WHY CABLE CLEATS ARE VITALLY IMPORTANT IN
THE PROTECTION OF A CABLE INSTALLATION
A.BOOTH MA CEng MIET MIEEE*
*Ellis Patents, UK. [email protected]. Fax 01944 758808
Summary A common perception is that steel wire armoured
multi-core cable withstands the internal bursting
Amongst the plethora of theory, standards and forces of a short circuit. Mathematical reasoning
literature regarding fault protection, and arguably for this perception is demonstrated, including
amongst the immediate understanding of the term temperature / time calculations and mechanical
‘fault protection’, very little attention is given to a force calculations. However, a series of ‘live’ short
crucial piece of equipment in a power cable circuit tests has recently been carried out which
installation – the cable cleat. Very often attention suggest that this type of cable construction may not
is given to other ‘cable accessories’ such as joints, withstand these bursting forces when subjected to
glands and terminations, but often the cable cleat is typical fault conditions. Suggestions and reasoning
overlooked and left until the end of the installation will be given for these findings and a method of
process where it is included in the ‘bulk’ call off safe cable installation will be suggested.
for consumables or general fittings.
Most engineers recognise the importance of topics Keywords:
such as circuit design and layout, fuses, circuit
breakers and the like, and these issues are Cable cleats – Short circuits - Cable installation
undoubtedly essential. However, the engineer often protection
overlooks the fact that the timing of an ‘typical’
breaker is approximately 3 - 5 cycles, or 0.06 - 0.1
seconds on a 50 Hz system (an exceptionally quick
relay may operate at 1.5 cycles). However, if one
considers a phase to phase fault, and we look at the
highest and most destructive forces i.e. at the peak
of the fault, we need to consider a time point of a
quarter of a cycle i.e. 0.005 seconds.
The intention of this paper is to underline the
necessity of providing a cleating solution which
ensures that the electro-mechanical forces are
restrained and the power cables remain in position
for long enough to allow circuit breakers to act and
arrest the fault. A comprehensive description of the
testing which is necessary to conform to the
appropriate legislation will be given. Discussion
will focus on different types of power cable
construction and various fault levels.
Preliminary in-house testing will be discussed and
also specialised ‘live’ short circuit testing which is
carried out in the Netherlands. The paper includes
photographs taken from these tests which
demonstrate the immense force involved during a
fault and clearly show the damage to a cable
installation if it is not properly cleated.
Short Circuit Forces is common with cable installation assessments to use the
calculation method for a bar fixed at both ends, thus
Electric currents in conductors, which are laid adjacent determining the transverse deflection rate due to electro-
to one another, produce electro-magnetic forces magnetic forces during a fault.
between these conductors. On the occurrence of a fault
the highest repulsive force is proportional to the square Another consideration given in [4] as a result of the
of the peak short circuit current. This is then followed instantaneous forces during a fault, is the surface
by a residual, pulsating, oscillating stress at a frequency pressure which is exerted by the moving cables and its
of twice the operating frequency, known as the fault effect on the inner surface of the cleat itself. This may
RMS. However, it is accepted that the forces at the peak be necessary with an inadequate cleating solution, but
of the fault are the highest, the most instantaneous, and experience suggests that the band width of a properly
in turn the most destructive, when considering system designed cleat has little effect on the outcome during a
protection. fault. However, both [3
] and [4] should be used in assisting the engineer to
Recommendations for the calculation of short circuit understand the forces experienced during a short circuit.
currents are given in the IEC 60909 series [1] and also
in IEC 61363-1 [2]. The latter covers ships and offshore Duration of the short circuit forces
units.
One major element, which is often overlooked, is the
IEC 61914 [3] offers calculations (based on IEC 60909- actual time span of the duration of an actual short
0) to enable the engineer to determine these ‘peak’ circuit. Quite often an installation specification reads
forces that occur between the cables, in the event of a e.g. “short circuit withstand of 1 second”. The engineer
three phase fault (Equation 1), then in turn requires the cleat to meet this requirement.
