Cable Sizing and Effects of Cable Length on
Dynamic Performance of Induction Motor
Mukesh Kumar Kirar (IEEE Member)
Electrical Engineering Department
MANIT, Bhopal
Bhopal, India
mukeshkhaironiya@ gmail.com
Abstract This paper presents cable sizing procedure and effect
of the cable length on induction motor dynamic performance.
Motor and cable selection, to accommodate competing motor
starting requirements, are the classical challenges facing EPC
contractors and motor designers during the planning and
designing stages of new Industrial facilities. The cable size &
length has impact on both starting current and motor terminal
voltage. Its impact on the voltage is much greater than that on
the current. Various length of feeder cable is selected for case
study. The induction motor performance during DOL starting
with various length of cable is investigated with the help of ETAP
software.
Keywords- cable sizing; induction motor starting; cable
ampacity; Electrical Transient Analyzer Program (ETAP);
I. INTRODUCTION
The most widely recognized and studied effect of motor
starting is the voltage dip that is experienced throughout an
industrial power system as the direct online result of starting
large motors. In order for the load to be accelerated, the motor
must generate greater torque than the load requirement [2].
Motor operating performance is depends on cable size in terms
of voltage drop on cable [3]. Selection of the size and type of
Ganga Aginhotri (IEEE Member)
Electrical Engineering Department
MANIT, Bhopal
Bhopal, India
ganga1949@ gmail.com
the extent of a voltage drop problem [2, 16-18]. The study is
performed with the help of ETAP software.
Factors affecting motor starting include impedance of
power distribution systems, the motor terminal voltage, inertia
of the motor and the load [1]. System impedance has impact on
both starting current and motor terminal voltage. Its impact on
the voltage is much greater than on the current. The starting
current using across-line starting is only slightly different when
the impedance of the circuit is changed, but the voltage drop on
the cable changes significantly [3].
II. STEPS FOR CABLE SIZING
The size of the cable depends on various factors such as
load current, allowable voltage drop, length of the cable
required, cable laying and installation, environmental condition
etc. Following steps are to be followed to calculate proper
techno-economical cable size for a consumer.
Step-1: Cross Sectional Area Calculation Based on Short
Circuit Withstand Capacity
The cross sectional area of a cable should not be less than
the value determined by the following formula.
the cable depends on type of load and environment operating
condition. The size of the cable is selected based on the
following considerations.
Short circuits withstand capacity (SC Ampacity).
Effective current carrying capacity (Thermal
Ampacity).
Voltage drop during steady state o1perating conditions
and motor start-up.
Short circuit withstand capacity is to be checked for HT cables
and for LT incomer feeders only. For LT breaker controlled
motor feeders, the cable impedance reduces short circuit
current considerably, hence, short circuit withstand capacity is
not required to be checked for the rated fault level of the LT
motors.
DOL motor starting analysis is performed to investigate
induction motor performance with various length of feeder
cable [19, 9]. The motor starting study can expose and identify
978-1-4673-0766-6/12/$31.00 2012 IEEE

 

Where,
S= Nominal cross sectional area of the conductor in
mm
I = Value of fault current in Amperes.
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.
If the value of S is a non-standard size than conductor of
the next higher standard cross section area may be selected.
Short circuit duration for cables must be commensurate with
the tripping time of the protective devices associated with the
feeder.
Step-2: Effective Current Carrying Capacity (Thermal
Ampacity)
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
[19]. Derating factor or correction factor (C) must be applied
where the installation conditions differ from those for which
values of current carrying capacity are defined. Derating
factors cording to Indian Standard [19-20] generally considered
are as follows:
In Ground Installation (direct burial)
      
I = Load current of the electrical consumer (in Amp)
kW = Output kW (name plate) rating of the load
V = Line to line voltage in case of 3- AC/ Line to
phase in case of 1- AC
pf = power factor
= Efficiency (1) of the equipment at rated load.
Select the cable size from the Derated current rating chart.
Compare the cable size as per short circuit (step-I) and
according to load Current (step-3).Select the higher cable size.
Step-4: Verification of cable size according to permissible
voltage drop during steady state operating conditions
& motor start up.
For three phase circuits % Voltage drop can be computed
using the formula

Where,    
  

 = Rating factor for variation in Ground
temperature. Where,
 = Rating factor for Grouping of cables. Vd = Voltage drop in percentage

 = Rating factor for Depth of laying. = Power factor angle as considered to calculate I.

