus the use of a solid conductor is to provide flexibility necessary for acceptable overhead operation. The three most common types of stranding that are used for overhead construction are (1) Concentric Stranding, (2) Compressed Stranding and (3) Compact Stranding. Concentric stranding is the most common configuration that is used for bare conductors and is made up of a number of the same size round wires that are cabled together. This construction adds flexibility to the conductor, but the resulting air spaces that are introduced between the individual strands results in an overall increase in diameter of approximately 13% for the most common stranding configurations [Figure 1]. This diameter increase is commonly acceptable for bare wire use; however, a reduction in this overall diameter is beneficial when adding a covering or insulation over the conductor. The first of the diameter reductions would be what is classified as Compressed conductor. This configuration is the same as the concentric round except that the outer layer of wires is Compressed to reduce the overall diameter of the conductor by not more than 3% under the concentric conductor [Figure 1]. This conductor is commonly used for insulated cable constructions. A more drastic reduction in overall conductor diameter is provided by compacting the individual strands of the conductor to reduce the total stranded diameter approximately 9% from the original diameter of the concentric conductor [Figure 1].

Figure 1:

Concentric Round

Compressed

Compact

Solid

When designing an overhead covered conductor, the use of a compact conductor provides several benefits both in the overall cost of the product, the field design characteristics and the performance over time. First of all, the smaller diameter of the conductor requires less material (insulation, covering,) to obtain a specific thickness over the conductor. As an example, if we were to apply a covering of .150" thickness to a 336.4kcmil conductor, the use of a compact conductor will result in an 8% reduction in the

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amount of covering that would be needed to cover the same conductor if it was standard concentric round conductor. This reduction in needed material will be offset slightly by the fact that the compact conductor is marginally more expensive to produce, but the overall result is a less costly finished cable. Over and above the cost factors that have been discussed, there are specific mechanical advantages in the use of compact round conductors when covered conductors are to be used in overhead construction. All overhead conductors, when suspended between supports, place a weight upon the supports as well as a tension at all angle and dead-end structures [Figure 2]. As discussed in the above paragraph, the reduction in material provides a reduction in the weight of the entire assembly. This reduction of weight also translates into somewhat lower tensions required to suspend the conductor between dead ends. The combination of this reduction in weight and tension can greatly impact on the necessary design strength of the support structure and hardware.

Figure 2:

This, however, is only the beginning. Wind hitting the conductor/cable imparts forces that are directly proportional to the projected surface area of the cable. Thus, if we can reduce the projected surface area of the conductor, we also reduce the amount of force that the wind exerts on the cable (for instance, the 336.4kcmil example results in a 7% reduction in the wind force) [Figure 3]. In addition to the reduction in wind loading, the reduced diameter also results in an overall reduction in the amount of additional weight and resulting tension load that is added by a given thickness of ice added to the overall diameter of the cable [Figure 4].

Figure 3:

Figure 4:

Up to this point, there have been nothing but positives for the use of compact conductors. As with everything in the real world though, there must be a catch or negative somewhere in the mix. Lets see what they are in this case. First off, the smaller diameter of the conductor results in higher inductive reactance for each specific conductor size. This increase in reactance, of course, is dependent on conductor spacing, but the result is on the order of less than 1/2 %. A definite yawn! In addition, ampacity is slightly affected. If we compare a concentric round and compact conductor at 75C conductor at 30C ambient air with no sun or wind, the reduction is on the order of 2% which is too close to be significant. Since the advantages of compact conductors far outweigh the possible concerns, its no surprise that compact conductors are used for Aerial Spacer Cables and for many other covered conductors.