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L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
DESIGN GUIDE FOR CABLE
SIZING CALCULATION Page 1 of 6
DESIGN GUIDE FOR CABLE SIZING

CALCULATION
00 6/20/2006 Issued for Use MM NS AB
REV DATE DOCUMENT REVISION DETAILS BY CHKD APPD

L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 PURPOSE..................................................................................................................................3
2 REFERENCE DOCUMENT........................................................................................................3
3 GENERAL FEATURES...............................................................................................................3
4 CALCULATION PROCEDURE...................................................................................................3
4.1 Short circuit withstand capacity..............................................................................................3
4.2 Current Carrying capacity.......................................................................................................4
4.3 Voltage Drop Calculations......................................................................................................5
5 ATTACHMENTS.........................................................................................................................6
L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
1 PURPOSE
The purpose of this document is to lay down the guidelines and design procedure for
performing the cable sizing calculation.
.
2 REFERENCE DOCUMENT
Vendor Cable Catalogue
Load List/Analysis
3 GENERAL FEATURES
The size of the cable is selected based on the following considerations.
a) Short circuit withstand capacity (SC Ampacity).

b) Effective current carrying capacity (Thermal Ampacity).
c) Voltage drop during steady state operating conditions and motor start-up.
Short circuit withstand capacity is to be checked for all cables. For HT cables,
voltage drop calculation may be skipped.
4 CALCULATION PROCEDURE
Following steps are to be followed to conclude proper techno-economical cable size for a
consumer.
4.1 Short circuit withstand capacity
The cross sectional area where calculated shall not be less than the value
determined by the following formula.
S = I t
K
Where,
S = Nominal cross sectional area of the conductor in mm²
I = Value of fault current in Amperes.
L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
t = Fault clearing time in seconds (This is generally taken as 0.2 seconds

for motor & transformer feeders,0.6 seconds for plant feeders, 1.0 seconds for
incoming feeder.)
K = Factor taking account of the resistivity, temperature co-efficient, heat
capacity of the conductor material, initial and final temperature. Value of `K’ (as per
BS 7671) shall be taken as 94 for XLPE insulated Aluminium Cables , 143 for
XLPE insulated copper cables and 76 for PVC insulated Aluminium cables.
Wherever the application of the formula results in a non-standard size, a conductor

of the next higher standard cross section area shall be used.
Short circuit duration for cables must be commensurate with the tripping time of the
protective devices associated with the feeder.
4.2 Current Carrying capacity
The current carrying capacity of a cable corresponds to the maximum current that it
can carry under specified conditions without the conductors exceeding the
permissible limit of steady state temperature for the type of insulation concerned.
Derating factor or correction factor (C) shall be applied where the installation
conditions differ from those for which values of current carrying capacity are defined.
Derating factors generally considered are as follows:
In Ground Installation (direct burial)
C = Cs X Cg X Cd X Ct
Where,
Cs = Rating factor for variation in Ground temperature.
Cg = Rating factor for Grouping of cables.
Cd = Rating factor for Depth of laying.
Ct = Rating factor for Thermal resistivity of soil.
Above Ground Installation
C = Ca X Cg
Where
Ca = Rating factor for variation in Ambient air temperature.
Cg = Rating factor for Grouping of cables.
Values of different derating factors for calculating ‘C’ shall be taken as per
manufacturer catalogues. The value of ‘C’ thus calculated is multiplied by the cable
continuous current obtained from the standard tables gives the derated current
carrying capacity of cable.
In case cables are laid partially in air and ground, take the lowest derating factor for
calculation.
L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
4.3 Voltage Drop Calculations
a) For three phase circuits.
% Voltage drop under running condition can be computed using the formula
% Vd = 3 * I * L * (Rac * Cos + X * Sin) * 100 / (N * V)
Where,
Vd = Voltage drop in percentage
 = Power factor angle as considered to calculate I.
I = Line current in Amps
V = System voltage in volts
Rac = AC conductor resistance at maximum rated conductor temperature in
ohms per km.(70 deg C for PVC , 90 deg C for XLPE)
X = Reactance in ohms per km at rated frequency.
L = Cable length in km.
N = Number of Runs (for star-delta feeder, minimum no. of runs is 2).
For starting condition Starting Current and starting power factor shall be considered.
b) For DC circuits:
% Voltage drop can be computed using the formula
% Vd = (2 * I * L * Rdc * 100) / (N * V)
Where,
Rdc = DC conductor resistance at maximum rated conductor temperature in
ohm per km
N = Number of Runs
c) For single phase AC circuits.
% Vd = 2 * I * L * (Rac * Cos + X * Sin) * 100 / (N * V)

Where
Vd = Voltage drop
 = Power factor angle by which the current lags (or leads) the voltage.
Rac = AC conductor resistance at maximum rated conductor temperature in
ohms per km.
X = Reactance in ohms per km at 50 Hz
N = Number of Runs
L&T Engineering
EL-DG-0002 00
Check the calculated voltage drop, for the selected cable as per step-3,if voltage
drop voltage drop is higher than the permissible value , then calculate voltage drop
with next higher cable size until the condition is satisfied. By default 3% running
voltage drop and 15% starting voltage drop is acceptable for all feeders.
5 ATTACHMENTS
Sample Cable Sizing Calculation : Annexure-1

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L&T Engineering

DESIGN GUIDE FOR CABLE SIZING

00 6/20/2006 Issued for Use MM NS AB

REV DATE DOCUMENT REVISION DETAILS BY CHKD APPD

Vendor Cable Catalogue

The size of the cable is selected based on the following considerations.

a) Short circuit withstand capacity (SC Ampacity).

4.1 Short circuit withstand capacity

t = Fault clearing time in seconds (This is generally taken as 0.2 seconds

Wherever the application of the formula results in a non-standard size, a conductor

4.2 Current Carrying capacity

In Ground Installation (direct burial)

Above Ground Installation

4.3 Voltage Drop Calculations

a) For three phase circuits.

% Voltage drop can be computed using the formula

c) For single phase AC circuits.

% Vd = 2 * I * L * (Rac * Cos + X * Sin) * 100 / (N * V)

Sample Cable Sizing Calculation : Annexure-1

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