 = Rating factor for Thermal resistivity of soil. I = Line current in Amps

Above Ground Installation V = System voltage in volts

     Rac= AC conductor resistance at maximum rated conductor

Where,
 = Rating factor for variation in Ambient air
temperature.
 = Rating factor for Grouping of cables.
Values of different derating factors for calculating C is
selected as per manufacturer catalogues. The value of C thus
calculated is multiplied by the cable continuous current
obtained from the standard tables [20] 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.
Derated current rating chart for each size of cable after
multiplying the cable ampacity with the applicable derating
factor C is given in appendix.
Step-3: Cable Size Selection According To Load Current
Load current is calculated for a consumer using following
formulas
For 3- load
 respectively.
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).
Check the calculated voltage drop, for the selected cable as
per step-3, if voltage drop is higher than the permissible value
, then calculate voltage drop with next higher cable size until
the condition is satisfied.
III. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
An online diagram of a power distribution system of a large
Oil Storage Terminal (OST) is shown in Fig. 1. The OST has
Grid connectivity with public power company (PPC) at two
points. PPC power is available at 66 kV voltage level through
utility ties 1 and 2. Grid transformers TR-301 and TR-302 step
down the voltage from the 66 kV to the 6.9 kV level and
connected to Switchgear SG-201A and SG-201B through cable
  
 The Switchgear SG-401A, SG-401B and Motor Control
Center (MCC) MCC-401, MCC-402 are supplied through
For 1- load transformers TR-401 and TR-402 of 6.6/0.415 kV. Emergency
load is connected to MCC-401&402 and SG-402A & 402B
 panel. When the plant becomes isolated, due to a utility service
   outage generator will supply power to emergency load.

Where,
Emergency Power is generated at 6.6kV and supplied to load
through generator transformer TR-405 of 6.6/0.415kV.
The case study is executed for 0.415kV motor control
center (MCC-402) in Oil Storage Terminal (OST) power
distribution system. The fire water pump PM-026B motor rated
at 110kW is connected to MCC-402 as shown in SLD fig. 1.
Motor starting analysis is done when the entire load supplied
by the gene-set is already in operation. The rated capacity of
the generator is 5MVA and the total load connected is
approximate 4 MVA. The induction motor data is given in
Table-I
Full load ampere of the PM-026A is 179A, so the selected
cable full load ampacity must be greater than motor rated
current. Derated ampacity of cables are give in appendix table.
The cable selected is 185mm2 with 186.4A derated ampacity.
The cable parameter is shown in table-II.
IV. MOTOR STARTING ANALYSIS
It is apparent that depending on the factor of concern in any
specific motor starting situation, the voltage drop, detailed
voltage profile and the motor torque and acceleration time
analysis study may be required [3-5]. System factors that affect
motor starting include:
Capacity of the generator;
Motor terminal voltage.
Impedance of power distribution systems;
Electrical design parameters of the motor;
Acceleration of the motor and its load (motor
characteristics)
The purpose of motor starting is to investigate the voltage
dip that is experienced throughout an industrial power system
as the direct result of starting large motors and the motor
performance under various system operating condition. The
available accelerating torque drops appreciably as the voltage
at the motor terminal dips to a lower value, thus extending the
starting interval and affecting (sometimes adversely) overall
motor starting performance [14-16].

TABLE III. LOAD FLOW RESULTS

Fig.1 Single line diagram (SLD) of OST
Bus ID Nominal kV Operating

TABLE I. INDUCTION MOTOR DATA kV (in %)

kW 110 EPCC-401 0.415 97.1

MCC-401 0.415 96.6
kV 0.415
MCC-402 0.415 96.1
Full Load Current 179
PMCC-402A 0.415 96
LRC in % of full load current 600
PMCC-402B 0.415 96
P.F. 0.88
SG-403 0.415 96.1
Strarting P.F. 0.25
PM-026B 0.415 93.8
LRT in % of full load torque 98.7
Max. Torque in % of full load torque 199
Load flow results in normal operating condition are shown
X/R 11.1 in table-III. The motor terminal voltage in normal operating
H 0.92 condition with cable length off 150m is shown in table. Motor
dynamic performance with various length of the cable is shown
in table-IV. As the cable length increases motor starting current
TABLE II. ALUMINIUM CONDUCTOR CABLE DATA
decreases and motor terminal voltage dip increases. Decrement
Max. Voltage Drop Starting: 15% in the current is less as compare to motor terminal voltage.
Max. Voltage Drop Running: 5% Motor starting time is also increases with the increase in the
Conductor Temperature: 90c length of the cable. Figure 2-10 shows the variation in motor
Ground Temperature in C: 30c
Single Or Multi Core: Multi Core
dynamic performance with change in cable length. The case
Resistance ( /Km @ 90 C) 0.211 study is performed for 185mm2 cable size, 50M, 100M and
Reactance (/Km 0.072 150M cable length and the other parameter of the cable remain
Adjusted Cable Ampacity in Amp. 186.4 same.
Cable Size 185mm2
TABLE IV. MOTOR STARTING RESULTS WITH VARIOUS LENGTH OF CABLE
Cable Voltage Motor Motor Motor
length in at MCC- terminal starting acceleration
Meter 402 voltage In current in time
In % of % of % of
nominal nominal rated
Voltage Voltage current
50 90 88 563 8.0
100 90.5 85 546 10.36
150 92 82 530 15.24

