CHAPTER 5

Armour and Protective Finishes

ARMOUR

This chapter applies mainly to power distribution cables, certainly in relation to

armour, as special considerations apply to wiring type cables and to transmission
cables. Features relating to the design of both these groups of cables are given with the
design aspects in the relevant chapters.
For lead sheathed paper insulated cables, the two universal types of armour are steel
tape (STA) and galvanised steel wire (GSW), usually referred to as single wire armour
(SWA). Steel tapes are applied over a cushion of bituminised textile materials which
also contribute to corrosion protection. Two tapes are applied helically, each tape
having a gap between turns of up to half the width of the tape and the second tape
covering the gap and overlapping the edges of the first tape. By applying the two tapes
from the same taping head of the armouring machine the lay length of each tape is
identical and the tapes register correctly with each other. Although the tapes and the
underlying bedding are flooded with bitumen during application the tapes are precoated by the supplier with a bitumen varnish to prevent rusting during delivery and
storage and to ensure that the underside of the tape is always coated.
Although bitumen provides reasonably good protection of steel in many soils, it has
to be remembered that a cable life of 40-50 years is not unusual and in some conditions
severe corrosion of the steel may occur after long periods of burial. Before the
introduction of extruded plastic layers for protective finishes, some cable users called
for the much more expensive galvanised steel tape. This material is seldom adopted now
but may still be valuable in special cases, e.g. where the metallic protection is of
particular importance on polymeric insulated cables and it is not desirable to use
bitumen under an extruded thermoplastic oversheath (see later).
Other users have taken the view that mechanical protection of buried cables is
primarily of value during the early years in the life of the cable, e.g. in the development
of the site for housing or industrial purposes. After a few years the ground is more
rarely disturbed and this has been shown by fault statistics.
Wire armour consists of a layer of galvanised steel wires applied with a fairly long
lay. It is more expensive than STA but has several advantages such as (a) better
corrosion protection and hence longer armour life, (b) greatly increased longitudinal
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reinforcement of the cable, (c) avoidance of problems due to a r m o u r displacement

which can occur under difficult laying conditions and (d) better compatibility with
extruded thermoplastic oversheathing layers, as discussed later. It may be argued that
SWA is not so resistant to sharp spikes which may pierce between a r m o u r wires but in
practice it appears that such damage seldom occurs.
The longitudinal reinforcement aspect covers such advantages as the ability to
withstand higher pulling loads, e.g. for cables drawn into ducts, and better support o f
cable in cleats or hangers, particularly if vertical runs are involved. SWA is essential for
cables to be laid in ground liable to subsidence.
A further, often important, feature o f armour design is to provide effective
conductance of earth fault currents. If the cable has a lead sheath, the sheath alone is
adequate in most cases; steel tape armour does nothing to extend the sheath current
carrying capacity. In the absence of a lead sheath, as with PVC and X L P E insulated
cables, it is generally desirable or necessary to use wire armour to deal with fault
currents.
Before the 1970s in the UK, when PILS cables were invariably used for power
distribution, it was common practice for 600/1000 V cables to have STA and the more
important higher voltage cables to have SWA. Central L o n d o n was an exception,
because with a preponderance of installations of cables in ducts, SWA was preferred.
The armour was usually left bare. Outside L o n d o n the two different types o f a r m o u r
provided a good guide during digging operations to indicate whether any cables
exposed were low or high voltage. When the PILS design disappeared it was necessary
to take other steps for easy cable identification and the supply authorities standardised
on a red PVC oversheath for 11-33 kV cables.
Wire armour normally comprises a single layer of wires but there are a few special
applications where a double layer (DWA) is preferred to provide increased robustness.
The main field is for cables in coal mines, not only for the in-coming supply cables
which need to be self-supporting in the primary vertical pit shafts but also for cables
which are laid along roadways. At one time all the roadway cables had D W A but this
caused increased rigidity, which was a problem in coiling the cables for transport down
the lift shafts. It is now often considered that SWA is adequate for fixed cables in
tunnels. DWA comprises two layers of wires, with opposite directions of lay and a
separator layer such as bituminised hessian tape applied between the wire layers.