If reference is made to Figure 1, which shows the short
0.17
² circuit current of a generator short circuit with a
constant a.c. component (fault far-from-generator), then
(1) (assuming a 50Hz cycle), we can see that 5 full cycles
of the fault relate to only 0.1 second. If we now consider
(Note: In Equation 1, the factor of 0.17 is used when the that the full force of the fault is seen at the peak (ip) i.e.
three cables are laid in trefoil formation. When cables the first quarter cycle (0.005 seconds) it becomes clear
are in singular formation, laid horizontal or vertical, that the 1 second, or in some cases 3 second,
then a figure of 0.16 is to be used for the two outer requirement is irrelevant. The 1 or 3 second figure is
cables) often quoted straight out of a cable specification; this
figure is the thermal withstand of the cable and
or, a phase to phase fault (Equation 2), considers conductor cross section and its ability to carry
a level of current and therefore heat. Furthermore, these
0.2
² calculations are generally based on the assumption that
the heat is retained inside the current carrying
(2) component, for the duration of the short circuit (i.e.
adiabatic heating). However in practice some heat
Where: transfer is bound to be transposed into the adjacent
materials, (non-adiabatic heating), but this is often
F = force in N / m overlooked.
ip = peak prospective short circuit current in kA
S = spacing between the conductors in m In summary, the figure given for one or 3 seconds does
not relate to the actual peak value of the fault
A widely referred to publication [4] also offers whatsoever, and this often mis-quoted figure of ‘short
equations for calculating not only these tangential circuit withstand’ is completely irrelevant to the forces
stresses, i.e. the ‘loop’ strength of a cable cleat or experienced during a fault.
banding system, but it also offers calculations for
determining radial stresses, i.e. the linear stresses along
the actual conductors. This is an important factor, and it
5 Cycles –
0.1 second In summary, if the cable cleat is not adequate, many
pieces of often-referred-to “system protection”
1
equipment will not get a chance to operate as the system
2 designer would have hoped for and the consequences
are catastrophic.
3
2√2 I″k
ip
2√2 Ik=2√2 I″k
A
Figure 1.
Where:
ip = the peak current in kA
I”k = the initial RMS symmetrical short circuit Figure 2.
current
1 = current Peak forces and multi-core cable
2 = top envelope
3 = decaying d.c. component, i d.c. of the short It is a widely accepted perception that multi-core cable
circuit current will contain the forces of a short circuit. This could be
4 = bottom envelope due to the facts that, a) the 3 or 4 conductors are bound
5 = time within an outer extruded jacket, b) quite often the
A = initial value of the d.c. component i d.c. of the conductors are over laid with protective tapes and c) the
short circuit current individual cores are helically arranged within this outer
jacket leading to the assumption that the cores will in
Another mis-conception is that a system is fully fact tighten into one another in the event of a fault.
protected purely on the basis that the system includes What is more, this perception seems almost unarguable
relays, trips and circuit breakers. One must consider the if the multi core cable is armoured.
timing of this apparatus; a quick breaker may operate in
perhaps 3 cycles, an extremely quick one in perhaps 1.5 However, consideration must be given to what is
cycles. The issue of the actual fault timing still exists, in actually happening during the fault. Many cable
that if the cable is not in a fit state to carry the fault manufacturers will offer calculations to prove the
current for e.g. 3 cycles, the ‘secondary’ fault bursting strength of their cable and this is perfectly
equipment is almost superfluous. Cable installations acceptable as a theoretical proposal, however rarely is
have been tested where the three phases, (which were the speed, or inertia, of the forces taken into full
copper conductor, single core cables) were, before the consideration.
fault, perfectly laid and installed on ladder rack. The
assembly was subjected to a 3 phase fault, and even Take for example an installation with:
before the peak occurred, the assembly dramatically
failed due to inappropriate cable fixings; the cables • 3C 6/10 kV SWA subsea cable
themselves actually snapped and were flung away from • 185mm² copper conductors
where they started, which lead to serious current arcing • outside diameter of sheath 95mm
and the violent ejection of molten copper, vapours and
• inside diameter of sheath 75mm
fumes. Figure 2 below demonstrates the aftermath of
• centre-centre distance between the conductors of
such an event. All of this took place is less than the first
37mm
quarter cycle, approximately 4ms, which is well before
• 60kA RMS
many commonly used circuit breakers would have even
registered the fault, let alone acted upon it. • Bursting pressure withstand of internal forces =
20bar
Using IEC 60439 [5] which gives 2.1 as a multiplier, a Only one of the six cables survived this ‘typical’ fault
peak prospective fault current of 126kA can be level. Even when fastened to the ladder with a properly
calculated designed cable cleat capable of withstanding enormous
forces, the cable still burst between these fixed points,
Using the formula given in Equation (1) we can as shown in Figure 4 below. Although the cable was
calculate a force of 72944N/m. If we then calculate the still ruined on this rig, this cleating method would allow
area over which this force acts we could use: sufficient time for the breakers to react and arrest the
fault.
