Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
August 2011
Special thanks to Ir. Wan Nazmy Wan Mahmood for his single-minded
dedication to complete this Manual which will be a useful guide to states and
regions. Acknowledgement also goes to Ir. Tan Chow Heang, Ir. Toh Kim Beng,
En Hairil Azli and Puan Hannah Rosli, all from Asset Management Department,
for their valuable contribution and assistance in developing this manual.
Our appreciation to Dr. Ahmad Basri Abdul Ghani and Puan Zairul Aida Abu
Zarim of TNB Research for their help in determining the ampacity of cables
under different circumstances, and Mohd Zamri Abdul Manap from Asset
Planning and Development on his comments about the structural strength of
the concrete installation and ducting.
The project team would also like to express its gratitude to the Medini
Development Consultant, Ranhill Sdn Bhd, especially Ir. Noraini Abdul Majid,
for their input on the trench design.
Our appreciation also goes to the Uniten Team, comprising Ir. Ali Askar Sher
Mohamad, Mohd Zafri Baharuddin, Fareha Mohd Zainal and Jazreel Tang, for
their untiring efforts and patience towards the successful completion of this
manual.
Page | i
Foreword
VP Distribution Division, Hj. Hussin Othman
The Federal Government Administration Centre in Putrajaya was the first Mega
Development area in Malaysia with special cable laying requirements. In that
case, the developers had provided a Central Utilities Tunnel for all the utilities,
including power cables. The Medini Township, located in Iskandar
Development Region in Johor, is the second development that has imposed a
No Digging policy within its boundaries. It is expected that there will be other
developments in future with similar restrictions.
It is thus imperative to devise a special cable laying method that will remove
the necessity of mechanized digging and trenching while maintaining reliability
and safety, at reasonable cost.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the project team from
Asset Management Department, as well as UNITEN and TNBR, for their
splendid effort in developing this useful guide for implementation of cable
laying in areas with special requirements.
Thank you.
Page | iii
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
1.1 Underground Cable Systems 1
1.2 Scope: Areas with Special Requirements 4
1.3 TNB Distribution Experience in Special Trenching
Requirements 5
1.4 New Development Areas 7
1.5 Outline of this Manual 8
Chapter 2: Cable Trenching Criteria 9
2.1 Issues to Consider 9
2.2 Factors Affecting Cable Ampacity 10
2.3 Depth of Cable Trench and Backfilling Material 10
2.4 Use of Ducts 12
2.5 Cable Formation 13
2.5.1 3 Core Cables Formation 13
2.5.2 Single Core Cable Formation 14
2.5.3 Cross-bonding of Cables Sheaths 16
2.5.4 Cable Bending Radii 17
2.5.5 Link Box 18
2.5.6 nPVC Cable Slab 20
2.6 Reference Conditions 21
Chapter 3: Concrete Trench Design 22
3.1 Reinforced Concrete Trenches 22
3.2 Culvert Dimensions 23
Page | iv
Contents
Page | v
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
List of Tables
Page | vi
Chapter 1: Introduction
The other major reasons for our underground system are public
ĨĞĞůŝŶŐƐ ĂŐĂŝŶƐƚ ͚ƵŶƐŝŐŚƚůLJ͛ ŽǀĞƌŚĞĂĚ ƐLJƐƚĞŵƐ ĂŶĚ the difficulty in
getting rentice reserve for the overhead line. Underground cable
systems are expensive to construct but should have minimum
maintenance costs since they are protected from the elements of the
weather.
However, this is not the case with dE͛Ɛ ƵŶĚĞƌŐƌŽƵŶĚ ĐĂďůĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ
where 60-70 % of TNB ŝƐƚƌŝďƵƚŝŽŶ͛Ɛmedium voltage breakdowns are
due to cable faults. This is of course partly due to the large volume of
installed cable systems compared to other parts of the medium voltage
network. Most of these faults can be traced to third party digging or
poor workmanship in cable installation and jointing. It is thus critical
for TNB Distribution to implement a standardized system of trenching
and cable installation which will address these problems.
