Underground Cables

Presented by
Anikendu Maitra

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 Introductio
• Since the n
loads having the trends towards
growing density. This requires the better
appearance, rugged construction, greater service
reliability and increased safety. An underground
cable essentially consists of one or more
conductors covered with suitable insulation and
surrounded by a cover.
interference from external disturbances
protecting The like
storms, lightening, ice, trees etc. should be
reduced to achieve trouble free service. The
cables may be buried directly in the ground, or
may be installed in ducts buried in the ground.
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 Introductio
n

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 CABLE STRUCTURE

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 Advantages &
Disadvantages
Advantages
– Better general appearance
– Less liable to damage through storms or lighting
– Low maintenance cost
– Less chances of faults
– Small voltage drops

Disadvantages
– The major drawback is that they have greater installation cost
and introduce insulation problems at high voltages compared
with equivalent overhead system.
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 Construction of
• Core orCables
Conductor
A cable may have one or more than one core
depending upon the type of service for which it
is intended. The conductor could be of
aluminum or copper and is stranded in order to
provide flexibility to the cable.
• Insulation
The core is provided with suitable thickness of
insulation, depending upon the voltage to be
withstood by the cable.
The commonly used material for insulation are
impregnated paper, varnished cambric or
rubber mineral compound.
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 Construction of
•
Cables
Metallic Sheath
A metallic sheath of lead or aluminum is
provided over the insulation to protect the cable
from moisture, gases or others damaging liquids
• Bedding
Bedding is provided to protect the metallic
sheath from corrosion and from mechanical
damage due to armoring. It is a fibrous material
like jute or hessian tape.

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 Construction of
• Armouring
Cables
Its purpose is to protect the cable from
mechanical injury while laying it or during the
course of handling. It consists of one or two
layers of galvanized steel wire or steel tape.

• Serving
To protect armouring from atmospheric
conditions, a layer of fibrous material is
provided.
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 Construction of
Cables

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 Properties of Insulating
Material
 High resistivity.
 High dielectric strength.
 Low thermal co-efficient.
 Low water absorption.
 Low permittivity.
 Non – inflammable.
 Chemical stability.
 High mechanical strength.
 High viscosity at impregnation temperature.
 Capability to with stand high rupturing
voltage.
 High tensile strength and plasticity.
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 Properties of Insulating
Material

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 Insulating Materials for
Cables
• Rubber
 Rubber may be natural or synthetic
 Natural rubber can be obtained from milky sap of tropical trees.

 synthetic rubber is produced from alcohol or from oil

products.
 It has the dielectric strength of 30 KV/mm.
 Insulation resistivity of 10^7ohm.cm
 Relative permittivity varying between 2 and 3.
They readily absorbs moisture, soft and liable to damage due to
rough handling and ages when exposed to light.
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 Insulating Materials for
Cables
• Vulcanized India Rubber
It can be obtained from mixing pure rubber with mineral compounds i-e

zinc oxide, red lead and sulphur and heated upto 150 C.

 It has greater mechanical strength, durability and wear resistant

property.
 slightly reduced specific insulation resistance.

The sulphur reacts quickly with copper so tinned copper conductors are

used.

 dielectric strength is 10-12 kV/mm

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 It is suitable for low and moderate voltage cables.
 Insulating Materials for
•
Cables
Impregnated Paper
 This material has superseded the rubber, consists of chemically
pulped
paper impregnated with napthenic and paraffinic materials.
 It has low cost, low capacitance, high dielectric strength
(30kV/mm) and high insulation resistance (of the order 10^7
Ωm).
 The only disadvantage is the paper is hygroscopic, for this
reason
paper insulation is always provided protective covering.

• Varnished Cambric
 This is simply the cotton cloth impregnated and coated with
varnish.
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 As the varnish cambric is also hygroscopic so need some 14
 Insulating Materials for
•
Cables
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
 This material has good dielectric strength (17 kV/mm), high insulation
resistance and high melting temperatures( maximum continuous temperature
rating is 75 C
 These have not so good mechanical properties as those of rubber.
 It is inert to oxygen and almost inert to many alkalis and acids.

Some other insulating materials like “Gutta-percha”, silk & cotton and enamel
insulation is also used.

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Insulating Materials for Cables
• XLPE Cables (Cross Linked Poly-ethene)
 Specially treated low density polythene results in cross linking of carbon atoms.
 This material gives good insulating properties
 Dielectric strength is 20kV/mm.
 It is light in weight, small overall dimensions, low dielectric constant and high
mechanical strength, low water absorption.
 These cables permit conductor temperature of 90 C and 250 C under normal
and short circuit conditions.
 These cables are suitable up to voltages of 33 KV.

