Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. INTRODUCTION
Bare Low Voltage Lines have been used over years in within the Authority.
However these have the following disadvantage.
(i) High Outages or faults of the order of 140 faults per 100km per year.
(ii) High Labour and Transport Costs during construction
(iii) Long Construction periods
(iv) High Operation and Maintenance Costs due to the need to clear
wayleaves.
In light of the above the Authority has standardised on the use of low voltage
Aerial Bundled Conductors. Construction of Bare Low Voltage Lines will cease
with the current stocks and deliveries of Hard Drawn Aluminium Conductor.
The phase conductors are round, stranded and compacted aluminium, insulated with
Black HDPE compound. The insulation thickness varies with the size of conductor from
1mm to 1.4mm (Section on Technical Data for details).
The messenger or the neutral is round, stranded aluminum alloy conductor, with
minimum breaking load of 20.6kN(for the 70mm2), insulated with Black HDPE.
The three phase cores are stranded around the messenger (neutral).
The phases cores are embossed at intervals of 250mm: the manufacturer, year of
manufacturing year, rated voltage. On the messenger the length of cables is marked in
metres.
The cores are identified by longitudinal ridges on the insulation:
NEUTRAL - one ridge
RED PHASE - two ridges
YELLOW PHASE - three
BLUE PHASE - four ridges
1x10mm2 Earth. This is about a third of the price of the wethedac service
cable.
2. ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION
2.1 Materials
The item codes for ordering the Materials are as shown below:-
2.2Tools
Aerial Bundled Conductors special tool sets have be dispatched to your area stores. A set is
composed of :-
LOW VOLTAGE ABC-TOOLS
Description Qty Item Code
Phase separator 2 sets 469580-0010
Wide groove Pulley 20 sets 469580-0019
Nylon Sling 20 sets 469580-0022
Come Along 2 sets 469580-0024
Dyna-meter 1 set 469580-0026
Pulling Swivel 2 sets 469580-0028
Pulling Socks (Nylon & Steel) 2 sets 469580-0033
Crimping tool 2 sets 469580-0035
Strapping Tool Set 2 sets 469580-0039
Insulated Torque Wrench & Socket 2 sets 469580-0044
Hexagonal Key 2 sets 469580-0044
Fork Wrench 2 sets 469580-0048
A ground hoist or winch 1
Traction rope, having a length and a mechanical 1
resistance sufficient to allow pulling and stringing
operations up to ten spans of ABC.
Unwinding machine or similar equipment 1
provided with drum braking system .
1. Hardware can be fitted to poles before or after the poles are set up.
or
Suspension fittings should be used where the line angle is less than 500
(Figure 2).
When the line angle exceeds this value double strain assemblies must be
used.
In the event of an accident this will allow the cable to swing free and
avoid damage.
When ABC lines are installed on a hill a double dead end assembly is
recommended instead of a suspension bracket on the peak of the hill, as
the weight of the ABC will load the bracket excessively. On a gradient the
cable is pulled from the higher to the lower point.
Following the line adjustment, the strained bundles sections will be kept
on stringing blocks during a minimum period of 24 hours before clamping
the line and angle suspension.
Special care should be taken when handling the cable drums, and the
unwinding , pulling, stringing and clamping the cables.
Fundamental principles
The drum is positioned 8-10 behind the support, used for final adjustment.
It is slightly set off (1m) from the pole on the side of the first stringing
block, to prevent any friction of the twisted cable against the pole.
In the case of strong gradient the drum is positioned at the higher point
(extremity) on a drum equipped with mechanical braking device to
regulate the running out of the cable.
The cable drum (drum carrier) should be positioned to allow the cable to
roll off the top of the cable drum and 8-10 metres from the first pole. (such
distance is equal to the length of the pole over the ground).
The rotation of the cable drum will be controlled by the operator and if
necessary be regulated with a braking system.
Passing the conductors through the stringing blocs and pulling the bundle
with a pulling grip performs the pulling.
The pulled extremities must be tied with cable ties to avoid untwisting of
the bundle.
Pulleys are fitted on supports, just below the brackets in such a manner
that the bundle is near the level of the suspension clamp.
This ensures:
However, it can be done manually in the case of line section not exceeding
100 metres with maximum spans of 50 metres for a 3x70mm2 + 1x70mm2
ABC.
1. A pulling rope is threaded through all the pulleys on the route. This
rope should be:
2. Attach the pulling rope to the ABC by means of a ball bearing swivel and
pulling socks set.
The foreman verifies that the rope slides normally and that ABC does
not suffer any damage by sharp objects.
The people in charge of the drum carrier regulate the braking according
to the sag chart instructions given to him.
At the last pole of the run, the neutral messenger is clamped with a come-
along and tension is provided by A cable/chain hoist linked to the pole by
nylon or rope sling .
When the required tension/sag has been reached, locate with an adhesive
tape where the strain clamp shall be positioned and then proceed to fit the
strain clamp on the neutral messenger.
Fit a cable tie in front and behind the clamp to keep all conductors
together.
One bracket
One wedge type dead end clamp made out of thermoplastic
material
Two cables ties made of polyamide for clamping bundled
conductors
The tensioning of the first line section shall be made at the first double strain point.
For such procedure a chain or cable hoist equipped with a reel is needed (Figure 12)
The line adjustment for the fixing of the dead end clamp on neutral messenger is obtained
as follows:
Proceed simultaneously on the two tensioning devices (one at the termination pole and
the other at the double strain assembly) in order to obtain the adjustment of the first line
section and the slack bridge needed for the double strain assembly (Figure 13).
Install the strain clamps by exerting a supplementary traction in order to facilitate the
fixing of the clamps on the bracket.
The last line section is realised as the first terminal pole (Figure 10)
Separate the neutral messenger with two-phase separators at the suspension point.
Lift the cable from the pulley and fit the neutral messenger into the suspension clamp.
Close the securing clip and fit a cable ties around the phase conductors and the slot in the
bottom of the suspension clamp.
Fit a cable on the ABC either side of the suspension clamp (Figure 14)
One bracket
One suspension clamp with link
2.4.6 JOINTS
Lay the two cables to be joined in juxtaposition in order to stagger the joints as illustrated
(Figure 16) and prepare to join phase to phase, etc.
Strip the insulation according to the length (strip length) indicated on the ferrules. Take
particular care not to damage the aluminium strands.
Pass the conductor through the seal at the end of the ferrule and onto the centre barrier.
The seal should be securely seated on the insulation of the conductor.
Crimp the ferrule with standard ABC dies (17,3mm) starting at the centre progressing to
the outside. Pre-insulated ferrules are also used for repairing accidental damage to
conductors.
2.4.7 CONNECTIONS
TTD connectors (Figure 17) can be installed on enrgised main conductors; however, the
tap must not be under load.
If necessary, separate the conductors before making the connection by means of phase
separators
Determine direction for tap conductor to enter connector. Remove and sicard extra end
cap.
Insert tap conductor, making sure conductor is fully seated in end cap.
Place connector on main conductor. Tighten screw(s) with a closed-end wrench (or
socket) until shear head breaks off.
NOTES
Once the connector is installed it should not be removed. Only when the
connector is in place can the pierce marks be effectively sealed.
The conductor should not be exposed at any point on the installation. ABC
systems are always fully insulated and fully waterproof.
Replacing the damaged section using pre-insulated ferrules can only perform
repairs to the conductor insulation.