Cable Sizing

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Page 1 of 14

Cable Sizing Calculation

From Open Electrical
Contents
1 Introduction
1.1 Why do the calculation?
1.2 When to do the calculation?
2 General Methodology
2.1 Step 1: Data Gathering
2.1.1 Load Details
2.1.2 Cable Construction
2.1.3 Installation Conditions
2.2 Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating
2.2.1 Base Current Ratings
2.2.2 Installed Current Ratings
2.2.3 Cable Selection and Coordination with Protective Devices
2.2.3.1 Feeders
2.2.3.2 Motors
2.3 Step 3: Voltage Drop
2.3.1 Cable Impedances
2.3.2 Calculating Voltage Drop
2.3.3 Maximum Permissible Voltage Drop
2.3.4 Calculating Maximum Cable Length due to Voltage Drop
2.4 Step 4: Short Circuit Temperature Rise
2.4.1 Minimum Cable Size Due to Short Circuit Temperature Rise
2.4.2 Initial and Final Conductor Temperatures
2.4.3 Short Circuit Energy
2.5 Step 5: Earth Fault Loop Impedance
2.5.1 The Earth Fault Loop
2.5.2 Maximum Cable Length
3 Worked Example
3.1 Step 1: Data Gathering
3.2 Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating
3.3 Step 3: Voltage Drop
3.4 Step 4: Short Circuit Temperature Rise
3.5 Step 5: Earth Fault Loop Impedance
4 Waterfall Charts
5 International Standards
5.1 IEC
5.2 NEC
5.3 BS
5.4 AS/NZS
6 Computer Software
7 What next?
Introduction
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This article examines the sizing of electrical cables (i.e. cross

-sectional area) and its implementation in various
international standards. Cable sizing methods do differ across
international standards (e.g. IEC, NEC, BS, etc) and some
standards emphasise certain things over others. However the
general principles underlying any cable sizing calculation do
not change. In this article, a general methodology for sizing
cables is first presented and then the specific international standards are introduced.
Why do the calculation?

The proper sizing of an electrical (load bearing) cable is important to ensure that the cable can:
Operate continuously under full load without being damaged

Withstand the worst short circuits currents flowing through the cable
Provide the load with a suitable voltage (and avoid excessive voltage drops)
(optional) Ensure operation of protective devices during an earth fault
When to do the calculation?

This calculation can be done individually for each power cable that needs to be sized, or
alternatively, it can be used to produce cable sizing waterfall charts for groups of cables with similar
characteristics (e.g. cables installed on ladder feeding induction motors).
General Methodology
All cable sizing methods more or less follow the same basic six step process:
1) Gathering data about the cable, its installation conditions, the load that it will carry, etc
2) Determine the minimum cable size based on continuous current carrying capacity
3) Determine the minimum cable size based on voltage drop considerations
4) Determine the minimum cable size based on short circuit temperature rise
5) Determine the minimum cable size based on earth fault loop impedance
6) Select the cable based on the highest of the sizes calculated in step 2, 3, 4 and 5
Step 1: Data Gathering

The first step is to collate the relevant information that is required to perform the sizing calculation.
Typically, you will need to obtain the following data:
Load Details
The characteristics of the load that the cable will supply, which includes:
Load type: motor or feeder

Three phase, single phase or DC
System / source voltage
Full load current (A) - or calculate this if the load is defined in terms of power (kW)
Full load power factor (pu)
Locked rotor or load starting current (A)
Starting power factor (pu)
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Distance / length of cable run from source to load - this length should be as close as
possible to the actual route of the cable and include enough contingency for vertical
drops / rises and termination of the cable tails
Cable Construction
The basic characteristics of the cable's physical construction, which includes:
Conductor material - normally copper or aluminium

Conductor shape - e.g. circular or shaped
Conductor type - e.g. stranded or solid
Conductor surface coating - e.g. plain (no coating), tinned, silver or nickel
Insulation type - e.g. PVC, XLPE, EPR
Number of cores - single core or multicore (e.g. 2C, 3C or 4C)
Installation Conditions
How the cable will be installed, which includes:
Above ground or underground
Installation / arrangement - e.g. for underground cables, is it directly buried or buried in
conduit? for above ground cables, is it installed on cable tray / ladder, against a wall, in
air, etc.
Ambient or soil temperature of the installation site
Cable bunching, i.e. the number of cables that are bunched together
Cable spacing, i.e. whether cables are installed touching or spaced
Soil thermal resistivity (for underground cables)
Depth of laying (for underground cables)
For single core three-phase cables, are the cables installed in trefoil or laid flat?
Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating

