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Underground Cable Construction

An underground cable essentially consists of one or more conductors covered with suitable
insulation and surrounded by some protective layer. Normally, electric power can either be
transmitted using overhead lines or underground cables.

Advantages
Some of the advantages are listed below.
 It is less liable to damage during storm or bad whether condition.
 Offers low maintenance cost.
 Less voltage drop during normal operating condition and less chance of fault.

Disadvantages
Some of the advantages are listed below.
 High capital costs.
 High installation costs.
 Fault finding is difficult.

For higher voltage the cost of cable increases due to greater requirement of insulation as compared
to overhead lines. Therefore, it is installed in area or localities where overhead lines cannot be
installed.

Requirements of Underground Cable

There are various types of cable available but the choice of particular type depends on the operating
voltage and service requirement. However, a cable must fulfill some of the basic requirement.
Those requirements are as follows:
 The conductor used in underground cable shall be tinned copper or aluminum conductor of
high conductivity. Stranding is very important to provide flexibility and increase current
carrying capacity.
 The size of conductor shall be sufficient enough to carry load current without heating and
appreciable voltage drop. The voltage drop shall be within the permissible range.
 The cable must have proper thickness of insulation to provide high degree of safety and
reliability at operating voltage.
 It must have been provided with suitable mechanical protection to withstand rough
handling during lying of cable.
 The material used in the manufacture of cable should be such that there is complete
chemical and physical stability throughout.

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Construction of Underground Cable

Conductor – A material that offers low resistance to the passage of electrical current. There are
two commonly used type of conductors (i.e. copper and aluminum). The conductor may be solid
or stranded to provide flexibility.

Conductor screen
It is a semi-conducting tape or an extruded layer of a semi-conductive compound. Conductor
screening is generally used in MV and HV cables to maintain uniform electric field and minimize
electrostatic stresses.

Insulation
Anything that confines electric current to a definite path, i.e. to the conductor only. A suitable
thickness of insulation is provided so that the conductors may withstand the operating or
designed voltage. Various types and thickness of insulators like VIR (Vulcanized India Rubber),
Impregnated paper, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and XLPE (Cross linked polyethylene) are utilized
depending upon the applied voltage.

Insulation screen
A layer of semi-conductive material generally used in MV and HV lines. It serves the similar
purpose as that of conductor screen.

Core
A single conductor with insulation but without any mechanical protective covering. The number
of core or conductors in a cable depends upon its use. For example, a three core cable is used
for three phase system.

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Metallic Sheath
Metallic sheath surrounds the insulation on the core. It is provided to protect the insulation from
moisture, gases, oil, liquids etc. present in the soil and atmosphere. It should be impervious to
moisture and resistant to corrosion.
It is normally made of lead or aluminum.

Bedding
It is a layer of impregnated fibrous material such as paper, yarn, jute, hessian tape etc or non fibrous
material applied to a cable beneath the armoring to serve as a cushion, to prevent the armoring
from damaging the cable insulation

Armouring
Armouring is provided over the bedding. This provides protection against mechanical damage. A
helical wrapping or wrappings of metal (usually wire or tapes) for mechanical protection against
rough treatment and abrasion and collusion.
In some cable, armouring is not provided.

Serving
The protective material over the metal sheathing or wire armoring of a cable. This is provided to
protect the cable against corrosion. The serving may be of fibrous material like paper, cloth, jute
etc or non-fibrous material like PVC, glass tape etc.

Types Of Underground Cables

The classification of Underground cables can be done on the basis of several criteria. Various
aspects are taken into account while classification and these include:
1. Number of conductors in the cable
2. Voltage rating of the cable
3. Construction of cable
4. Type and thickness of insulation used
5. Installation and Laying of the cables

1. Classification Based Upon Number Of Conductors In The Cable

a) Single core cable

b) Twin core cable
c) Multi core cable
Typically, an Underground cable has either one, three or four cores. These cables are of course,
constructed accordingly.

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Underground cables are usually employed to deliver 3 phase power. A 3 cored cable is preferred
up to 66 kV. Beyond that, insulation required for the cable is too much. For higher voltages, 3
cored constructions become too bulky, and hence, even with some limitations we employ single
cored cables.

2. Classification Based Upon Voltage Rating Of The Cable

a) Low tension cables: These have a maximum voltage handling capacity of 1000 V
b) High tension cables: These have a maximum voltage handling capacity of 11 kV.
c) Super tension cables: These have a maximum voltage handling capacity of 33 kV.
d) Extra high tension cables: These have a maximum voltage handling capacity of
66 kV.
e) Extra super voltage cables: These are used for applications with voltage
requirement above 132 kV.

3. Classification Based Upon Construction Of The Cable

a) Belted Cable

In such cables, the conductors (usually three) are bunched together and then bounded with an
insulating paper ‘belt’. In such cables, each conductor is insulated using paper impregnated with a
suitable dielectric. The gaps between the conductors and the insulating paper belt are filled with a
fibrous dielectric material such as Jute or Hessian. This provides flexibility as well as a circular
shape. As we discussed earlier (in Construction of Cables), the jute layer is then covered by a
metallic sheath and armouring for protection. One particular speciality of this cable is that its shape
may not be perfectly circular. It is kept non-circular to use the available space more effectively.

