Section 13 — Electrical

Wire and Cable 600 Volt and Below

IPE Engineering Practice IPE-EP-13-8-1

Document number: IPE-EP-13-8-1 · Section: 13 — Electrical

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SCOPE

This Practice, including the 600V Power and Control Cable Data Sheets (EP 13–8–1DS) covers the requirements for single conductor and multi–conductor, 600V insulated power and control cable. Cable shall conform to this specification, unless written approval is obtained for exceptions.

This Practice is appropriate for an attachment to an inquiry or purchase order when accompanied by the referenced IPE Engineering Practices and completed data sheets.

Any deviation from this Practice must be approved by the procedure described in EP 1–1–3. A revision bar indicates all changes made to this Revision.

REFERENCES

The latest edition of the following standards and publications are referred to herein.

STANDARDS AND PUBLICATIONS

IPE Engineering Practices
EP 1–1–3 Deviations to IPE Engineering Practices EP 13–8–1DS Wire and Cable 600V and Below Data Sheet
ANSI/IEEE Standard
383 Standard for Type Test of Class lE Electric Cables, Field Splices, and Connections for Nuclear Power Generating Stations
ASTM
B8 Concentric–Lay–Stranded Copper Conductors, Hard, Medium–Hard, or Soft B33 Tinned Soft or Annealed Copper Wire tar Electrical Purposes B189 Lead–Coated and Lead–Alloy–Coated Soft Copper Wire for Electrical Purposes B400 Compact–Round Concentric–Lay–Stranded 1350 Aluminum–Alloy Conductors B609 Aluminum 1350 Round Wire, Annealed and Intermediate Tempers for Electrical Purposes D746 Test for Brittleness Temperature of Plastics and Elastomers by Impact
CSA
C22.2 Canadian Electrical Codes Part 2: Safety Standards for Electrical Equipment

STANDARDS AND PUBLICATIONS (CONT.)

lCEA
S–66–524 Cross–Linked–Thermosetting–Polyethylene–lnsulated Wire and Cable for the Transmission and Distribution of Electrical Energy S–68–516 Ethylene–Propylene–Rubber Insulated Wire and Cable for the Transmission and Distribution of Electrical Energy
NFPA
70 National Electrical Code
UL
44 Rubber Insulated Wires and Cables 1277 Proposed First Edition of Standard for Type TC Power and Control Tray Cables 1569 Metal Clad Cables

DEFINITIONS

Contractor – Company or business that agrees to furnish materials or perform specified services at a specified price and/or rate to the Owner.
Inspector – A Inflection Point Engineering, LLC appointed engineer or inspector.
Manufacturer – The recipient of a direct or indirect purchase order for materials and/or equipment. In this context, a direct order is one issued to a Manufacturer by a Contractor or the Owner. An indirect order is one issued to a Manufacturer by a vendor (recipient of a direct order) for materials, fabricated components, or subassemblies.
Owner – Inflection Point Engineering, LLC.
Owner’s Engineer – A Inflection Point Engineering, LLC appointed engineer.
Purchaser – The party placing a direct purchase order. The Purchaser is the Owner’s designated representative.

GENERAL

Environment
Relative humidity: 0% to 100%
Temperature: Storage and Service –15ºF to +120ºF
Installation 0ºF to +100ºF

Listing

Cables shall be listed by Underwriters Laboratories Incorporated as meeting the type and usage requirements of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and shall be further certified and warranted for use in the conditions and tests as listed and described in this specification.

Installation

The cable shall be suitable for installation in heavy industrial plants, either indoors or outdoors, where a multiplicity of cable support systems are employed including installation in rigid metallic conduit, plastic or fiber conduit, concrete encased duct systems, cable trench or trough (including tunnel), cable tray or wireway and on aerial support systems.

Exposure

The cable shall be suitable for installation in petrochemical complexes with exposure to continuous sunlight and moisture, rain, occasional hydrocarbon, acid and alkali and ambient temperature variations between –15ºF and 120ºF. The cables shall withstand these exposures without loss of cable life and reliability.

DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND MATERIALS

Conductors
Copper Conductors: Copper conductors, when specified on the Data Sheet, shall be annealed, uncoated or coated copper, in accordance with ASTM B33, with physical and electrical properties conforming to ICEA standards and with Class B concentric layer stranding in accordance with ASTM B 8 and compressed to UL 44 requirements.
Aluminum conductors: Aluminum conductors, when specified on the Data Sheet, shall be EC grade aluminum in accordance with ASTM B 609, with mechanical properties conforming to ICEA standards and with Class B, compact round, concentric lay stranding in accordance with ASTM B 400.
Unless otherwise specified, conductor sizes shall not be less than the following:
Power #12AWG
Control #14AWG
Instrumentation/Thermocouple #16AWG
All conductors shall be unbroken for the full length of the reels specified in the Purchase Order(s). Reels with any spliced conductors will be rejected and immediate replacement shall be made at no additional cost.
Insulation
Crosslinked Polyethylene (XHHW–2, XHHW, RHH (XLP) and RHW–2 (XLP))
Vulcanized polyethylene insulation, when specified on the Data Sheet, shall be flame retardant, moisture and heat resistant and be suitable for operation at a conductor temperature of 90ºC (194ºF).
The insulation shall be applied directly over the surface of the stranded conductor forming a homogeneous, void–free mass. The use of separator tape is acceptable.
The insulation shall strip clean from the conductor for make–up of terminations and splices.
Jacketing is not required on single conductor cables.

The insulation shall meet or exceed the applicable portions of UL STD 44, ICEA Pub. no. S–66–524.
The insulation shall be rated 600 volts to ground.
Vulcanized Ethylene Propylene Rubber (EPR)
Vulcanized EPR insulation, when specified on the Data Sheet, shall be flame retardant, heat resistant and be suitable for operation at a conductor temperature of 90ºC (194ºF).
The insulation shall be applied directly over the surface of the stranded conductor forming a homogeneous, void–free mass.
The insulation shall strip clean from the conductor for make–up of terminators and splices.
EPR insulated conductors shall have a PVC jacket.
The insulation shall meet or exceed the applicable portions of UL STD 44, ICEA Pub. no. 5– 68–518.
The insulation shall be rated 600 volts to ground.
Unless specified otherwise, insulation shall meet flame test requirements per IEEE 383 and UL1277 at 70,000 BTU.
Three Conductor Low Voltage (600 Volt) Power Cable Assemblies
Three conductor 600 volt power cable assemblies shall be formed in a cylindrical configuration with the “Lay” of the conductors in direction and length to conform to ICEA Standards.
“Fillers” of the non–wicking, flame retardant material shall be used where necessary to provide a uniform spacing of conductors in a firm cylindrical shape.
A bare, stranded copper ground wire of the same material used for the basic conductors shall be provided in the assembly sized per ICEA and NEC requirements.
Conductor insulation shall be as specified on the Data Sheet.
Overall jacket shall be either PVC or metal–clad (see paragraph 5.4) as specified on the Data Sheet. Jacket thickness shall be as listed in Table 2.
When EPR is specified, the individual conductors shall be jacketed or unjacketed as specified on the Data Sheet. Jacket shall be PVC with jacket thickness as specified by ICEA or thicker.
Metal Clad Cable
When specified on the Data Sheet, 600 volt cables constructed with EPR or XLP insulating systems shall be furnished with either a continuous corrugated and welded sheath or an interlocking tape armoring with metal types as identified below.
Interlocking tape armor
The cable assembly shall be encased in a close fitting, helically applied flat metallic tape that is formed into interlocked, convoluted armor. The helically wound metal tape overlaps the cable core on successive turns to form a strong, flexible, protective structure.
As specified on the Data Sheet, an aluminum or galvanized steel interlocked armor shall be employed and meet the requirements of UL 1569.
Continuous corrugated impervious welded armor
The cable assembly shall be enclosed by a metal tape which is longitudinally folded around the core, then welded and corrugated to form a continuous, impervious, corrugated metallic sheath.