Single-core cables
A problem arises with single-core cables because in their installation formation the
armour is situated between the conductors and if a magnetic material is used it causes
high induced currents in the armour. These result in high electrical losses. Consequently
if armour is essential it is necessary to use a non-magnetic material such as aluminium.
However, few single-core cables are buried directly in the ground and as the main
application is for short interconnectors armour is not usually essential.

Armour conductance
Technical details of the importance o f armour conductance with particular reference to
wiring cables are discussed in chapter 10, and armour conductance requirements for
colliery cables are detailed in chapter 18.

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83

Armouring for polymeric insulated cables

The lower voltage (i.e. up to 3.3 kV) PVC or X L P E cables which have replaced PILS
cables require mechanical protection of a similar standard. F o r various reasons, such as
ease of cable handling and armour conductance, SWA is normally used. Such cables
usually have an extruded PVC oversheath (other extruded materials are used for cables
to meet certain performance requirements in fires - see chapter 6), and particularly from
overseas there are users who express a preference for steel tape armour. Whilst PVC can
certainly be applied over STA, and much such cable is supplied, it is more satisfactory
to apply the PVC over the smooth surface provided by SWA. In extruding over the
stepped surface of STA there is a tendency for thinning of the PVC to occur at the edges
of the steel tape.
Nowadays a significant proportion o f cables for 11 kV and upwards has X L P E
insulation instead of paper and metallic sheath and it is mandatory for such cables to
have an earthed screen over each core and/or collectively over the laid-up cores. SWA
can serve quite well as the metallic component of the earthed screen and it has the
advantage of providing good earth fault current carrying capacity. As discussed in
chapter 24 a common cable design is to have an extruded PVC bedding followed by
SWA and PVC oversheath. Some users overseas adopt STA and deal with earth fault
currents by a thin metallic tape on each core. Tape thickness is restricted by the need to
maintain intimate contact with the core surface, and some caution is necessary with
such design as fault current carrying capacity is necessarily limited.
Nevertheless, with polymeric insulated HV cables, there is a greater tendency to use
single-core cables, rather than multicore, and for these it is not practicable to use SWA.
Furthermore, as there is no lead sheath, protection against mechanical damage and
penetration of water may be o f lesser importance than with PILS cables and so there is
less need for increased robustness, especially as the whole cable design is more resilient.
A frequently used cable design is therefore to replace armour by a layer of copper wires
spaced apart round the cable (chapter 24). Nevertheless, with such cables, and for HV
polymeric insulated cables generally, the design of protective finish has to take account
not just of corrosion protection but also of the effects of water penetration on the
electrical properties of the insulation ('water treeing' - see chapter 24).

PROTECTIVE FINISHES
Protective finishes are o f particular interest for the protection of metal sheaths,
reinforcement and armour in buried distribution and transmission cables. Whether the
installation is below or above ground, very few cables are supplied without a protective
finish. For the newer designs o f the above categories of cable, an oversheath of extruded
PVC or M D P E has become nearly universal.
When wiring type cables need to be of robust construction, the cable design normally
comprises an extruded oversheath, but one important difference is that this oversheath
can be of a tougher thermoset material such as PCP, CSP or NBR/PVC. These
materials are also used where special properties are required, e.g. for oil resisting and
flame retardant (OFR) finishes and heat and oil resisting and flame retardant ( H O F R )
finishes as discussed in chapter 3. Such materials could have advantages for distribution
and transmission cables but they can rarely be adopted because the high temperature
required by most methods of curing would cause damage to the cable.

