ground [3].

Grounding is an important consideration when

Fig. 1B 600 Volt Continuously Corrugated Armored Cable
The metal material of choice for the sheath is aluminum
because of the following benefits:
1. Aluminum is a common, readily available material.
2. It forms and corrugates easily in a continuous
manufacturing operation.
3. Aluminum can be welded easily and continuously
with standard argon gas welding.
4. It is a lightweight material.
5. The aluminum alloy used has good corrosion
resistance to many chemicals and environments.
6. When corrugated the aluminum sheath exhibits
excellent impact and crush strength as mandated by
UL 2225 for Division 1 Hazardous Locations.
7. Because of its low resistance, the sheath alone
satisfies the ground requirements of NEC article
250.118(10) and Table 250.122.
8. When properly grounded, the aluminum sheath
provides a low resistance path for conducting
common mode currents away from the motor.
Aluminum has many advantages, as illustrated above,
and cables with this type of sheath have the advantage of
being installed as an exposed raceway. Physical protection is
not required because of the corrugated sheath's inherent
strength. This is evidenced by its ability to meet the UL crush
and impact requirements outlined in Table I.
TABLE I
UL IMPACT AND CRUSH REQUIREMENTS
Qualification
Requirement Type MC Type MC-HL
Test
Impact Test
Must Pass
3/C #14 AWG 15 ft-lbs 25 ft-lbs
8 out of 10
3/C #2 AWG 50 ft-lbs 50 ft-lbs
Crush Test
Must Pass
3/C #14 AWG 1000 lbs 1500 lbs
8 out of 10
3/C #2 AWG 2000 lbs 2000 lbs
Some of the actual crush test results performed on
corrugated aluminum sheath cable are listed in Table II.
TABLE II
installing a motor-drive system [4]. Assuring good grounding
is dependent upon the method of terminating the cable
ground(s) and sheath. This terminating method will be
addressed later in the paper.
In addition to the electrical advantages of type MC cable,
the continuously corrugated sheath offers the following
advantages:
1. Recognized as "Metal-Clad Cable" by the National
Electrical Code (NEC), article 330.
2. UL listed as Type MC per standard 1569, "Metal-
Clad Cable".
3. UL listed as Type MC-HL per standard 2225,
"Standard For Metal-Clad Cable and Cable Sealing
Fittings For Hazardous (Classified) Locations".
4. May be installed in Hazardous (Classified) Locations
as permitted by NEC articles 501, 502, 503, 504, and
505.
5. The aluminum sheath can be easily grounded with
available UL 514B approved Type MC cable fittings.
6. The continuously corrugated welded sheath is a gas
and vapor-tight barrier.
7. Standard termination and splicing kits are available.
8. When required this type cable meets all the current
standards for cable tray flame testing; IEEE 383,
IEEE 1202, CSA FT-4, ICEA T-29-520 (210,000
BTU), and UL 1569 with or without an overall
protective jacket.
IV. INSULATION
Although the XHHW (cross-linked polyethylene) insulation
tolerates the instantaneous voltages associated with
frequency drives some have questioned its long term life.
There have been no reported insulation failures due for this
application known to the authors. In an effort to show the
withstand capability for XHHW insulation for the application,
some impulse and withstand voltage testing was performed.
The impulse test impressed a voltage consisting of a 1.5
micro-second rise with a 50 micro-second tail, on a 1/C
sample of 600 volt rated cable. In addition, other samples
were subjected to an ac breakdown test at three different
frequencies; 60, 400 and 900 Hz. The results of this testing
are shown in Table III.
TABLE III
XHHW IMPULSE AND ac BREAKDOWN TESTS
600 Volt 1/C #14 1/C 500
Sample AWG kcmil
Insulation
Thickness: 30 mils 65 mils
kV: 58 75
IMPULSE TEST EAVG
(volts/mil) 1852 1137

CRUSH FORCE BETWEEN PLATE AND ROD 60 Hz ac VOLTAGE kV: 22 24

BREAKDOWN TEST EAVG
Crush Force, lbs
Cable Description (volts/mil) 717 373
Until internal short
(avg. of 10 tests) kV: 22 27
400 Hz ac VOLTAGE
3/C #14 AWG 600 V 2,087 EAVG
BREAKDOWN TEST
(volts/mil) 730 407
3/C #12 AWG 600 V 4,190
kV: 21 21
3/C #6 AWG 600 V 3,820 900 Hz ac VOLTAGE
EAVG
3/C #2 AWG 600 V >5,000 BREAKDOWN TEST
(volts/mil) 664 318
All results based on an average of 3 test samples for each test.
A cable of this design provides a low impedance path for
the high frequency phase, ground, and sheath currents to