ABSTRACT

The fundamental concern of power cable engineering is to transmit electrical current (power) economically and efŽciently. The choice of the conductor material, size, and design must take into consideration such items as:

• Ampacity (current carrying capacity) • Voltage stress at the conductor • Voltage regulation • Conductor losses • Bending radius and ®exibility • Overall economics • Material considerations • Mechanical properties

There are several low resistivity (or high conductivity) metals that may be used as conductors for power cables. Examples of these as ranked in order of increased resistivity at 20°C are shown in Table 3.1 [1].