1
0.075 1 0.24²
So the pressure acting P is:
= 72.944 / 0.24 303/²
3.03
In comparison to the quoted bursting withstand, this
calculated pressure seems to be inconsiderable, until we
consider that the peak short circuit force of almost 73kN
(7.3 tonnes!), act within 0.005 seconds. This is where
the theory falls down as the bursting force given in the
specification assumes that the SWA wires act a one
solid shield. Whereas in practice, the immense forces of
the fault act in every direction instantaneously, and as
Figure 4.
soon as a ‘break’ in the multi-wired armour occurs, the
cable can simply ‘unzip’ along its entire length. The
The five failed rigs, if specified on an actual installation,
issue of inertia and the resulting kinetic energy need to
would have lead not only to outages and potentially
be carefully considered.
damage surrounding items of plant, but if personnel
were in the vicinity, serious injury would be inflicted, at
To examine what actually happens during a fault in a
best.
multi core cable, a series of tests were undertaken
where 3 Core, copper conductor, multi-core cables were
fastened to cable ladders using heavy duty stainless steel
Legislation
cable ties – the commonly accepted custom and
It has already been noted that the literature does not
practice. Various conductor sizes, cable construction
cover ‘cable cleating’ per se in any great detail, with
and cable manufacturers were used in a series of 6
one notable exception [4], as already cited. However,
separate tests. Fault levels were taken from existing
legislation does recognise the issue, and many articles
industry installations. Five out of six rigs ‘exploded’
cover the eventuality of a fault and demand the need to
due to the internal bursting forces that the fault exerted.
safely restrain the resulting forces between the current
See Figure 3 below.
carrying conductors. Examples are given below:
IEC 61914:2009 Cable Cleats for Electrical Installations
[3], provides a thorough set of criteria for the specifier
to consider. This will be covered in more detail later in
the paper.
“Every conductor or cable shall have adequate strength
and be so installed as to withstand the electromagnetic
forces that may be caused by any current, including
fault current, it may have to carry in service” [6]
“Single Core electric cables are to be firmly fixed, using
Figure 3. supports of strength adequate to withstand forces
corresponding to the values of the peak prospective
short-circuit current” [7]
“Cables are to be installed and supported in ways to [11] is used to obtain the appropriate levels of
avoid chafing and undue stress in the cable.” [8] compliance.
“In order to guard against the effects of electro dynamic • Resistance to corrosion (a new requirement of IEC
forces developing on the occurrence of a short circuit or 61914).
earth fault, single core cables shall be firmly fixed,
using supports of strength adequate to withstand the Both standards also require the manufacturer to mark
dynamic forces corresponding to the prospective fault their products with certain pertinent information in a
current at that point of the installation. “[9] manner that is durable and legible, and both standards
require the manufacturer to be able to provide relevant
Requirements of IEC 61914:2009 documentation to prove their products’ compliance.
This IEC standard [3] is a relatively new publication, its Conclusion
EN predecessor, EN50368 [10] was published in 2003.