Current flowing through a cable generates heat through the resistive losses in the conductors,
dielectric losses through the insulation and resistive losses from current flowing through any cable
screens / shields and armouring.
The component parts that make up the cable (e.g. conductors, insulation, bedding, sheath, armour,
etc) must be capable of withstanding the temperature rise and heat emanating from the cable. The
current carrying capacity of a cable is the maximum current that can flow continuously through a
cable without damaging the cable's insulation and other components (e.g. bedding, sheath, etc). It is
sometimes also referred to as the continuous current rating or ampacity of a cable.
Cables with larger conductor cross-sectional areas (i.e. more copper or aluminium) have lower
resistive losses and are able to dissipate the heat better than smaller cables. Therefore a 16 mm2
cable will have a higher current carrying capacity than a 4 mm2 cable.
Base Current Ratings
International standards and manufacturers of cables will quote base current ratings of different types
of cables in tables such as the one shown on the right. Each of these tables pertain to a specific type
of cable construction (e.g. copper conductor, PVC insulated, 0.6/1kV voltage grade, etc) and a base
set of installation conditions (e.g. ambient temperature, installation method, etc). It is important to
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note that the current ratings are only valid for the
quoted types of cables and base installation
conditions.
In the absence of any guidance, the following
reference based current ratings may be used.
Installed Current Ratings
When the proposed installation conditions differ
from the base conditions, derating (or correction)
factors can be applied to the base current ratings
to obtain the actual installed current ratings.
International standards and cable manufacturers
will provide derating factors for a range of
installation conditions, for example ambient /
soil temperature, grouping or bunching of cables,
soil thermal resistivity, etc. The installed current
rating is calculated by multiplying the base
current rating with each of the derating factors,
i.e.
where
Example of base current rating table (Excerpt from

IEC 60364-5-52)
is the installed current rating (A)

is the base current rating (A)
are the product of all the derating factors
For example, suppose a cable had an ambient temperature derating factor of kamb = 0.94 and a
grouping derating factor of kg = 0.85, then the overall derating factor kd = 0.94x0.85 = 0.799.
For a cable with a base current rating of 42A, the installed current rating would be Ic = 0.799x42 =
33.6A.
In the absence of any guidance, the following reference derating factors may be used.
Cable Selection and Coordination with Protective Devices
Feeders
When sizing cables for non-motor loads, the upstream protective device (fuse or circuit breaker) is
typically selected to also protect the cable against damage from thermal overload. The protective
device must therefore be selected to exceed the full load current, but not exceed the cable's installed
current rating, i.e. this inequality must be met:
Where
is the full load current (A)

is the protective device rating (A)
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is the installed cable current rating (A)

Motors
Motors are normally protected by a separate thermal overload (TOL) relay and therefore the
upstream protective device (e.g. fuse or circuit breaker) is not required to protect the cable against
overloads. As a result, cables need only to be sized to cater for the full load current of the motor, i.e.
Where
is the full load current (A)

is the installed cable current rating (A)
Of course, if there is no separate thermal overload protection on the motor, then the protective device
needs to be taken into account as per the case for feeders above.
Step 3: Voltage Drop

A cable's conductor can be seen as an impedance and therefore whenever current flows through a
cable, there will be a voltage drop across it, which can be derived by Ohms Law (i.e. V = IZ). The
voltage drop will depend on two things:
Current flow through the cable the higher the current flow, the higher the voltage drop
Impedance of the conductor the larger the impedance, the higher the voltage drop
Cable Impedances
The impedance of the cable is a function of the cable size (cross-sectional area) and the length of the
cable. Most cable manufacturers will quote a cables resistance and reactance in /km. The
following typical cable impedances for low voltage AC and DC single core and multicore cables can
be used in the absence of any other data.
Calculating Voltage Drop
For AC systems, the method of calculating voltage drops based on load power factor is commonly
used. Full load currents are normally used, but if the load has high startup currents (e.g. motors), then
voltage drops based on starting current (and power factor if applicable) should also be calculated.
For a three phase system:
Where
is the three phase voltage drop (V)

is the nominal full load or starting current as applicable (A)
is the ac resistance of the cable (/km)
is the ac reactance of the cable (/km)
is the load power factor (pu)
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is the length of the cable (m)

For a single phase system:
Where
is the single phase voltage drop (V)