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 XLPE
cable

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 CLSSIFICATION OF
CABLES
• Low tension (L.T) ----- up to 1000V

• High tension (H.T) ----- up to 11, 000V

• Super tension (S.T) ---- from 22KV to 33KV

• Extra high tension (E.H.T) cables --- from 33KV to

66KV

• Extra super voltage cables ------beyond 132KV

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 Extra High Tension
Cable

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 Low Tension
Cable

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 3- Core
Belted Cables
Cables
In these cables the conductors are wrapped with oil
impregnated paper, and then cores are assembled with
filler material. The assembly is enclosed by paper insulating
belt.
These can be used for voltages up to 11KV or in some cases
can be used up to 22KV.
High voltages beyond 22KV, the tangential stresses becomes
an important consideration.
As the insulation resistance of paper is quite small along
the layer, therefore tangential stress set up, hence, leakage
current along the layer of the paper insulation.
This leakage current causes local heating, resulting breaking
of insulation at any moment
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 3-core belted
Cable

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 3- Core
Cables
• Screened Cables
• These can be used up to 33kv but in
certain cases can be extended up to 66kv.
• These are mainly of two types
 H-type and
 S.L type cables

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 3- Core
H-TYPE Cables: Cables
• Designed by H. Hochstadter.
• Each core is insulated by layer of impregnated paper.
• The insulation on each core is covered with a metallic
screen which is usually of perforated aluminum foil.
• The cores are laid in such a way that metallic screen
make contact with one another.
• Basic advantage of H-TYPE is that the perforation in
the metallic screen assists in the complete
impregnation of the cable with the compound and
thus the possibility of air pockets or voids in the
dielectric is eliminated.
• The metallic screen increase the heat dissipation
power of the cable.
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 3- Core Cables (H-
Type)

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 3- Core
Cables
S.L - Type: (Separate Lead)
• Each core insulation is covered by its own lead
sheath.
• It has two main advantages, firstly the separate
sheath minimize the possibility of core-to-core
breakdown. Secondly the, bending of cables
become easy due to the elimination of over all
sheath.
• The disadvantage is that the lead sheaths of S.L
is much thinner as compared to H-Type cables,
therefore for greater care is required in
manufacturing.
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 3- Core Cables (S.L.
Type)

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 3- Core
Cables
• Pressurized Type
• Cables
In these cables, is maintained
pressure
above atmosphere either by oil or by
gas.
• Gas pressure cables are used up to
275KV.
• Oil filled cables are used up to 500KV.

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 3- Core Cables (Gas
pressure)

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 3- Core
Cables
• Oil Filled Cables
• Low viscosity oil is kept under pressure and
fills the voids in oil impregnated paper
under all conditions of varying load.
• There are three main types of oil filled
cables
a. Self-contained circular type
b. Self-contained flat type
c. Pipe Type cables
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 3- Core Cables (Oil
filled)

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 Advantages of Oil Filled
• Cables
Greater operating dielectric stresses
• Greater working temperature and
current carrying capacity
• Better impregnation
• Impregnation is possible after sheath
• No void formation
• Smaller size of cable due to reduced
dielectric thickness
• Defect can easily be detected by oil leakage

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 Gas Pressure
Cables
In these cables an inert gas like nitrogen is used to exert
pressure on paper dielectric to prevent void formation.
 These are also termed as Compression cables
 They insulated cores similar to solid type
 The cable is inserted in a pressure vessel which may be
a rigid steel pipe, commonly known as pipe line
compression cable.
 The nitrogen gas is filled in vessel at nominal pressure
of
1.38 * 10 exp 6 N/ square meter with a
maximum pressure of 1.725 * 10 exp 6 N/ square
meter.
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 Gas Pressure
Cables

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 Gas Insulated Cables
• (GIC)
In GIC cables high pressure hexaflouride
sulphur
(SF6), fills the small spaces in oil impregnated paper
insulation and suppresses the ionization.
• Most EHV and UHV lines insulated with sulphur
hexaflouride (SF6) gas are being used extensively for
voltages above 132 KV up to 1200 KV.
• These cables are very popular for short lengths,
river crossings and high way crossings.

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 Gas Insulated Cables
(GIC)

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 Advantages of
GIC
Gas Insulated Cables have several advantages
over oil filled cables,
• Efficient heat transfer hence can carry
more current.
• Low dielectric loss and low capacitance
• SF6 gas is non-toxic, chemically stable
and non-inflamable.
• Terminations of GIC cables are simpler
and cheaper.
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 Laying of Underground
Cables
• The reliability of underground cable network
depends to a considerable extent upon
proper laying.
• There are three main methods of
Laying underground cables
a. Direct Laying
b. Draw in system
c. Solid system
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 Direct
• Laying
This method is cheap and simple and is most
likely to be used in practice.
• A trench of about 1.5 meters deep and 45 cm
wide is dug.
• A cable is been laid inside the trench and is
covered with concrete material or bricks in
order to protect it from mechanical injury.
• This gives the best heat dissipating conditions
beneath the earth.
• It is clean and safe method

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 Direct
Laying

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 Disadvantages of Direct
Laying
• Localization of fault is difficult
• It can be costlier in congested areas
where excavation is expensive and
inconvenient.
• The maintenance cost is high

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 Draw in
System
• In this conduit or duct of concrete is laid in
ground with main holes at suitable positions
along the cable route.
• The cables are then pulled into positions from
main holes.