Page | 1
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 2
Introduction
Page | 3
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
New growth areas can have even more stringent requirements for
utility installations. The local authority and/or developer may impose
several conditions that require more sophisticated cable trenching and
installation practices. Some of these conditions include:
x ͚ŶŽĚŝŐŐŝŶŐƉŽůŝĐLJ͛ǁŚĞƌĞdEŝƐŶŽƚĂůůŽǁĞĚƚŽƵƐĞƚŚĞŶŽƌŵĂů
mechanized excavators for cable trenching.
x The developer provides the infrastructure for cable laying.
x All cable installation and maintenance work may only use manual
labour or small machines which do not damage the road surface or
pavement.
x No possibility of accidental third party digging leading to
breakdowns
Page | 4
Introduction
Page | 5
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 6
Introduction
Turf and
decorative trees Local drainage
Sand-filled
reinforced
concrete trench
Page | 7
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 8
Chapter 2: Cable Trenching Criteria
2.1 Issues to Consider
Turf
Slab marker
Scupper pipe
MV Cables
Page | 9
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 10
Cable Trenching Criteria
ߩ ʹ݄
ܩ ൌ ൬ ൰
ʹߨ ܽ
ߠ Ground Level
Page | 11
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Service pits
Pavement
Service pit
covers
Ducts in a bank
Page | 12
Cable Trenching Criteria
When more than one cable is laid in the same trench, the cable
formation becomes very important. Cables in the same trench will
affect each other in the form of mutual heating. For single core (1C)
cables, there will also be induced voltages due to different phases of
the same circuit, or cables of different circuits. 1C Cables are either
laid single layer flat-spaced or in trefoil formation, while three core
(3C) cables are always in single layer.
Page | 13
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 14
Cable Trenching Criteria
Cable ties
1000mm
Figure 12: Trefoil formation of 3 single core cables held together with
cable tie at every one meter interval
Page | 15
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
To limit the sheath voltage, all single core cables in a circuit need to be
cross-bonded every 1 kilometre (1 minor). Cross bond connections are
made in a link box as shown in Subsection 2.5.5.
To keep the induced voltage below 50V, the sheath must be cross-
bonded at every 1 kilometre (1 minor) and cross-bonded with earthing
at every 3 kilometres (1 major).
3 minor = 1 major
Page | 16
Cable Trenching Criteria
(1,000 m)
(1,000 m) (1,000 m) X bond joint
X bond joint X bond joint with earthing
Sheath
Rcore
Sheath Major
Voltage Minor Minor Minor
Max Voltage
= 50V
ܸ෨ோ ܸ෨ோ ܸ෨ െܸ෨ ܸ෨
Distance
Figure 14: To keep the induced voltage below 50V, the sheath must be
cross-bonded at every 1 kilometre (1 minor) and cross-bonded
with earthing at every 3 kilometres (1 major)
Service pit design shall take into consideration the required bending
radius of the largest possible cable size to be laid.
Page | 17
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
All link boxes must be precisely and clearly labelled with circuit number
and feeder names.
The link box shall be installed near the trench above ground level so
that it can be easily located during breakdowns and also for ease of
maintenance.
Link box
Connecting
cable to link box
Joints
Figure 15: Typical link box location next to a reinforced concrete trench
Page | 18
Cable Trenching Criteria
2
Figure 16: Typical example of 11kV, 6+1 Link box. A 70mm Cu PVC/PVC
cable is used to connect sheath to the link box
2
Figure 17: Typical example of 33kV, 6+1 Link box. A 300mm Cu PVC/PVC
cable is used to connect sheath to the link box
Page | 19
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
nPVC Cable Slabs are used as visual warning indicators, while at the
same time providing mechanical protection for underground cables in
the event of accidental or unauthorized excavation/digging work.
x The Cable Slabs are buried below the ground level and above
the underground cables.
x Cable slabs will be placed at the Slab Marker Level which is
visible at the wall of the culvert. Diagrams for the installation
location are shown in Chapter 3.
x Nylon cable ties are used to lock/tie together a string of nPVC
cable slabs.
x nPVC cable slab dimensions are 1000mm (ln.) x 250mm (wd.)
x 4.5mm (th.), red in colour.