Fig. 6 Motor starting current and slip variation with 100 M cable

Fig.2 Motor and Load torques during motor starting with 150M cable

Fig. 7 Motor terminal voltage variation with 100 M cable

Fig. 3 Motor starting current and slip variation with 150 M cable

Fig. 8 Motor starting current and slip variation with 50 M cable

Fig. 4 Motor terminal voltage variation with 150 M cable

Fig.9 Motor and Load torques during motor starting with 50M cable

Fig.5 Motor and Load torques during motor starting with 100M cable

Fig. 10 Motor terminal voltage variation with 50 M cable
V. CONCLUSION
The cable sizing and motor-starting study must be
performed for an industrial system at its design stage. If the
system shows the motor-starting difficulty due to excessive
voltage drop on the feeder cable, a new cable size and system
configuration should be chosen to avoid the problem. Dynamic
behavior of induction motor during on line starting for critical
load like firewater pump load is interesting in grid isolating
system. The study results shows that if the cable length
increases, voltage drop on cable increase, motor terminal
voltage decrease, accelerating torque drops so starting time
increase.
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 Appendix

Col 4: Ampacities have been taken from Table 61& 61A OMAN Cable Catalogue.
Col 5, Col 6, Col 7 Col 8: Derating factors have been taken from Table 68,69,70,71 OMAN Cable Catalogue.

TABLE- Derated Cable Ampecity Calculation

0.6/1 kV, LOW VOLTAGE XLPE INSULATED ARMORED CABLES LAID IN UNDERGROUND
COPPER CABLE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cable No of Voltage Ampacity Derating Derating Derating Derating Total Corrected
Size conductors Grade in Ground Factor for Factor for Factor for Factor for Derating Ampacity
(mm2) (kV) for 35oC variation Thermal 1M depth grouping of Factor (Col 4 x
Ambient in resistivity cable upto 8 (Col 5 x Col 9 )
Temp. Ground of soil 1.2 Cables laid Col 6 x (A)
(A) temp. for mC/W 150mm apart Col 7 x
30 C Col 8 )

2.5 3C/4C 0.6/1 36 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 22.5

4 3C/4C 0.6/1 47 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 29.4

0.6/1 kV, LOW VOLTAGE XLPE INSULATED ARMORED CABLES LAID IN GROUND
MULTI CORE ALUMINIUM CABLE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cable No of Voltage Ampacity Derating Derating Derating Derating Total Corrected
Size conductors Grade in Ground Factor for Factor for Factor for Factor for Derating Ampacity
(mm2) (kV) for 35oC variation Thermal 1M depth grouping of Factor (Col 4 x
Ambient in resistivity cable upto 8 (Col 5 x Col 9 )
Temp. Ground of soil 1.2 Cables laid Col 6 x (A)
(A) temperat mC/W 150mm apart Col 7 x
ure for 30 Col 8 )
C

6 3C/4C 0.6/0 43 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 26.9

10 3C/4C 0.6/1 57 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 35.7
16 3C/4C 0.6/1 78 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 48.8
25 3C/4C 0.6/1 100 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 62.6
35 3C/4C 0.6/1 120 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 75.1
50 3C/4C 0.6/1 142 1.03 1.0 0.95 0.64 0.63 88.9
70 3C/4C 0.6/1 175 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 107.3
95 3C/4C 0.6/1 210 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 128.7
120 3C/4C 0.6/1 239 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 146.5
150 3C/4C 0.6/1 267 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 163.7
185 3C/4C 0.6/1 304 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 186.4
240 3C/4C 0.6/1 352 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 215.8
300 3C/4C 0.6/1 396 1.03 1.0 0.93 0.64 0.61 242.8