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 Advantages of Draw in
•
System
It is very high initial cost
• Heat dissipation conditions are not good
• This method is suitable for congested areas
where excavation is expensive and
inconvenient
• This is generally used for short lengths cable
route such as in workshops, road crossings
where frequent digging is costlier and
impossible

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 Solid
• In this system System
the cable is laid in open pipes or
troughs dug out in earth along the cable route.
• The troughing is of cast iron or treated wood
• Troughing is filled with a bituminous after cables
is laid.
• It provides good mechanical strength
• It has poor heat dissipation conditions
• It requires skilled labour and favorable weather
conditions
• It is very much expensive system
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 Solid
System

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 Grading of
Cables
• Since the stresses are maximum at surface of
the conductor or inner most part of the
dielectric.
• The stress goes on decreasing as outer most
layer is reached.
• Since the process of achieving the uniform
electrostatic stresses on the dielectric of
cables is known as Grading of cables

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 Grading of
• Th Cables
unequal distribution of stresses
undesirable
e because, is
• if dielectric is chosen according to maximum
stress the thickness of cable increases or either
this may lead to breakdown of insulation.
• The are the two main methods of
grading
following
 Capacitance
grading
 Inter sheath
grading
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 Cables are generally laid in the ground or in
ducts in the underground distribution system.
For this reason, there are little chances of faults
in underground cables. However, if a fault does
occur it is difficult to locate and repair the fault
because conductors are not visible.
Nevertheless, the following are the faults most
likely to occur in underground cables
1)open circuit fault
2)short circuit fault
3)earth fault

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• When there is a break in the conductor of a cable,
it is called open circuit fault.
• The open circuit fault can be checked by megger.
For this purpose, the three conductors of the 3-
core cable at the far end are shorted and earthed.
• The resistance between each conductor and earth
is measured by a megger and it will indicate zero
resistance in the circuit of the conductor that is
not broken.
• However, if the conductor is broken, the megger
will indicate infinite resistance in its circuit
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• When two conductors of a multi-core cable
come in electrical contact with each other due
to insulation failure, it is called a short circuit
fault.
• Again, we can seek the help of a megger to
check this fault.
• For this purpose the two terminals of the
megger are connected to any two conductors.
• If the megger gives zero reading, it indicates
short circuit fault between these conductors.
• The same steps is repeated for other conductors
taking two a time.
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 EARTH
• When the FAULTS
conductor ofa cable comes in
contact with earth, it is called earth fault or
ground fault.
• To identify this fault, one terminal of the
megger is connected to the conductor and
the other terminal connected to earth.
• If the megger indicates zero reading, it means
the conductor is earthed. The same
procedure is repeated for other conductors
of the cable.
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 Physical Limitations of
Underground Lines
The main argument against constructing
underground
systems is usually financial. But costs are not the only
limitation.
The laws of physics limit how physically long a power
line can be.
These limits are relatively unimportant on overhead
lines
but will severelylimit high voltage underground
cable systems

The higher the voltage the shorter the line
length must be.
 The limiting effects become very important
at
 Limiting effects may also be important
transmission
subtransmission
for voltages,
voltages,especially 100,000
69,000 Volts and Volts
and
35,000 above.
Volts.

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 Physical Limitations: The Effect
of Capacitance
o Capacitance causes current to flow even when no load
is connected to the cable. This is called “line charging
current”.
o Underground line capacitance for power cables is
far higher than overhead line capacitance.
o
Wires are closer to each other
o
Wires are closer to the earth (within a few inches).
o
Underground lines have 20-75 times the line
charging
current that an overhead line has (depending on
line voltage).
o
If a line is long enough the charging current could
be
equal to the total amount of current the line can carry.
This will severely limit its ability to deliver power.
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 Summary of Costs: Overhead
vs. Underground
• Transmission: Underground may be 4-20 times
Overhead.
• Sub transmission: Underground may be 4-20
times Overhead
• Distribution: Underground may be 2-10 times
Overhead
• New underground may be cheaper than
overhead in special conditions and costs vary
greatly from utility to utility and place to place.
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 THANK
Presented By: S
Engr.Mafijur Rahman
Electrical and
Electronic
Professional Associates
Limited.
Engr.razu.powergen@g
mail.com
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