For a DC system:
Where
is the dc voltage drop (V)

is the dc resistance of the cable (/km)
Maximum Permissible Voltage Drop

It is customary for standards (or clients) to specify maximum permissible voltage drops, which is the
highest voltage drop that is allowed across a cable. Should your cable exceed this voltage drop, then
a larger cable size should be selected.
Maximum voltage drops across a cable are specified because load consumers (e.g. appliances) will
have an input voltage tolerance range. This means that if the voltage at the appliance is lower than its
rated minimum voltage, then the appliance may not operate correctly.
In general, most electrical equipment will operate normally at a voltage as low as 80% nominal
voltage. For example, if the nominal voltage is 230VAC, then most appliances will run at >184VAC.
Cables are typically sized for a more conservative maximum voltage drop, in the range of 5 10% at
full load.
Calculating Maximum Cable Length due to Voltage Drop
It may be more convenient to calculate the maximum length of a cable for a particular conductor size
given a maximum permissible voltage drop (e.g. 5% of nominal voltage at full load) rather than the
voltage drop itself. For example, by doing this it is possible to construct tables showing the
maximum lengths corresponding to different cable sizes in order to speed up the selection of similar
type cables.
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The maximum cable length that will achieve this can be calculated by re-arranging the voltage drop
equations and substituting the maximum permissible voltage drop (e.g. 5% of 415V nominal voltage
= 20.75V). For a three phase system:
Where
is the maximum length of the cable (m)

is the maximum permissible three phase voltage drop (V)
For a single phase system:
Where

is the maximum permissible single phase voltage drop (V)
For a DC system:
Where

is the maximum permissible dc voltage drop (V)
is the dc resistance of the cable (/km)
Step 4: Short Circuit Temperature Rise

During a short circuit, a high amount of current can flow through a cable for a short time. This surge
in current flow causes a temperature rise within the cable. High temperatures can trigger unwanted
reactions in the cable insulation, sheath materials and other components, which can prematurely
degrade the condition of the cable. As the cross-sectional area of the cable increases, it can dissipate
higher fault currents for a given temperature rise. Therefore, cables should be sized to withstand the
largest short circuit that it is expected to see.
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Minimum Cable Size Due to Short Circuit Temperature Rise

The minimum cable size due to short circuit temperature rise is typically calculated with an equation
of the form:
Where
is the minimum cross-sectional area of the cable (mm2)

is the prospective short circuit current (A)
is the duration of the short circuit (s)
is a short circuit temperature rise constant
The temperature rise constant is calculated based on the material properties of the conductor and the
initial and final conductor temperatures (see the derivation here). Different international standards
have different treatments of the temperature rise constant, but by way of example, IEC 60364-5-54
calculates it as follows:
(for copper conductors)
(for aluminium conductors)
Where
is the initial conductor temperature (deg C)

is the final conductor temperature (deg C)
Initial and Final Conductor Temperatures

The initial conductor temperature is typically chosen to be the maximum operating temperature of
the cable. The final conductor temperature is typically chosen to be the limiting temperature of the
insulation. In general, the cable's insulation will determine the maximum operating temperature and
limiting temperatures.
As a rough guide, the following temperatures are common for the different insulation materials:
Material
Max Operating
Temperature
o
C
Limiting
Temperature
o
C
PVC
75
160
EPR
90
250
XLPE
90
250
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Short Circuit Energy

The short circuit energy
is normally chosen as the maximum short circuit that the cable could
potentially experience. However for circuits with current limiting devices (such as HRC fuses), then
the short circuit energy chosen should be the maximum prospective let-through energy of the
protective device, which can be found from manufacturer data.
Step 5: Earth Fault Loop Impedance

Sometimes it is desirable (or necessary) to consider the earth fault loop impedance of a circuit in the
sizing of a cable. Suppose a bolted earth fault occurs between an active conductor and earth. During
such an earth fault, it is desirable that the upstream protective device acts to interrupt the fault within
a maximum disconnection time so as to protect against any inadvertent contact to exposed live parts.
Ideally the circuit will have earth fault protection, in which case the protection will be fast acting and
well within the maximum disconnection time. The maximum disconnection time is chosen so that a
dangerous touch voltage does not persist for long enough to cause injury or death. For most circuits,
a maximum disconnection time of 5s is sufficient, though for portable equipment and socket outlets,
a faster disconnection time is desirable (i.e. <1s and will definitely require earth fault protection).
However for circuits that do not have earth fault protection, the upstream protective device (i.e. fuse
or circuit breaker) must trip within the maximum disconnection time. In order for the protective
device to trip, the fault current due to a bolted short circuit must exceed the value that will cause the
protective device to act within the maximum disconnection time. For example, suppose a circuit is
protected by a fuse and the maximum disconnection time is 5s, then the fault current must exceed the
fuse melting current at 5s (which can be found by cross-referencing the fuse time-current curves).
By simple application of Ohm's law:
Where
is the earth fault current required to trip the protective device within the minimum
disconnection time (A)
is the phase to earth voltage at the protective device (V)
is the impedance of the earth fault loop ()
It can be seen from the equation above that the impedance of the earth fault loop must be sufficiently
low to ensure that the earth fault current can trip the upstream protection.
The Earth Fault Loop
The earth fault loop can consist of various return paths other than the earth conductor, including the
cable armour and the static earthing connection of the facility. However for practical reasons, the
earth fault loop in this calculation consists only of the active conductor and the earth conductor.
The earth fault loop impedance can be found by:
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Where
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is the earth fault loop impedance ()