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A special situation arises when the protective finish both has to be flame retardant
and has to emit a minimum of toxic fumes and smoke in a fire. This is covered in
chapter 6.
The U K attitude for distribution cables has always been that after burial the user
expects to forget about fhem for the rest of their life, and with paper insulated cables life
expectancy has steadily been extended to over 40 years. In spite o f the generally good
corrosion resistance of metals like lead and copper they can fail when buried in some
types of ground, and in the U K such metals have rarely been left bare. Much attention
has been paid to corrosion protection, and cable failures due to this cause have been
rare. In the USA the practice has been somewhat different and in the case of cables
having a copper concentric neutral conductor, it is not unusual to install cables without
protection. The literature has reported a substantial level of cable failures and, although
it is relatively easy with a duct system to replace the cable, the economics of savings
against subsequent expenditure would seem to be finely balanced.
The protection of aluminium against corrosion is of particular importance because
aluminium may corrode very quickly when buried, or even when near the surface and
exposed to damp conditions, e.g. where cables descend from cabinets into the ground.
At these positions, it is most important to apply protection over exposed metal right up
to and over the termination.
The corrosion of aluminium usually takes the form o f local pits which may quickly
penetrate a sheath, although general surface attack may be quite small. The mechanism
of pitting is associated with the local breakdown o f the protective oxide film, in
conditions which do not allow its repair, followed by cell action due to differential
conditions o f electrolyte concentrations or o f aeration. The presence of other
underground services containing metals anodic to aluminium, such as lead, steel or
copper, may accelerate the attack. While some soils, such as in made-up ground, are
worse than others, it is always essential to consider that any ground is aggressive and to
ensure that good protection exists. Protection is also necessary for above ground
installation because in damp conditions corrosion can occur in crevices, owing to
differential aeration conditions, and it is difficult to avoid crevice conditions at points of
support or in contact with walls.
It is convenient to review protective finishes in two categories: first, the bitumentextile type used traditionally with lead sheathed paper cables, and second the extruded
thermoplastic oversheaths which were first developed to provide satisfactory corrosion
protection for aluminium sheathed cables and were then adopted for all newer cable
designs as well as for paper/lead cables when improved protection was desirable. For
armoured cables, the protective finish comprises a bedding under the armour and a
layer over the armour, usually termed a serving when textile and an oversheath when it
is extruded.

BITUMINOUS FINISHES
Constructions
The earliest paper/lead cables at the end o f the last century were protected with coal tar
pitch and fibrous textile materials such as cotton and jute in yarn or woven form, i.e.
hessian. The basic design has changed little over the years but the once popular jute

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yarn roving has largely given way to woven hessian. Replacement of coal tars by
bitumens provided better uniformity and enabled particular grades to be used
according to their function within the construction. The introduction of two
impregnated paper tapes adjacent to the lead sheath was also beneficial. For many
years stray direct currents from tramway systems caused corrosion problems with
underground cables due to electrolytic effects. The combination of impregnated paper
and bitumen improved the consistency of the protective layer.
For armoured cables, the most common construction today is for the bedding to
consist of two bituminised paper tapes plus two bituminised cotton or hessian tapes
with a serving of two bituminised hessian tapes. A suitable grade of bitumen is applied
over each layer and a coating of limewash is given overall to stop rings sticking together
on the drum.

Bitumen
A thick layer of bitumen would give excellent corrosion protection, as it does o n rigid
steel underground pipes, but no method has been found of producing such a layer to
withstand the bending and other conditions necessary with cable. Many grades of
bitumen are available, with a wide range of viscosities and pliability. Careful selection
has to be made to suit the requirement for impregnating the textiles of the particular
layer in the cable and to suit the subsequent service conditions, bearing in mind that
some cables have to operate in the tropics whilst others may be in polar regions. On the
whole the bitumen should be as hard and rubbery as possible, but must not crack when
bent at low temperatures. If the viscosity is too low, troublesome 'bleeding' may ensue
at high ambient temperatures.

Microbiological degradation of textiles

The jute or other textiles in the finish are present largely to support the bitumen and
even if they are partially rotted the bitumen layer continues to give a reasonable
measure of protection. In tropical countries such rotting can develop very quickly, even
to a serious extent on drums held in a stockyard for a year or so, caused by the acidic
degradation products of jute and other cellulosic constituents, namely acetic and
butyric acids.
The immediate solution was to substitute PVC tapes for the paper tapes adjacent to
the lead sheath, so as to create a barrier. Rot proofing of hessian, by the incorporation
of a material such as zinc naphthenate, has also been popular for cables in tropical
countries but a much better solution is to use extruded PVC instead of bitumen-textile
finishes.