The requirements of each standard are very similar and It seems clear that the literature has not yet covered, in
the following synopsis of requirements will cover the detail, this vital aspect of “power system protection”.
most pertinent issues, and also highlight any differences
between the two. This paper highlights the importance of these highly
engineered, vitally important components, and offers
Although they are laid out slightly differently, both guidance to the engineer on where to find the
standards describe a cable cleat as “a device designed to appropriate information on how to specify a cable cleat
provide in itself, retention and support of cables along for a given installation.
the length of the cables. A cleat is provided with a
means of attachment to a mounting surface, but does not Numerous relevant issues could be covered in separate
rely on the mounting surface for the retention of the papers on the subject, including the importance of
cables”. material choice, cleat design principles, design for
manufacture, design of the actual short circuit testing
Both standards then go on to describe a set of criteria rigs and the associated pitfalls. This initial paper will
towards which the manufacturer is obliged to state the alert the engineer to this facet of electrical and
classification of their products: mechanical engineering and help to provide a safe
means of securing cables in the event of a short circuit.
Classification according to:
Rationale for further research
• Material i.e. metallic, non-metallic, composite.
There are also other issues to be considered which,
• According to maximum and minimum temperature. although inextricably related to cable cleating, are part
of a much wider topic area. Nevertheless, the following
• Resistance to impact. subjects would be worthy of further empirical research
to ensure safe operating environments and offer
• Resistance of electromechanical lateral forces i.e. potentially enormous cost benefits:
‘loop tensile’ strength.
• Multi-core cable bursting force withstand. This paper
• Resistance of electromechanical axial slippage only describes one set of tests and the results should
forces. be used only as a starting point to this phenomenon.
• Resistance to electromechanical forces, • Resistance to short circuit during a fire. It seems
withstanding one short circuit. reasonable to suggest that if a short circuit is to
occur, it is very likely to occur during a fire, when
• Resistance to electromechanical forces, the installation is subject to movement and falling
withstanding two short circuits. debris. This eventuality seems to be un-researched in
any great detail.
• Fire hazards, including flame propagation.
• Theoretical bursting strength vs actual mechanical
• Resistance to Ultra violet light (a new requirement withstand. Although the relevant standards offer
of IEC 61914).Cross referencing to ISO 4892-2 calculations to provide a ‘loop strength’ resistance,
experience has shown that sometimes theory does [3] IEC 61914:2009, Cable Cleats for Electrical
not match practice. There is certainly scope for a Installations. International Electrotechnical
piece of work which compares the calculated theory Commission, (2009).
with physical test samples.
[4] Power Cables and their Application, Part 1,
• Amount of calculated force within the cleat vs Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Heinhold et al, 3rd revised
amount of this force which is transferred to the fixed edition, (1990).
structure. The current accepted custom and practice
uses the calculated ‘loop forces’ within the cleat in [5] IEC 60439:2004, Low Voltage Switchgear and
order to calculate the sections and the structural Assemblies. International Electrotechnical Commission,
design of the steel frames on which to fix the cleats. (2004).
Experience has shown that very few of the forces are
actually transferred to the structure, which would in [6] BS 7671:2008 Wiring Regulations 17th Edition,
turn require much lighter, and less frequent support p97, Chapter 52, 521.5.1, (2008).
structures, along say a tunnel application. The
possible cost benefits of this are enormous. [7] Lloyds Register. Rules and Regulations for the
Classification of Ships, Part 6, Control, Electrical,
• The true impact of cable stiffness, fixing centres and Refrigeration and Fire, (2003).
cleat ‘band’ width.
[8] ABS Steel Vessel Rules 4-8-4/21.9 Cable Support,
References 4-8-4/21.9.1 General and 4-8-4/21.9.3 Clips, Saddles,
Straps, (2009).
[1] IEC 60909-0:2001, Short-circuit currents in
three-phase a.c. systems. Calculation of currents. [9] DNV Rules for Ships / High Speed Light Craft
International Electrotechnical Commission, (2001). and Naval Surface Craft, Pt. 4 Ch. 8 Sec.10 – page 68,
C50. (2008).
[2] IEC 61363-1:1998, Electrical Installations of
Ships and Mobile and Fixed offshore Units - Part 1: [10] BS EN 50368:2003, Cable Cleats for Electrical
Procedures for Calculating Short-Circuit Currents in Installations. BSI, British Standards Institute, (2003).
Three-Phase a.c. International Electrotechnical
Commission, (1998). [11] ISO 4892-2:1994, Plastics - Methods of exposure
to laboratory light sources - Part 2: Xenon-arc sources.
International Organization for Standardization. (1994).
