Technical Information Handbook Wire and Cable Fifth Edition Copyright © 2018 Trademarks and Reference Information The following registered trademarks appear in this handbook: Information in this handbook has been drawn from many Alumel® is a registered trademark of Concept Alloys, LLC publications of the leading wire and cable companies in the industry and authoritative sources in their latest available Chromel® is a registered trademark of Concept Alloys, LLC editions. Some of these include: Copperweld® is a registered trademark of Copperweld Steel Company CSA® is a registered trademark of the Canadian Standards Association • American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) CCW® is a registered trademark of General Cable Corporation • Canadian Standards Association (CSA) ® DataTwist is a registered trademark of Belden • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Duofoil® is a registered trademark of Belden Flamarrest® is a registered trademark of Belden • Insulated Cable Engineers Association (ICEA) Halar® is a registered trademark of Solvay Solexis • International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Hypalon® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company • National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Hypot® is a registered trademark of Associated Research, Inc. • National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) IBM® is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation Kapton® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company • Naval Ship Engineering Center (NAVSEC) Kevlar® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company • Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) ® K FIBER is a registered trademark of General Cable Corporation • Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Kynar® is a registered trademark of Arkema, Inc. Loc-Trac® is a registered trademark of Alpha Wire Note: National Electrical Code (NEC) is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA. The term, Megger® is a registered trademark of Megger Group Ltd. National Electrical Code, as used herein, means the triennial Mylar® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company publication constituting the National Electrical Code and is used ® NEC is a registered trademark of the National Fire Protection Association with permission of the National Fire Protection Association. Nicrosil® is a registered trademark of Harrison Alloys, Inc. Nisil® is a registered trademark of Harrison Alloys, Inc. Nomex® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company Polywater® is a registered trademark of American Polywater Corporation Scotch® is a registered trademark of 3M Scotchlok® is a registered trademark of 3M Solef® is a registered trademark of Solvay Solexis Teflon® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company Tefzel® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company Tyrin™ is a trademark of Dow Chemical Company UL® is a registered trademark of Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. UniBlend® is a registered trademark of General Cable Corporation UniShield® is a registered trademark of General Cable Corporation UniStrand® is a registered trademark of Belden Inc. Valox® is a registered trademark of General Electric Company Z-Fold® is a registered trademark of Belden Zytel® is a registered trademark of E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Company II Preface The WireXpress Wire and Cable Technical Handbook is an easily accessible collection of engineering and technical information about electrical and electronic cable and their related products. Primarily intended for individuals who design, specify or troubleshoot wire and cable systems, the WireXpress Wire and Cable Technical Information Handbook contains information about topics such as: • Basic principles of electricity • Conductor, insulation and jacket materials along with their electrical and mechanical properties • Cable types, selection criteria and application guidelines for electrical and optical wire and cable • Installation and testing guidelines and recommendations • Application tips for cable accessories such as connectors, lugs and terminations • Packaging, handling and shipping guidelines • References to hundreds of key domestic and international wire and cable standards • Conversion tables (e.g., AWG to mm2) and basic engineering equations used in the industry The information contained in this handbook will assist engineers and individuals in designing and constructing safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally responsible electrical and communications networks. WireXpress wishes to acknowledge the contributions of the many individuals who assisted in the preparation of this edition of the handbook. WireXpress especially wants to recognize the efforts of Deborah Altman, Dana Anderson, Harmony Merwitz, Eric Bulington, Mark Fordham, Jeff Gronemeyer, Andy Jimenez, Jason