EXTRUDED T H E R M O P L A S T I C FINISHES
PVC oversheaths
Following many years' successful use on wiring cables, PVC was established as an
oversheath for power distribution and transmission cables in the mid-1950s and since
then PVC sheaths have become the most commonly used type of protective finish for
power cables.

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Grade of material
F o r wiring cables, flexibility and easy sheath removal are important and the grade o f
PVC used for sheathing is softer than that used for insulation. However, for the heavier
power cables different criteria apply. Toughness and resistance to deformation both
during and after installation are of greater significance and it is usual to use a similar
grade of material to that used for insulation. F o r most purposes oversheaths are black,
in order to give good resistance to sunlight, but where this is not important colours may
be adopted as a means of cable identification. When red sheaths were first used for
buried cables some darkening o f colour occurred due to sulphides in the ground and
special compositions were found to be necessary.
Whilst the amount of plasticiser in the PVC may theoretically be varied to suit a wide
range o f high and low ambient temperature conditions, the practical advantages are
limited because o f other aspects such as the resistance to deformation previously
mentioned. This is of particular significance when low temperatures are encountered
because at around 0C PVC becomes somewhat brittle and may crack either by a
sudden blow or by rapid bending during handling operations. F o r this reason it is
important not to install cables at low temperatures.
Construction
When applied over any type of cable, extruded PVC provides a clean finish which is
attractive and contributes to ease of handling. Whilst the external profile is smooth if
the application is over a normal metal sheath or wire armour, this is not the case with
corrugated aluminium sheaths or steel tape armour. Extrusion is by the 'tubing-on
technique' (chapter 24) and the external profile follows the contour of the underlying
surface, thus creating small steps over steel tape armour. In the case o f corrugated
sheaths the oversheath tends to be slightly thicker in the troughs.
Initially, when PVC oversheaths were first applied over steel wire armour, no change
was made in the use of bitumen, i.e. the oversheath was extruded directly over armour
which was flooded with bitumen. Such cables are frequently installed vertically in
factories. When bitumen is in contact with PVC it absorbs some plasticiser from the
PVC. Whilst the amount of loss is insufficient to have much effect on the properties of
the PVC, it is enough to cause considerable reduction in the viscosity of the bitumen. In
fact, the bitumen may become so fluid that it can run out o f the cable at terminations
situated below the cable run. Subsequent practice has therefore been to omit bitumen
between wire armour and PVC unless a preference for inclusion is expressed by the user.
A particular example is the use of bitumen in the single or double wire armoured PVC
insulated cables used underground in coal mines. The cables are usually installed
horizontally and as the oversheaths may be damaged it is useful to have the benefit of
bitumen as secondary protection. Similarly, in the UK, bitumen is normally applied
over steel tape armoured cables, as these are invariably buried. It is not so necessary
and normally not used over galvanised steel tape.
When PVC is applied directly over aluminium sheaths it is particularly desirable to
have a uniform coating of bitumen on the aluminium to provide an interface seal and
mitigate against spread of corrosion resulting from damage to the PVC. At one time it
was a practice to include a small amount o f a sparingly soluble chromate in the bitumen
to serve as a corrosion inhibitor but, whilst this was undoubtedly beneficial, it is no
longer used because of possible toxic effects. With corrugated sheaths the tendency is
for an excess of bitumen to remain in the troughs and the corrugation effect is less

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87

visually apparent on the finished cable. Some German manufacturers aim at complete
filling of the troughs on such cables and also apply a layer of a thin plastic tape to assist
in maintaining a thick bitumen layer.