is the impedance of the active conductor ()
is the impedance of the earth conductor ()
Assuming that the active and earth conductors have identical lengths, the earth fault loop impedance
can be calculated as follows:
Where

and
(/km)
and
are the ac resistances of the active and earth conductors respectively

are the reactances of the active and earth conductors respectively (/km)
Maximum Cable Length

The maximum earth fault loop impedance can be found by re-arranging the equation above:
Where
is the maximum earth fault loop impedance ()

The maximum cable length can therefore be calculated by the following:
Where
is the maximum cable length (m)

and
are the ac resistances of the active and earth conductors respectively
(/km)
and
are the reactances of the active and earth conductors respectively (/km)
Note that the voltage V0 at the protective device is not necessarily the nominal phase to earth
voltage, but usually a lower value as it can be downstream of the main busbars. This voltage is
commonly represented by applying some factor to the nominal voltage. A conservative value of
= 0.8 can be used so that:
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Where Vn is the nominal phase to earth voltage (V)
Worked Example
In this example, we will size a cable for a 415V, 30kW three-phase motor from the MCC to the field.
Step 1: Data Gathering

The following data was collected for the cable to be sized:
Cable type: Cu/PVC/GSWB/PVC, 3C+E, 0.6/1kV
Operating temperature: 75C
Cable installation: above ground on cable ladder bunched together with 3 other cables
on a single layer and at 30C ambient temperature
Cable run: 90m (including tails)
Motor load: 30kW, 415V three phase, full load current = 58A, power factor = 0.87
Protection: aM fuse of rating = 80A, max prospective fault I2t = 90 A2s , 5s melt time =
550A
Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating

Suppose the ambient temperature derating is 0.89 and the grouping derating for 3 bunched cables on
a single layer is 0.82. The overall derating factor is 0.89
0.82 = 0.7298. Given that a 25 mm2 and
35 mm2 have base current ratings of 78A and 96A respectively, which cable should be selected
based on current rating considerations?
The installed current ratings for 25 mm2 and 35 mm2 is 0.7298
78A = 56.92A and 0.7298
96A = 70.06A respectively. Given that the full load current of the motor is 58A, then the installed
current rating of the 25 mm2 cable is lower than the full load current and is not suitable for
continuous use with the motor. The 35 mm2 cable on the other hand has an installed current rating
that exceeds the motor full load current, and is therefore the cable that should be selected.
Step 3: Voltage Drop

Suppose a 35 mm2 cable is selected. If the maximum permissible voltage drop is 5%, is the cable
suitable for a run length of 90m?
A 35 mm2 cable has an ac resistance of 0.638 /km and a reactance of 0.0826 /km. The voltage
drop across the cable is:
A voltage drop of 5.388V is equivalent to
, which is lower than the maximum
permissible voltage dorp of 5%. Therefore the cable is suitable for the motor based on voltage drop
considerations.
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Step 4: Short Circuit Temperature Rise

The cable is operating normally at 75C and has a prospective fault capacity (I2t) of 90 A2s. What is
the minimum size of the cable based on short circuit temperature rise?
XLPE has a limiting temperature of 160C. Using the IEC formula, the short circuit temperature rise
constant is 111.329. The minimum cable size due to short circuit temperature rise is therefore:
Therefore, our 35 mm2 cable is still suitable for this application.
Step 5: Earth Fault Loop Impedance