As specified on the Data Sheet, an aluminum or copper sheath shall be employed and meet the requirements of UL 1569.

Overall jacket
When specified, a flame resistant PVC jacket shall be tightly extruded over the corrugated or interlocked tape armor. The jacket shall be colored black unless specified otherwise.
The average thickness of the jacket shall not be less than the values specified by ICEA. The minimum thickness of the jacket at any point shall be not less than 70 percent of the specified minimum average thickness.
Jacket surface markings shall be the same as those identified in paragraph 5.7.
Jackets
A protective jacket made of flame resistant polyvinyl chloride material shall be applied directly and fit tightly over the surface of EPR insulated single conductors cables and shall be applied directly over the surface of multiple conductor cylindrical assemblies. The jacket shall meet or exceed ICEA requirements except that as a minimum it shall be suitable for operation at a U.L. rated temperature of 105ºC (221ºF) for single conductor cable and 90ºC (194ºF) for multi- conductor cables.
The thickness of the cable jacket shall be the nominal values of Section 5.6 and the minimum thickness shall not be less than 90 percent of nominal.
Jacket markings shall be as specified in paragraph 5.7.
Insulation and Jacket Thickness
Single Conductor cables shall have nominal insulation and jacket (EPR only) thickness as shown in Table 1.
Multi–Conductor cables shall have nominal insulation and jacket (EPR only) thickness as in Section 5.6.1 and shall have overall jacket thickness as shown in Table 2.
Surface Marking and Color Coding
Single Conductor Cable: The surface of the insulation shall have a durable marking, at intervals not exceeding 24 inches along the entire length, which shall consist of the Manufacturer’s name, trademark, or other distinctive marking which identifies the organization responsible for the product, the wire size in AWG or KCmil, the voltage rating (600 volt), and temperature rating.
Multi–Conductor Cables
Individual conductors shall be color coded by lCEA Method 1 for multi–conductor cables with Number 8 AWG conductors and smaller.
Three conductor power cable assemblies shall be similar to ICEA method 3 using printed circuit numbers and colors (1=black, 2=red, 3=blue).
The overall jacket shall have white permanent surface printing at regular intervals along the entire length of the cable giving wire size, number of conductors, voltage rating, Manufacturer’s name.
Wire Cable Identification

The following information shall be printed on the cable at intervals not exceeding 24 inches:

Manufacturer’s name
Manufacturing plant identification
UL Label
Voltage rating
Number of conductors
Conductor size
Type of insulation

TESTING

General

The wire and cable shall meet all applicable standard tests prescribed by ICEA and UL for the products specified by this Practice.

Routine Tests on Factory Reel Lengths
High voltage AC Test: After not less than six hours immersion in water and while still submerged (exception: MC cables to be tested without immersion in water), each coil or reel length of individual insulated conductor and completed cables shall be subjected to a high voltage 60–Hz test for five minutes at the potential indicated and in accordance with ICEA S– 66–524 or ICEA S–68–516, as applicable.
Insulation Resistance Test: Immediately after the high voltage AC test specified above and while still submerged, an insulation resistance test shall be made on each level of conductor. The insulation resistance constant, when corrected to 60ºF, shall not be less than 20,000 megohm per 1000 feet.
High Voltage DC Test: Each coil or reel length of individual insulated conductor and completed cables, immediately after the insulation resistance test and while still immersed in water (exception: MC cables to be tested without immersion in water), shall withstand without failure a DC test at the potential indicated and in accordance with lCEA S–66–524 or lCEA S–68–516 as applicable.
The copper resistance shall be measured on all completed cables and shall be in accordance with ICEA S–68–516 or ICEA S–66–524 as applicable.
Pressure Tests for Continuous Impervious Welded Armor (CCW): The integrity of the CWW shall be verified by application of 3 psi pressure to the cable for 12 hours without any appreciable loss of pressure occurring. Other standard factory test methods to verify CWW integrity can be performed in lieu of the above after review and approval of the Owner.
Witness Test

When a witness test is specified, the Owner shall witness the complete testing of all items detailed in paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2 and special tests as indicated on the Data Sheets and contract documents.