Characteristics of P VC
In combination with a good measure of flame retardance, and resistance to oils and
chemicals, PVC contributes much to robustness and ease of handling. Very few
chemicals normally found in the ground on cable routes have significant effect on PVC.
Investigations have been carried out to determine whether any substances found in
chemical factories and oil refineries are particularly aggressive to PVC. It was found
that the only chemicals which caused attack were high concentrations of chlorinated
solvents, esters, ketones, phenols, nitro compounds, cyclic ethers, aromatic amino
compounds, pyridine, acetic anhydride and acetic acid. Except for perhaps occasional
splashes, it is unlikely that such materials will be in contact with cables. Prolonged
immersion in oils and creosote may cause swelling and softening but there is usually
considerable recovery when the source is removed.
Loss of plasticiser from PVC to other materials in contact with cables may cause
some problems with wiring type cables. One example of this relates to cables in roof
spaces where polystyrene granules have been used for thermal insulation over ceilings.
The granules in contact with the oversheath may become soft and tacky due to leaching
of plasticiser from the PVC, which itself will lose some flexibility. Direct contact
between the granules and cables should be avoided. Similar remarks apply to some
fittings which are in contact with cables. In addition to polystyrene and expanded
polystyrene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polyphenol oxide and polycarbonate are also affected. Nylon, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, rigid PVC and
most thermosetting plastics are little affected.
With the greater thickness of oversheath on distribution and transmission cables the
rate of loss of plasticiser from the body of the oversheath is much slower and in any
case subsequent disturbance by bending is unlikely. Although the PVC becomes
somewhat harder as plasticiser is removed, the properties of permeability to moisture
and protection against corrosion are not impaired.
A special situation arises when PVC oversheathed cables are in ground which may
contain hydrocarbons such as petrol. This can happen in oil refineries as a result of
spillage. Although only a small amount of hydrocarbon is absorbed by the PVC, such
materials can diffuse through the sheath and be taken up by materials inside, or
condense in any air spaces available. The PVC itself is unaffected, except for some loss
of plasticiser. However, the petrol may then flow along the cable and run out of joints
and terminations. For such conditions it is general practice, therefore, for cables to have
a lead sheath, even if the insulation is of PVC. By sealing the lead sheath to the
equipment, no hydrocarbon will flow into the equipment. Flow will still take place
along the armour, and if it is important that no leakage should occur at the armour
termination this may also need to be specially sealed.

Polyethylene oversheaths
Although from the outset PVC became the established material in the U K for power
cables, polyethylene has tended to be preferred in the USA and also throughout the

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world for telephone cables. Most of what has been stated for PVC applies equally to
polyethylene but, whereas PVC has to be compounded with plasticisers and fillers etc.,
the only additions normally made to polyethylene are antioxidant and carbon black.
Problems due to such aspects as loss of plasticiser do not arise. Furthermore,
polyethylene does not suffer from effects of brittleness at low temperatures and so has a
particular advantage for installation in countries where sub-zero temperatures exist for
long periods. Polyethylene sheaths have to contain carbon black and this prevents their
use when coloured sheaths are required.
On balance the overall advantages and disadvantages of the two materials are
marginal and it is more economic for manufacturers to standardise on one material.
Polyethylene is flammable and this is one o f the main reasons for the preference for
PVC. Another is that resistance to thermal deformation is an important characteristic
for distribution cables. Whilst polyethylene may be marginally better for temperatures
within the normal continuous operating range, it softens more than PVC above 80C,
and at 130C it flows readily under mechanical load.
Many grades of polyethylene are available and for oversheaths it is necessary to select
one which has good resistance to environmental stress cracking.

