ProDesign

Safe and Reliable Cable Sizing

Amendment 3 Guide Update

 INTRODUCTION
Over a year since the publication of Amendment 3 and with its
implementation now fully complete, there’s never been such focus on
electrical safety. This guide aims to show how to guarantee reliable cable
sizing on each and every job, ensuring your work is always both compliant
and safe and sound.
The electrical distribution system is a key part of every building. The designer of such a system has to
ensure not only that all building services are adequately supplied under normal conditions but also
potentially hazardous abnormal events, such as short-circuits, will be dealt with in a controlled manner.
Failure to select the correct combination of cables and circuit-breakers in all parts of the distribution
system opens up the possibility of the occurrence of extremely hazardous fault conditions which may
result in loss of vital supplies, damage to cable systems and equipment, and even fire.

ProDesign / Amendment 3 Guide Update

 ProDesign / Safe and Reliable Cable Sizing

Calculations Definitions Design with Software

Within the software the designer constructs a diagram to represent
A whole series of calculations are a necessary part of the design Overload
of a safe and reliable electrical distribution system. It is essential the system interconnections and then describes the cable types and
An overload is a continuous level of load current exceeding what the the way the cables are to be installed (most of these settings can be
that these calculations are carried out in accordance with solid
circuit was designed for, in an undamaged circuit. This can lead to applied in bulk or using templates).
engineering principles using a reliable, error-free process. This
overheating which over time can lead to damage to the cable and
might be possible to achieve for a modest-sized project using hand A load current has to be defined for each final circuit. Additionally,
ultimately the possibility of fire.
methods or with the use of calculations embedded in a spreadsheet. diversity settings can be applied, where required. The software is
then able to determine the design current (Ib) in each circuit in the
However, a more consistent method would be to use a software tool Short-circuit network.
specifically designed to assist with calculations to an appropriate
Where damage to a cable causes a short-circuit fault between live The designer also has to indicate for each circuit the type of circuit-
internationally recognised standard. The calculations described here
conductors or a live conductor and earth, a large amount of heat breaker required.
are performed by a software design tool to comply with a recognised
energy can be discharged into the fault in a brief period of time. This
standard BS 7671. This provides a verifiable method to a recognised All these details are essential for cable sizing to take place.
can cause a rapid rise in temperature and also possibly arcing, both of
standard that can be repeated without error.
which can easily lead to fire, especially in the presence of combustible
Out of the many necessary calculations, only a small sample are material. ProDesign

discussed here, specifically related to ensuring that cables are

protected against the possibility of overload and
short-circuit conditions. Other calculations
would cover: load summation, fault
calculations, voltage drop, earth
fault protection and
protection coordination.

Cable Sizing
Based on the settings described above, the software • Cable Type The examples on the next page provide
can now make an automatic selection of both the cable Ratings are taken from the appropriate table in the standard explanations of some of the key calculations.
size and the circuit-breaker rating in each circuit. It is according to the type selected.
important to appreciate that, based on the data supplied Example 1 is a simple example of the calculations necessary
• Installation Method
by the designer, the results will take into account all the to select the correct size of cable and rating of circuit-breaker
Cable ratings are taken from the appropriate column in the table
conditions relating to the way the cable is to be installed: to ensure safe and reliable operation under normal or overload
according to the way the cable is to be installed. (E.g. lower ratings for
conditions.
conduit compared to tray.)
• Ambient Temperature Example 2 describes some of the essential checks that ensure
A rating factor (from a table in the standard) is applied in the that the circuit-breaker would operate correctly to protect the
calculations to correct for the actual installed ambient temperature. circuit in the event of a short circuit.
• Grouping This requires the calculation of the prospective level of fault
A rating factor (from a table in the standard) is applied where cables currents in all parts of the network which in turn depends on
are grouped together. obtaining the cable impedances in each circuit, which are only
available after the cable sizes have been determined.
• Others
Factors are applied for other conditions that will affect the cable Example 3 shows how a cable, correctly selected in other
rating, e.g. buried cable, harmonic currents, etc. respects can be liable to failure under fault conditions.
 Example 1 90° Thermosetting insulated, unarmoured, copper cable, single-phase Example 2
63 A 60 A
mcb Load
The circuit is the same as in Example 1 (see Fig. 1):
• The cable is selected and sized at 10 mm2 as in Example 1.
Installed on perforated tray - 3 grouped circuits.
Ambient temperature 45°C • The circuit is protected by a Type C 63 A mcb.
(Fig. 1)
• The maximum prospective fault calculated at the supply end of the circuit is 3 kA.
• The breaking capacity (Icu) of the mcb is 6 kA.
Circuit details (see Fig. 1):
• The minimum prospective fault calculated at the load end of the circuit is 0.95 kA.
• Multicore, 90 °C thermosetting insulated/sheathed, unarmoured, copper cable.
The breaking capacity of the mcb is 6 kA which is greater than the maximum prospective
• Ambient Temperature = 45 °C.
fault current 3 kA at the point of its installation, so the circuit-breaker will be capable of
• Installed on a perforated tray; grouped with two other circuits (3 in group). safely interrupting any expected level of fault current.
• BS/IEC type miniature circuit-breaker (mcb).
It is also necessary to perform an adiabatic calculation to check whether, in the event of a
• Single-phase, Ib = 60 A fault, the cable will be disconnected before sustaining damaging levels of thermal energy.
Using the minimum through fault current investigates the potential worse case of long
The circuit-breaker is selected using: disconnection time, high level of thermal energy.
In ≥ I b The check ensures that the thermal withstand of the cable is equal to or greater than the
Where In is the circuit-breaker rating, and Ib the circuit design current (63 A ≥ 60 A) energy let through by the mcb, using:
The required cable rating (Iz) is selected using: k 2 S 2 ≥ I 2 t
Iz = In ÷ (Ca×Cg)
Where correction factors are: Ca (temperature) and Cg (grouping) Where:
k is a constant allocated to the cable according to the conductor and insulation
Iz = 63 ÷ (0.87×0.82) = 84.1 A
materials (143 in this example);
A cable size has to be selected from the appropriate table so that the tabulated rating It ≥ Iz
S is the section of the cable conductor (mm2);
6 mm2 cable is not adequate (It = 63 A); 10 mm2 is correct (It = 86 A)
I 2 t is the level of fault energy let through by the circuit-breaker for an instantaneous