Page | 20
Cable Trenching Criteria
Having regard to all that has been discussed above, this Manual has
been designed with the following conditions in mind:
1. ͚ŶŽ ĚŝŐŐŝŶŐ ƉŽůŝĐLJ͛ ǁŚĞƌĞ dE ŝƐ ŶŽƚ ĂůůŽǁĞĚ ƚŽ ƵƐĞ ƚŚĞ
normal mechanized excavators for cable trenching.
5. hƐĞ ŽĨ Ă ͞h͟ ƐŚĂƉĞ ĐƵůǀĞƌƚ ǁŝƚŚ ŝŶŶĞƌ ĚĞƉƚŚ ŽĨ ϲϬϬŵŵ Θ
topsoil of 100mm on top of it. No sealant to be used between
ƚŚĞ͞h͟ƐŚĂƉĞĐƵůǀĞƌƚƐƚŽĂůůŽǁǁĂƚĞƌƚŽƐĞĞp out.
Page | 21
Chapter 3: Concrete Trench Design
Reinforced
concrete culvert
Cable slabs
MV 3 core cables
Page | 22
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
x Length: 1000 mm
x Internal Depth: 600 mm
x Internal Width: 600, 1200, 1500 mm
1000 mm (used in Medini)
x Thickness: 70, 95, 100 mm
80 mm (used in Medini)
x Material: Concrete characteristic strength of 30 MPa
x Reinforcement: Design to the requirements of BS 8110 : 1997
x Loading criteria: Live load of 10KPa or special design for
other loading conditions.
x Markings: Sand Bed and nPVC Slab Level Marker (Red)
Slab level
marker
Sand bed
level marker
Figure 20: Detail of 600 mm wide culvert with sand bed marker for typical
Reinforced Concrete Trench
Page | 23
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Slab level
marker
Sand bed
level marker
Page | 24
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
Slab level
marker
Sand bed
level marker
Figure 23: Detail of culverts used with fixed thickness of 80mm used in the
Medini site in Nusajaya, Johor
Page | 25
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 26
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
Example:
Using Table 3 for maximum number of 6 circuits, the ampacity for each
cable is:
Page | 27
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Cable slabs
3C cable
Page | 28
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
Cable slabs
1C cables in trefoil
Page | 29
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 30
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
The culvert shall be installed with a clearance of 100mm from the top
of the culvert for topsoil and turfing as shown in Figure 28.
Page | 31
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Turf
100mm
Figure 28: Turf, topsoil, washed river sand and culvert in a cable trench
Turf
Road
Figure 29: Location of cable trench along roadside should be placed to avoid
intrusion of other utilities such as drainage
Page | 32
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
Road
Ducting
Concrete encased duct
Local drainage
Figure 30: PVC ducts may need to go through or around other local utility
trenches such as drainage or telecommunication lines
Page | 33
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Figure 32: Duct banks are to be used for connections between the substation
and the trench
Page | 34
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
PPU
Ducts to PPU
Service pits
Concrete trench
Figure 33: Typical service pit, trench and duct bank connections for
Main Distribution Substations (PPU)
PMU
Ducts to PMU
Service pits
Concrete trench
Figure 34: Typical service pit, trench and duct bank connections for
Main Intake Substations (PMU)
Page | 35
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Link box
Concrete slab
Connecting cables
to link box
Joints
Figure 35: Typical installation of a link box on a 50mm thick concrete slab
next to the cable joint
Page | 36
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
2) Install the culvert evenly and at the same level. Sealants are NOT
to be used to allow rainwater to seep out.
Page | 37
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Turf
Topsoil
Washed river
sand
Native soil
Page | 38
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
The sand and topsoil needs to be stacked neatly beside the trench
during cable installation. When laying cables, the topsoil and washed
river sand must be removed from the trench by using handheld tools
or a small mechanised excavating machine as below.
Page | 39
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
1) Remove the topsoil with the turf and stack it neatly beside the
trench.
