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Voltage Drop Calculations

The document provides guidelines for calculating voltage drop for electrical cables used by the US Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District. It outlines the maximum allowed voltage drops for secondary services (3%), feeders or branch circuits (2%), and their combined total (5%). The document explains two methods for determining voltage drop depending on if the cable meets European or US standards, and provides example calculations demonstrating how to select the proper cable size to meet voltage drop requirements.

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369 views6 pages

Voltage Drop Calculations

The document provides guidelines for calculating voltage drop for electrical cables used by the US Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District. It outlines the maximum allowed voltage drops for secondary services (3%), feeders or branch circuits (2%), and their combined total (5%). The document explains two methods for determining voltage drop depending on if the cable meets European or US standards, and provides example calculations demonstrating how to select the proper cable size to meet voltage drop requirements.

Uploaded by

jasrock143
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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US Army Corps

of Engineers
Afghanistan Engineer District

AED Design
Requirements:
Voltage Drop Calculation
Process

Various Locations,
Afghanistan

MARCH 2009

AED DESIGN REQUIREMENTS


Voltage Drop Calculation
The voltage drop of any insulated cable is dependent upon the length of the cable, the
current on the cable and the impedance (ohm) per unit length of the cable.
Voltage drop on the cable shall be limited to the following:
-

The voltage drop of the secondary service of 3%.


The voltage drop of a feeder or branch circuit of 2%.

The combined voltage drop of feeder and branch circuit shall not exceed 5%.
There are two methods of determining the voltage drop of a cable. The difference
depends upon whether the cable supplied meets American (U.S) standards or European
standards.
If the cable meets European standards, the formula is as follows:

European Formula (mV/A/m)


VD = R x I x L / 1000
VD: The voltage drop (V).
R: The resistance value from voltage drop per ampere per meter table (mV/A/m)
supplied by the cable manufacturer.
I : The load current (A)
L: The length of conductor (m)
The value R is determined from a table provided by the cable manufacturer. See Table 1
below as an example of a table that is provided by a manufacturer.
Below is an example calculation for determining voltage drop.
Determine the voltage drop of a 380V, 3 phase circuit with a current of 100A and a
length of 150 m and a conductor size of 35 mm. This is a secondary service feed.
The voltage drop of secondary service is limited to 3% (380 x 3% = 11.4 Volts).
Volt drop = Resistance x Current x Length / 1000. Resistance is found on Table 1
below.
VD = 1.1 x 100 x 150 / 1000
= 16.5 V

The maximum voltage drop allowed is 11.4 V. To determine the size of cable that will be
required to meet the voltage drop requirement, determine the value of R that will meet the
requirement.
11.4 = R x 100 x 150 / 1000
R = 11.4 x 1000/100 x 150
= 0.76 mV/A/m
Referencing the table provided by the cable manufacturer (Table 1), the cable that has a
resistance of .76mV/A/m or less is a 70 mm cable with a resistance of 0.55 mV/A/m.
Calculating the voltage drop for the 70mm cable results in:
VD = R x I x L / 1000
= 0.55 x 100 x 150 / 1000
= 8.25 V
The percentage voltage drop is:
Percentage Voltage Drop = 8.25 x 100 / 380 = 2.17 %

Therefore, in order to transmit a 3 phase current of 100A per phase over a length of 150
m, with a total voltage drop equal to or less than the maximum 11.4 volts, a 70 mm cable
is needed.
This same procedure would be repeated for a feeder or branch circuit and the results
added. The total voltage drop should not exceed 5%.

TABLE 1

VOLTAGE DROP PER AMPERE PER METER (mV). Conductor operating temperature: 70C
Conductor Cross
Sectional Area
mm
1.5
2.5
4
6
10
16

Two Core Cable


D.C.
mV
29
18
11
7.3
4.4
2.8

25
35
50
70
95
120
150
185

1.75
1.25
0.93
0.63
0.46
0.36
0.29
0.23

Two Core Cable SIngle Phase Three or Four Core Cable Three phase
A.C.
A.C.
mV
mV
29
25
18
15
11
905
7.3
604
4.4
308
2.8
204
R
X
Z
R
X
Z
1.75
0.170
1.75
1.50
0.145
1.50
1.25
0.165
1.25
1.10
0.145
1.10
0.93
0.165
0.94
0.80
0.140
0.81
0.63
0.160
0.65
0.55
0.140
0.57
0.47
0.155
0.50
0.41
0.135
0.43
0.38
0.155
0.41
0.33
0.135
0.35
0.30
0.155
0.34
0.26
0.130
0.29
0.28
0.150
0.29
0.21
0.130
0.25

240
300
400

0.180
0.145
0.105

0.190
0.155
0.115

0.150
0.145
0.145

0.24
0.21
0.185

0.165
0.136
0.100

0.130
0.130
0.125

0.21
0.185
0.160

If the cable meets European standards, the formula is as follows:


U.S Formula (NEC)
For three phase:
VD = 1.732 x L x R x I / 1000
For single phase: VD = 2 x L x R x I / 1000
VD: The voltage drop (V)
L : The length of conductor (m)
R: The resistance value from Chapter 9, Table 8 (ohm/km).
I : The load current (A)
The value R is determined from the National Electrical Code (NEC), Chapter 9, Table 8
column Direct Current Resistance at 75 degrees C/ Copper/ Uncoated. See Table 2 below
for the NEC table.
Below is an example calculation for determining voltage drop.
Determine the voltage drop of a 380V, 3 phase circuit with a current of 100A and a
length of 150 m and a conductor size of 35 mm. This is a secondary service feed.
VD = 1.732 x Length x Resistance x Current / 1000. Resistance is found in Table 2
below:
= 1.732 x 100 x 0.802 x 100 /1000
= 13.89 V
The maximum voltage drop allowed is 11.4 V. To determine the size of cable that will be
required to meet the voltage drop requirement, determine the value of R that will meet the
requirement.
11.4 = 1.732 x 150 x R x 100 / 1000
R = 11.4 x 1000/1.732 x 150 x 100
= 0.438 ohm/km
Referencing the NEC table (Table 2) indicates that the cable size with a voltage drop of
0.438 ohm/km or less is 1/0 AWG (70 mm)cable with a resistance of 0.399 ohm/km.

Calculating the voltage drop for the 1/0 AWG (70mm) cable results in:
VD = 1.732 x L x R x I / 1000
= 1.732 x 150 x 0.399 x 100 / 1000

= 10.36 V
The percentage voltage drop is:
Percentage Voltage Drop = 10.36 x 100 / 380 = 2.73 %
Therefore, in order to transmit a 3 phase current of 100A per phase over a length of 150
m, with a total voltage drop equal to or less than the maximum 11.4 volts, a 1/0 AWG (70
mm2) cable is needed.
This same procedure would be repeated for a feeder or branch circuit and the results
added. The total voltage drop should not exceed 5%.
TABLE 2

Computer programs can be used to calculate the voltage drop, however the Contractor
shall provide a sample hand calculation for a single feeder, branch circuit or secondary
service to identify the formula that is being used to calculate voltage drop.

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