Kreke, Jonathan Meyer, Nader Moubed, Ania Ross, Eric Wall and Bill Wilkens. WireXpress hopes it has succeeded in making this handbook the best in the industry and welcomes your comments and suggestions for improvements in future editions. If you are interested in downloading the PDF version of this book, please visit WireXpress.com. ABOUT WIREXPRESS WireXpress is a master distributor of electrical and electronic wire and cable, datacomm, security and A/V, industrial networking and controls, and all of the related support products. We help you sell more by listening to your needs, developing solutions, and providing quality products and services. III IV Contents CONTENTS Trademarks and Reference Information II Preface III About WireXpress III 1. Basic Principles of Electricity 1 1.1 Electricity 2 1.2 The Volt 2 1.3 The Ampere 2 1.4 The Ohm 2 1.5 Ohm’s Law 2 1.6 Ampacity 2 1.7 Electrical Systems 3 2. Conductors 5 2.1 Strand Types 7 2.2 Coatings 10 2.3 Tensile Strength of Copper Wire 10 2.4 Copper Strand Properties 11 2.5 Aluminum Strand Properties 22 2.6 Additional Conductor Properties 26 3. Insulation and Jacket Materials 33 3.1 Purpose 34 3.2 Types and Applications 34 3.3 Color Coding 38 3.4 Properties 47 V Contents 4. Shields 55 4.1 Power Cable 56 4.2 Electronic Cable 58 5. Armor 61 5.1 Interlocked Armor 62 5.2 Continuously Corrugated and Welded (CCW) 62 5.3 Basket-Weave 63 5.4 Lead Sheath 63 5.5 Wire Serve 63 6. Cable Types and Selection Criteria 65 6.1 Portable Power and Control 67 6.2 Construction and Building Wire 68 6.3 Control, Instrumentation and Thermocouple 68 6.4 High Temperature 70 6.5 Power 71 6.6 Armored Power and Control 73 6.7 Electronic Cable 73 6.8 Telephone 78 6.9 Military 80 6.10 Shipboard Cables (MIL-DTL-24643, MIL-DTL-24640 and MIL-DTL-915) 81 6.11 Optical Fiber Cables 81 6.12 Tray Cables 84 7. Electrical Characteristics 85 7.1 DC Resistance of Plated Copper Conductors 86 7.2 DC and AC Resistance of Copper Conductors 89 7.3 DC and AC Resistance of Aluminum Conductors 91 7.4 Reactance and Impedance at 60 Hz 92 7.5 AC/DC Resistance Ratio at 60 Hz 93 7.6 Temperature Correction Factors for Resistance 94 7.7 Voltage Drop 95 7.8 Maximum Conductor Short Circuit Current 96 7.9 Maximum Shield Short Circuit Current 99 7.10 Resistance and Ampacity at 400 and 800 Hz 100 7.11 Current Ratings for Electronic Cables 101 7.12 Ampacity of Power Cables 102 7.13 Basic Impulse Level (BIL) Ratings 102 VI Contents 8. Installation and Testing 103 8.1 Receiving, Handling and Storage 105 8.2 Conduit Fill 106 8.3 Pulling 111 8.4 Installation Methods 116 8.5 Overhead Messengers 119 8.6 Vertical Suspension 121 8.7 Hipot Testing 122 8.8 Fault Locating 124 8.9 Megger Testing 125 8.10 Moisture Removal 126 8.11 Fiber Optic Testing 127 8.12 LAN Cable Testing 127 9. Cable Accessories 129 9.1 Coaxial Connectors 131 9.2 Data Connectors 133 9.3 Power Connectors 134 9.4 Fiber Optic Connectors 137 9.5 Cable Tray Systems 143 9.6 NEMA Plug and Receptacle Configurations 145 10. Packaging of Wire and Cable 149 10.1 Reel Size 150 10.2 Reel Handling 157 11. Industry Standards 159 11.1 Industry Standards List 161 11.2 Fire Safety Tests 176 11.3 Regulatory and Approval Agencies 182 VII Contents 12. Continental Europe 187 12.1 European Union (EU) Standards 189 12.2 Austrian Standards 197 12.3 Belgian Standards 198 12.4 Danish Standards 199 12.5 Dutch Standards 199 12.6 French Standards 200 12.7 German Standards 202 12.8 Irish Standards 204 12.9 Italian Standards 205 12.10 Norwegian Standards 206 12.11 Portuguese Standards 207 12.12 Spanish Standards 208 12.13 Swedish Standards 209 12.14 Swiss Standards 210 13. United Kingdom 213 13.1 Standards 214 13.2 Supply Voltage and Plug Configurations 219 14. Latin and South America 221 14.1 Mexican Standards 222 14.2 Venezuelan Standards 223 14.3 Brazilian Standards 224 14.4 Colombian Standards 224 14.5 Argentine Standards 224 15. Canada 225 15.1 Standards 226 15.2 Cable Types 228 15.3 Supply Voltage and Plug Configurations 231 15.4 Fire Ratings 232 15.5 Single Conductor Teck 90 Terminations 233 VIII Contents 16. Asia Pacific 235 16.1 Australian Standards 236 16.2 Singapore Standards 238 16.3 Japanese Standards 239 16.4 Chinese Standards 240 17. Conversion Tables 241 17.1 Metric to English Conductor Size 242 17.2 Circular Measurements – Diameter, Circumference and Area 244 17.3 Length, Weight, Area, Power and Energy 246 17.4 Temperature Conversion 248 17.5 kVA to Amperes 249 17.6 Horsepower to Amperes 250 18. Formulas and Constants 251 18.1 Electrical Properties of Circuits 252 18.2 Resistance and Weight of Conductors 252 18.3 Resistance, Inductance and Capacitance in AC Circuits 253 18.4 Series and Parallel Connections 253 18.5 Engineering Notation 254 18.6 Diameter of Multiconductor Cables 255 18.7 Determination of Largest Possible Conductor in Cable Interstices 255 18.8 Conductor Diameter from Wire Diameter 256 18.9 Coaxial Capacitance 256 18.10 Inductive Reactance 257 Glossary 259 Index 293 IX X 1.