2) Remove the washed river sand until the sand bed level marker is
seen (about 500 mm deep).
Page | 40
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
4) Backfill with washed river sand until the slab level marker.
Page | 41
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Cable slabs
6) Backfill the washed river sand until level. Any shortfall of washed
river sand must be topped up.
Page | 42
Reinforced Concrete Trench Design
7) Install topsoil for turf. Any shortfall of topsoil must be topped up.
8) A TNB Cable Route Marker will be installed every 50m. The marker
will be in the form of a concrete slab installed on the turfing.
Page | 43
Chapter 4: Duct Bank Design
4.1 Duct Banks
Cables will be laid into reinforced concrete ducts. Ducting for road
crossings are to use 150 mm diameter Class B polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Page | 44
Duct Bank Design
Pavement
Duct bank
Native soil
Figure 38: A 4 x 3 duct bank with one circuit of single-core cables, six three-
core cables, and a fibre/pilot cable as installed in Medini, Nusajaya
Page | 45
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Figure 39 shows the standard 950mm wide duct bank. Reinforced duct
banks will have three layers for flat formation and two layers for trefoil
formation, and the number of ducts laid in a single layer depends on
the trench width.
Trefoil duct banks are also specified and are shown in Figure 43
through to Figure 46.
Page | 46
Duct Bank Design
ĚĚŝƚŝŽŶŽĨĐŝƌĐƵŝƚƐŝŶĂďĂŶŬǁŝůůŐĞŶĞƌĂůůLJƌĞĚƵĐĞĞĂĐŚĐĂďůĞ͛ƐĐƵƌƌĞŶƚ
carrying capacity. Table 5 shows a guideline to calculate cable
ampacities based on different number of circuits in a duct bank.
Page | 47
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 48
Duct Bank Design
Communications
duct
Communications
duct
Page | 49
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Communications
duct
Page | 50
Duct Bank Design
Each duct can only accommodate one power cable as shown in Figure
47 and Figure 48. Communication cables may share a single duct.
If ducts are installed in trefoil formation, the cables will have to follow
the duct formation.
Page | 51
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Road Pavement
Duct bank
Scupper pipe
Local drainage
Page | 52
Duct Bank Design
Road Pavement
Ducting
Concrete encased duct
Local drainage
Figure 50: Ducts for road crossings must be encased in 50mm thick concrete
to withstand heavy road conditions
Page | 53
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Service pits are used for pulling, bending and jointing of cables.
These pits are filled with nylon sand bags and covered with concrete
slabs. Sandbags assist in arc-quenching and are detailed out in
Subsection 4.4.4.
Page | 54
Duct Bank Design
Service pit types are shown in Figure 52 to Figure 55 and are specified
according to number of branches:
Figure 52: Standard service pit, usually as location for cable joints
Figure 53: Service pit with a T-junction connection, usually for branching off
into substations or road crossings
Page | 55
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Figure 54: Service pit with a cross-junction connection, usually for branching
off into several locations at the same place
Page | 56
Duct Bank Design
x Nylon material
x Not heavier than 10kg once filled with sand
Figure 56: Service pits must be filled with sandbags to assist in arc quenching
Page | 57
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
The service pits shall be covered with concrete slabs with the following
dimensions as shown in Figure 57.
Figure 57: Dimensions of three 1500 mm wide concrete slabs to form the
service pit cover
Figure 58: Service pit cover sitting on the sides of the service pit
Page | 58
Duct Bank Design
Page | 59
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Waterproof link box for duct banks are to be mounted on the wall of
the service pit.
Connecting cable
to link box
Link box
Joint
Figure 62: Typical link box embedded in the ducting concrete for duct banks
Page | 60
Duct Bank Design
Page | 61
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Duct
Page | 62
Duct Bank Design
6) Fill up the gaps with concrete to have 50mm of concrete for the
next layer of ducts.
7) Repeat the process for the following layers, one layer at a time.
Page | 63
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Page | 64
Duct Bank Design
Page | 65
Cable Trenching: Special Requirements
Cable laying and maintenance work will be done in the duct banks via
service pits. Cables can be laid according to site requirements into any
available ducts.