tripping operation 9.34×103 A2 s for the mcb in this example);
The correct selections for the circuit are: mcb rating = 63 A; cable size = 10 mm2

NOTE: incorrect selection can potentially result in: For this example:
• Circuit-breaker rating too low: unwanted overload tripping during sustained normal load conditions.
• Circuit-breaker rating too high: overload trip not operating for overload conditions. Danger of cable k 2 S 2 ≥ I 2 t = (1432 ×102) ≥ (9.34×103) = 2045×103 ≥ 9.34×103
damage and possibly fire. Which confirms that the operation of the circuit-breaker will limit the energy sustained
• Cable size too low: possibility of overheating under normal load conditions. Danger of cable damage by the cable to a safe limit.
and possibly fire.
• Cable size too high: uneconomic cable selection.

ProDesign / Amendment 3 Guide Update

 ProDesign / Safe and Reliable Cable Sizing

Example 3
100s
The circuit is the same as in the previous examples except that the mcb is a Type D instead of Type C.
The Type D, which has a higher short-circuit tripping level than the Type C (see Fig. 2), is designed to 1 min
deal with loads that have a high inrush current when first energised. Using a Type C mcb for such an
Pscc Min
application could result in the short-circuit protection tripping each time the load is switched on.
= 950 A
In this example the higher tripping threshold has a consequence for the protection of the cable. In
the case of a through fault, i.e. short-circuit at the load end of the circuit, the level of fault current
is insufficient to cause the fault to be disconnected instantaneously by the circuit-breaker; the 10s
disconnection time will be 3.16 s (see Fig. 2). The thermal energy absorbed by the cable would lead
to it exceeding the maximum safe temperature limit for its insulating material.
5 sec
This is shown by the adiabatic check:
3.16 s
k 2 S 2 ≥ I 2 t = (1432×102) ≥ (9502×3.162) = (2.05×106) ≥ (2.85×106)
In this example where the disconnection is not instantaneous: I 2 t is the level of fault energy
calculated by the square of the fault current times the disconnection time. 1s
Type C
Which indicates that the cable is not suitable (2.05 < 2.85)
Increasing the cable size to 16 mm2 gives the following result: 0.4 sec Type D

k 2 S 2 ≥ I 2 t = (1432×162) ≥ (9502×3.162) = (5.23×106) ≥ (2.85×106)

Which confirms that the cable will be suitable when increased in size to 16 mm2
0.1s
NOTE: incorrect adiabatic evaluation can lead to danger of cable damage and possibly fire. This circuit is
grouped with two others, overheating in one circuit could have consequences for the others in the group.

63 A mcb
time / current characteristics

0.01s
1A 10A 100A 1kA

(see Fig. 2)
Amtech Group Limited
Bank House, 171 Midsummer Boulevard,
Milton Keynes MK9 1EB
Tel: 0800 028 2828
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.amtech.co.uk