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There are some limitations of such construction. Since the electric field is tangential, the insulation
provided is stressed. As a result, the dielectric strength falls over time. Hence, such construction
isn’t preferred for voltage levels above 11 kV.

b) Screened Cable

Further divided as H-type and S.L. - type cables.

 H-Type Cables: It was first designed by M. Hochstadter. The three cores are individually
insulated with paper and then covered by a metallic screen / cover. These metallic covers are
perforated. As a result, such construction allows the three metallic screens to touch each
other. These three metallic covers are then grouped together in a metallic tape usually made
of copper. A lead sheath surrounds this construction. The metallic covers and the sheath are
grounded.
The obvious advantage is the electric stresses are radial, not tangential and hence of lesser
magnitudes. Also, the metallic covers improve the heat dissipation.
 S.L Type Cables: It is similar to the H type cables, with the difference that each of the three
cores has its own lead sheath. With this provision, the need for the overall sheath used
previously is eliminated. The advantage of such a construction is that the chances of a core-
to-core breakdown are greatly minimized. Also, the flexibility of the cable is improved.

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The limitations are severe. Such construction is limited for voltages up to 66kV only. The
individual sheaths are thinner, and if there are constructional defects, moisture may enter the
cable and reduce its dielectric strength.

 H.S.L. Type Cables: This type of cable is combination of H type and S.L. type cable. In
these cables each core is insulated with impregnated paper and provided with seperate lead
sheaths.

c) Pressure Cables
For voltages beyond 66 kV, the electrostatic stresses in the cables exceed the acceptable values
and solid cables become unreliable. This occurs mainly because voids are created when voltages
exceed 66 kV. Hence, instead of solid cables, we use Pressure cables. Typically, such cables are
either oil filled or gas filled.
 Oil Filled Cables: Oil is circulated under suitable pressure through ducts provided for such
purpose. This oil supply and pressure are maintained through reservoirs kept at proper
distances. The oil used is the same that is employed for impregnation of paper insulators.
 Gas Filled Cables: Pressurized gas (usually dry nitrogen) is circulated around cables in an
air-tight steel pipe. Such cables are cable of carrying higher values of load current and can
operate at higher values of voltage. But the overall cost is more.

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d) Classification Based Upon Insulation Of The Cable

Various insulating materials used in cable construction are Rubber, Paper, PVC, XLPE (Cross
linked Polyethene) etc. Such classification is based upon operating temperature limitations.
Following are some insulating materials used and their maximum operating temperatures.
Insulation material Max. operating temperature

PVC TYPE A 75°C

PVC TYPE B 85°C

PVC TYPE C 85°C

XLPE 90°C

RUBBER 90°C

RUBBER – EPR IE-2, EPR IE-3, EPR IE-4, SILICON IE-5 150°C

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e) Classification Based Upon Installation And Laying Of The Cable

 Direct Buried: As the name suggests, the conductors are buried underground in a trench
without additional accessories. Sometimes cooling pipes are added if required. Once the
cables are installed, there’s no visible sign above the ground.
 Trough: Concrete troughs are dug and cables are installed in them. They’re visible on the
surface. Maintenance is easier.
 Tunnels: Sometimes, tunnels are dug up for this purpose. Such construction is mainly
employed if a river needs to be crossed or if the intended power distribution is to a major
city. Maintenance and future expansion is easier, but initial cost is higher.
 Gas Insulated Lines: This is a relatively new technology. For cables operating at higher
voltages and currents, and handling high power, such gas insulated line construction is safer.
It is being employed nowadays for advanced projects.

All these cables have an extruded polymeric outer sheath, usually PVC or polyethylene, and
some form of metallic screen, typically copper wires or tapes, or longitudinally-applied
aluminium or copper foil laminate. ...

MV POLYMERIC INSULATED CABLES

Paper insulated cables have been superseded by cables with extruded polymeric (plastic)
insulation in place of paper.
The insulation material in these modern cables is either crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) or
ethylene propylene rubber (EPR).

At the heart of all modern MV polymeric cables is a three-layer extrusion comprising:

 Inner conductive layer applied over the conductor (conductor screen);

 Insulation (XLPE or EPR) of defined thickness according to cable rated voltage;

 Outer conductive layer applied over the insulation (insulation screen).

Figures below show typical single-core polymeric cables,

All these cables have an extruded polymeric outer sheath, usually PVC or polyethylene, and
some form of metallic screen.

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Single-core cable with bonded or strippable insulation screen and copper wire earth screen

Single-core cable with bonded or strippable insulation screen and copper tape earth screen

Single-core cable with aluminium or copper tape laminate earth screen bonded to the outer
sheath

Single-core cable with conductive paint & tape insulation screen and copper tape earth screen

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Single-core 36 kV cable with XLPE insulation, bonded insulation screen, copper wire earth
screen, waterswellable tapes and PVC outer sheath

Typically copper wires or tapes, or longitudinally-applied aluminium or copper foil laminate.

In addition, or sometimes in place of these screens, there may be an armour layer comprising
steel tape or wire, or aluminium wire.

The outer conductive layer is often referred to as the ‘semicon screen’. An alternative insulation
screen,

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