High density and medium density polyethylene oversheaths

Frequent references have been made in this chapter to the importance of damage to
extruded oversheaths due to mechanical deformation. Because of the susceptibility of
aluminium to corrosion, this is a matter of particular importance with heavy and
expensive aluminium sheathed transmission cables. Damage to the oversheath may
occur, for example, through the presence of sharp stones in the cable trench, especially
when cables are being installed at high ambient temperatures in tropical conditions. To
ensure freedom from damage an electrical test is carried out on the oversheath after
laying and in bad conditions much time may be spent in locating and repairing faults.
In general a material which is tougher than PVC or polyethylene would be desirable.
High density polyethylene ( H D P E ) and medium density polyethylene ( M D P E ) are
materials which are used frequently for transmission cables. They are extremely hard
and difficult to damage even with a sharp spade thrown directly at the cable. They are
particularly advantageous for conditions involving high ambient temperatures, e.g. in
tropical and subtropical countries where, at the time of laying, PVC is much softer than
it is in the UK. However, they are not suitable for universal adoption as an alternative
to PVC because their very rigidity causes a penalty due to increased cable stiffness. This
is not a serious disadvantage with transmission cables because the proportionate
increase in stiffness is only modest and bending to small radii is not required.
H D P E and M D P E oversheaths cost a little more than PVC oversheaths and this is
also a factor which has restricted their use on the less expensive types o f cable. Even
more care has to be taken in grade selection than with PE to ensure good resistance to
cracking in some environments.
A further feature which may add marginally to overall cost is that, because of the
enhanced coefficient of expansion and rigidity, it is important for the oversheath to be
secured rigidly at joints and terminations; otherwise retraction may occur on cooling
and the metal sheath could be left exposed. No difficulties in this respect arise with F F
cables because it is fairly standard practice for sheath plumbs to be reinforced by resin
and glass fibre and the oversheath is readily included in the arrangement.

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89

Although not important with the majority of oversheathing applications, another

feature of HDPE and MDPE is that they are notch sensitive. Cracking may occur if
there is a sudden change of section due, for example, to steps in the surface on which the
oversheath is applied.

FINISHES FOR PROTECTION AGAINST INSECTS

Although instances have arisen of damage caused to cables and cable drums by various
insects and by gnawing from rodents, the most common form of attack is from ants,
termites and teredos.
Protection against ants and termites
Termites are essentially subterranean in habit and exist only in tropical and subtropical
regions up to 40 on each side of the equator. Most reports of damage to cables have
come from Malaysia and Australia. Termites feed on cellulose, generally from wood,
and attack on cables is not for food, but because their path is obstructed. They have
hard saw-tooth jaws capable of tearing through soft materials including some metals
and plastics.
Ants are much more common but again problems with cables are confined to warmer
climates. They exist on the ground surface but may extend underground to a depth of
about 120 mm in loose sandy soils.
Measures required for protective finishes are the same for both ants and termites: 1,2
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

Use of a metal protection layer.

Use of a damage resistant polymeric oversheath.
Treatment of the cable backfill material.
Inclusion of insecticide in the polymeric oversheath.

The use of metal barriers has been shown historically to be effective provided no gaps
exist. However additional metallic layers add expense, complexity, increased heat
losses, and the need to electrically bond metallic layers to the cable. It may not be
possible to prevent corrosion of the metallic layer because of termite attack to the
polymeric oversheath.
High- or medium-density polyethylenes with a Shore D Hardness of 60 provide
adequate resistance to attack by some termites, 3 however, the surface of the oversheath
must be smooth to prevent termites from initiating their attack. Softer materials such as
PVC provide little protection against the more aggressive species of termites. Harder
materials such as nylon, which have hardness in excess of 65 show absence of termite
attack} Due to its high cost nylon is usually applied as an additional thin layer over the
normal cable oversheath, then to prevent abrasion damage or wrinkling of this layer
during installation, a further protective oversheath is necessary.4 This solution has
tended to be used for small diameter cables.
The chemical treatment of trench backfills to deter termites is, at first sight, a simple
solution and has been widely used to provide protection to timber buildings. However,
treating the quantity of backfill required to protect a cable route is expensive and the
introduction of quantities of chemicals into the ground is undesirable. Three
insecticides which have been successfully used in the past, i.e. aldrin, dieldrin and

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lindane, have become increasingly unacceptable because of their accumulation in the

environment resulting from their overuse in agriculture and timber protection.
The compounding of insecticides into the cable oversheath is a more efficient method
that has been used for many years with additives such as aldrin, dieldrin, lindane and
naphthenates. These materials are becoming untenable for environmental reasons. New
more environmentally acceptable materials (e.g. synthetic pyrethoids, metal naphthenates and organophosphates) are used to achieve termite resistance in other industries
and these have also been investigated for incorporation into cables.
A new anti-termite oversheathing material has been developed specifically for
cables. 5'6'7 The technology is based on a novel masterbatch formulation containing an
environmentally acceptable anti-termite agent; the masterbatch is mixed into the
sheathing polymer immediately prior to extrusion. Extensive laboratory and field
testing has demonstrated that some termite protection is given to the soft PVC
oversheaths, but that full protection is given to polyethylene oversheaths.