Note that the communication cables will utilize the lowest duct,
furthest away from the road.
Please refer to Section 4.3 for diagrams of cable arrangement for duct
banks.
Page | 66
Appendix
Appendix A
Page | 67
Glossary of Terms
Ampacity Current carrying capacity.
Cable Assembly consisting of:
ʹ one or more cores,
ʹ their individual covering(s) (if any),
ʹ assembly protection (if any),
ʹ protective covering(s) (if any).
Cable Slab Visual warning indicators and as a mechanical
protection for underground laid cables in the event
of excavation/digging work.
Concrete Slab A flat, reinforced-concrete structural member.
Cross-bonding Special bonding in which the cable shields in
consecutive elementary sections are cross
connected so that each continuous shield circuit
surrounds the three-phase conductors
consecutively.
Duct Class B polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe.
Duct Bank Method to have covered trenches with cables via
ducts may be employed.
Fibre/pilot cable Control cable laid in parallel with a power cable and
intended for transmitting signals related to the
operation of that cable.
Flat formation Formation of a number of cables laid in a plane,
usually with equal spacing between adjacent cables.
Joint Accessory making a connection between two cables
to form a continuous circuit
Link box Box in which bonding and/or earthing connections
are made through removable links and which may
also contain shield voltage limiters
Page | 68
Glossary of Terms
Page | 69
References
[1] /ĂďůĞƐ>ŝŵŝƚĞĚ͕͞Electric Cables Handbook͕͟tŝůĞLJůĂĐŬǁĞůů͖London
3rd Edition 1997.
[2] Pekeliling Pengurus Besar Kanan (Pengurusan Aset) Perkhidmatan Dan
Amalan Kejuruteraan, Bil A21/2010, Penggunaan Slab Kabel nPVC Baru
Untuk Menghindar Kerosakan Kabel Bawah Tanah Akibat Korekan Pihak
Ketiga, TNB 4 Oktober 2010.
[3] Pekeliling Pengurus Besar Kanan (Kejuruteraan) Bil A44/2009,
Penggunaan Paip Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) atau Paip Galvanized Iron (GI)
untuk Rentangan Kabel Baru Di Sepanjang Jambatan/Jejambat (Bridge
Crossing), TNB 26 Oktober 2009.
[4] Edaran Kejuruteraan Bil 60/95, Timbalan Pengurus Besar, Kejuruteraan
(Pembahagian), Laying and Jointing Of Single Core, 500mm2 Aluminium
11Kv AND 22Kv XLPE Cable, 16 Disember 1995.
[5] Edaran Kejuruteraan Bil 49/94, Timbalan Pengurus Besar, Kejuruteraan
(Pembahagian), Mengesan Kerosakan Kabel Voltan Tinggi Satu Teras Yang
Mempunyai Sambungan Jenis Cross Bonding, TNB 10, Februari 1995.
[6] Edaran Kejuruteraan Bil 49/94, Timbalan Pengurus Besar, Kejuruteraan
(Pembahagian), Jarak Optima Untuk Cross Bonding Bagi Kabel 33kV Jenis
XLPE dan Lokasi Yang Paling Sesuai Untuk DĞůĞƚĂŬŬĂŶ͞KƵƚĚŽŽƌ>ŝŶŬŽdž͟
Di Tempat-ƚĞŵƉĂƚ͞ƌŽƐƐŽŶĚŝŶŐ͕͟dEϯϭ:ƵůLJϭϵϵϱ.
[7] Panduan Kejuruteraan Bil 67/2001, Penggunaan Kaedah Merentang Kabel
11kV Bawah Tanah Di Dalam Peparit Kabel Tetap (Berkonkrit), TNB 14
March 2001, KEJ-PEM-01-01-01.
[8] XLPE Insulated Cables Catalogue, Tenaga Cable Industries Sdn Bhd (TCI).
[9] Electropedia: The World's Online Electrotechnical Vocabulary,
Commission Electrotechnique Internationale (IEC), 2011.
Page | 70