Suppose there is no special earth fault protection for the motor and a bolted single phase to earth
fault occurs at the motor terminals. The earth conductor for our 35 mm2 cable is 10 mm2. If the
maximum disconnection time is 5s, is our 90m long cable suitable based on earth fault loop
impedance?
The 80A motor fuse has a 5s melting current of 550A. The ac resistances of the active and earth
conductors are 0.638 /km and 2.33 /km) respectively. The reactances of the active and earth
conductors are 0.0826 /km and 0.0967 /km) respectively.
The maximum length of the cable allowed is calculated as:
The cable run is 90m and the maximum length allowed is 117m, therefore our cable is suitable based
on earth fault loop impedance. In fact, our 35 mm2 cable has passed all the tests and is the size that
should be selected.
Waterfall Charts
Sometimes it is convenient to
group together similar types of
cables (for example, 415V PVC
motor cables installed on cable
ladder) so that instead of having
to go through the laborious
exercise of sizing each cable
separately, one can select a cable
from a pre-calculated chart.
These charts are often called
Example of a cable waterfall chart
"waterfall charts" and typically
show a list of load ratings and the
maximum of length of cable permissible for each cable size. Where a particular cable size fails to
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meet the requirements for current carrying capacity or short circuit temperature rise, it is blacked out
on the chart (i.e. meaning that you can't choose it).
Preparing a waterfall chart is common practice when having to size many like cables and
substantially cuts down the time required for cable selection.
International Standards
IEC
IEC 60364-5-52 (2009) (http://webstore.iec.ch/webstore/webstore.nsf/standards/IEC%2060364-552!opendocument) "Electrical installations in buildings - Part 5-52: Selection and erection of
electrical equipment - Wiring systems" is the IEC standard governing cable sizing.
NEC
NFPA 70 (2011) (http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?
DocNum=70&cookie_test=1) "National Electricity Code" is the equivalent standard for IEC 60364
in North America and includes a section covering cable sizing in Article 300.
BS
BS 7671 (2008) (http://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-regulations/index.cfm) "Requirements for
Electrical Installations - IEE Wiring Regulations" is the equivalent standard for IEC 60364 in the
United Kingdom.
AS/NZS
AS/NZS 3008.1 (2009) (http://infostore.saiglobal.com/store/Details.aspx?productid=1141542)
"Electrical installations - Selection of cables - Cables for alternating voltages up to and including
0.6/1 kV" is the standard governing low voltage cable sizing in Australia and New Zealand. AS/NZS
3008.1.1 is for Australian conditions and AS/NZS 3008.1.2 is for New Zealand conditions.
Computer Software
Cablesizer (http://www.cablesizer.com) is a free online application for sizing cables to IEC
standards.
Most of the major electrical analysis packages (e.g. ETAP, PTW, etc) have a cable sizing module.
There also exists other (offline) software packages that include cable sizing (for example from
Solutions Electrical UK (http://www.electricalsoftware.co.uk/cable_calculations.php) ).
What next?
Having sized the power / load-bearing cables, the cable schedule can now be developed and then the
cable material take-offs (MTO).
Retrieved from "http://www.openelectrical.org/wiki/index.php?title=Cable_Sizing_Calculation"
Category: Calculations
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This page was last modified on 27 April 2011, at 08:03.
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Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Cable Sizing Calculation

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

This article examines the sizing of electrical cables (i.e. cross

Why do the calculation?

Operate continuously under full load without being damaged

When to do the calculation?

Step 1: Data Gathering

Load type: motor or feeder

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Conductor material - normally copper or aluminium

Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Example of base current rating table (Excerpt from

is the installed current rating (A)

is the full load current (A)

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

is the installed cable current rating (A)

is the full load current (A)

Step 3: Voltage Drop

is the three phase voltage drop (V)

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

is the length of the cable (m)

is the single phase voltage drop (V)

is the dc voltage drop (V)

Maximum Permissible Voltage Drop

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

is the maximum length of the cable (m)

For a single phase system:

is the maximum length of the cable (m)

is the maximum length of the cable (m)

Step 4: Short Circuit Temperature Rise

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Minimum Cable Size Due to Short Circuit Temperature Rise

is the minimum cross-sectional area of the cable (mm2)

(for copper conductors)

(for aluminium conductors)

is the initial conductor temperature (deg C)

Initial and Final Conductor Temperatures

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Short Circuit Energy

Step 5: Earth Fault Loop Impedance

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

is the earth fault loop impedance ()

is the length of the cable (m)

are the ac resistances of the active and earth conductors respectively

Maximum Cable Length

is the maximum earth fault loop impedance ()

The maximum cable length can therefore be calculated by the following:

is the maximum cable length (m)

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical

Where Vn is the nominal phase to earth voltage (V)

Step 1: Data Gathering

Step 2: Cable Selection Based on Current Rating

0.82 = 0.7298. Given that a 25 mm2 and

Step 3: Voltage Drop

A voltage drop of 5.388V is equivalent to

, which is lower than the maximum

Cable Sizing Calculation - Open Electrical