Protection against teredos

Teredos are a form of marine life existing in relatively shallow sea-water near to land.
They were often called ship-worms because of the attack on the hulks of wooden sailing
ships. The shore ends of submarine cables usually have to be protected and the standard
method is to include a layer of tin-bronze tapes in the protective finish. Adequate
protection under and over this layer has to be considered according to the other
circumstances arising.

BRAIDED FINISHES
Braided finishes used to be popular before extruded finishes came into general use.
Because of the slow manufacturing process, however, they were expensive and could
only be justified when there was a need for improved abrasion resistance. For power
cables, hessian, cotton and asbestos braids were superseded by extruded PVC and the
special formulations for flame retardance discussed in chapter 6. Health and safety
problems also arose with asbestos.
For flexible cables, braided finishes have continued to find fairly standard application
for domestic appliances where there is a possibility of the cable coming into contact
with hot metal and an extruded finish might be damaged, e.g. for electric irons and
toasters etc. Continuous filament of the regenerated cellulose type is now the most
common material for such braids. When there is justification for a more robust finish,
as for aircraft cables, nylon is used.

TESTS ON PROTECTIVE FINISHES

Apart from tests on the thickness and properties of the materials used, the only tests of
importance are those given in IEC 229. These cover requirements when the quality of
the finish is especially significant, such as for the protection of aluminium sheaths or the
sheath and reinforcement of transmission cables.

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91

D.C. voltage test

When the requirements are onerous it is usual to check that no damage has occurred
during laying and often subsequently during the life of the cable. This is done by a
voltage test and for the purpose a conducting layer of graphite type varnish is applied
on the outer surface of the oversheath at the time of cable manufacture. The routine test
in the factory is at a voltage (2.5t + 5)kV, applied for 1 min, where t is the minimum
average thickness of the oversheath.
Test for protection of aluminium

In the event of local damage to the oversheath, it is important that soil water should not
penetrate beyond the exposed area and reference has been made to the application of
bitumen to provide such secondary protection. The test for this purpose is carried out on
a length of cable previously submitted to a bend test. Four circular pieces of oversheath
10 mm in diameter are cut out with a cork borer and the exposed aluminium is cleaned.
The sample is placed in 1% sodium sulphate solution with the ends protruding and 100 V
d.c. is applied between the aluminium sheath and the bath, a resistor being used so that
the current is 100mA. After 100 hours the oversheath is removed and no signs of
corrosion should be visible beyond 10 mm from the initial holes.
Abrasion and penetration tests

Tests are included in IEC 229 to demonstrate that the finish has adequate resistance to
abrasion and to penetration by sharp objects. They are described in chapter 39. These
tests were originally developed to create a standard at the time when finishes included
layers of unvulcanised or vulcanised rubber together with outer layers of hessian. They
are of less significance with modern extruded oversheaths.

References

(1) Field, A. W. and Philbrick, S. E. (1991) 'Protecting Cables from Insect Attack'.
JiCable Conference Proceedings, 447-452.
(2) Report of CIGRE WG21-07, 'Prevention of Termite Attack on HV Power Cables'.
Electra, No. 157, December 1994.
(3) Bell, A. (1985) 'Plastics that Termites Can't Chew'. Plastics News, July 1985.
(4) Nakamura, T. et al. (1934) 'The Practical Application of Nylon Jacketed Termite
Resistant Power Cables'. Sumitomo Electrical Technical Review, No. 124, 1984.
(5) Blackwell, N., Gregory, B., Head, J. G., Mohan, N. C., Porro, R. and Rosevear,
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