Type test data for the above may be acceptable in place of actual tests on supplied products. This shall only be done/approved by the Owner as indicated on the Data Sheet.

DATA REQUIREMENTS

Information to be Submitted with Quotation
Specific listing of any exceptions to those requirements specified.
Features included but not necessarily specified.

Complete descriptive data including:
Weight in Lbs per 1000 feet
Cable impedances (R, X, Z) in both magnetic and nonmagnetic ducts for each size and type cable ordered.
The Manufacturer’s standard “packaging” of reels (i.e. lagging, banding, etc.).
Overall diameter, insulation type and thickness, jacket type and thickness where used, conductor size and material, conductor stranding.
Outside cable diameter over armor and over jacket (minimum and maximum).
Certified Information to be Supplied to the Owner after Receipt of Order
All information requested in paragraph 7.1.
Detailed description of recommended handling, storage, installation, operation and maintenance procedures.
Certified test reports for all testing required in Section 6.0, the Data Sheets and the contract documents.
When specified on the Data Sheet, certified information shall be provided as indicated in Table 3.

SHIPPING

Preparation for shipment shall be in accordance with Manufacturer’s standards unless otherwise noted on the Data Sheet. The manufacturer shall be solely responsible for the adequacy of the preparation for shipment provisions employed, with respect to materials and their application, to insure that the wire reaches its destination in ex–works condition when handles by commercial carrier system.
When cable is shipped on reels, each reel shall have a weatherproof tag (metal or plastic) firmly attached, indicating conductor size, actual length, Manufacturer’s type, voltage and temperature rating, and a reel identification number.
Each end of the cable shall be hermetically sealed with a heat shrinkable elastomeric cap fitting or other suitable means to protect against the entrance of moisture. Both ends of the wire/cable shall be accessible while the cable is on the reel without having to de–reel the cable to reach the inner cable end.
Only one continuous length of cable shall be placed on each individual reel. Reels shall be of wood or steel construction to withstand multiple handling in transit.
Each cable reel shall have an embossed metal or plastic tag securely attached to it, bearing the purchase order number, item number, length of cable, size of conductor, number of conductors, insulation type and voltage rating, UL listing information including NEC type, the starting footage marking, and the ending footage marking.

9.0 TABLES

TABLE 1

NOMINAL INSULATION AND JACKETING THICKNESS

Conductor Size	XHHW Ins (Mils)	RHH(XLP), RHW– 2(XLP) Ins (Mils)	Ins (Mils)	EPR Jacket (Mils)	EPR Jacket (Mils)
14–10 AWG	30	45	30	30	15
8 AWG	45	60	45	45	15
6–2 AWG	45	60	45	45	30
1–4/0 AWG	55	80	55	55	45
250–500 MCM	65	95	65	65	65
600–1000 MCM	80	110	80	80	65

TABLE 2

OVERALL JACKET THICKNESS FOR CABLE ASSEMBLIES

Diameter Under Jacket (Inches)	Jacket Thickness (Mils)
0.425 or less 0.426 to 0.700 0.701 to 1.500 1.501 to 2.500 2.501 or larger	45 60 80 110 140

TABLE 3 DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR WIRE AND CABLE 600V AND BELOW PER EP 13–8–1

Item	Description	Format	As–Built
1	Certified drawing of the wire/cable assembly including dimensions per paragraph 7.1.5 and 7.1.6.	See EP 2-5-2	Yes
2	Information on electrical properties and physical properties per paragraph 7.1.3.	See EP 2-5-2	Yes
3	Recommended field installed insulation testing.	See EP 2-5-2	Yes
4	Detailed description of recommended handling, storage, installation, operation and maintenance procedures.	See EP 2-5-2	Yes
5	Certified test reports for all testing required in paragraph 6.0 and approved purchase documents.	See EP 2-5-2	Yes

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