Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE IAS Pulp and Paper Conference
PROPER CABLE INSTALLATION PRACTICES FOR AC DRIVES
Ettore J. Bartolucci
Senior Member, IEEE
The Okonite Company
102 Hilltop Road
Ramsey, NJ 07446
USA
Abstract—Continuously corrugated armored type cables
are being specified and used to supply electrical power
from pulse-width modulated (PWM) style inverters to
motors, pumps, fans, etc. The proper installation of these
cables is important to the operation of the inverter-motor
system. This paper will review the proper methods to be
used when installing continuously corrugated armored
cable including termination and grounding of the sheath.
Index Terms-Continuously corrugated armored cable,
termination, pulse-width modulated (PWM), variable
frequency drive (VFD), metal-clad (MC cable).
I. INTRODUCTION
According to the Office of Industrial Technologies, United
States Department of Energy, in 1999 it was estimated that
the Paper and Allied Products Industry spends $3.6 billion, or
about 2.6% of its overall operating costs to operate electric
motor systems. This cost is so high that a government funded
project was established to investigate what opportunities are
available to effectively reduce these costs. Savings
opportunities at the mill level are significant, amounting to
$480,000 to $659,000 per year.
One area is the use of variable frequency drives (VFD).
Typically, VFD's are recommended wherever speed variation
is required between the 50 to 100% range. VFD's are
showing up in all aspects of the paper mill operation; boiler
fans, stock pumps, paper machine fan pumps, compressors,
etc. Therefore, the VFD has become an integral piece of
equipment in the paper mill.
Associated with the VFD is the motor, and depending on
the motor size a converter, a dc link, and the interconnecting
1-4244-0282-4/06/$20.00 ©2006 IEEE
George Matto
Senior Member, IEEE
The Okonite Company
6777 SW Bonita Road
Portland, OR 97225
USA
cables. Simply, the VFD is an integral part of the total motor-
drive system. This paper will deal with one of the motor-drive
system components; the cable, its benefits, and its proper
installation.
II. BACKGROUND
The heart of a pulse width modulated (PWM) VFD is the
insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). This technology uses
significantly increased switching rates in the 2 – 20 kHz range
and a high rate of rise (dv/dt) output voltage, in the order of 10
– 0.1 µs. These higher rates create common mode currents
to flow which can create damage within the motor. These
switching rates cause increase electromagnetic noise,
reflective waves and harmonic effects which can cause
nuisance tripping, reduced motor life, and excessive bearing
wear to name a few.
Over the years there have been a plethora of technical
articles written about solid state inverters, their applications,
effects on motors, and their effects on the electrical system.
However, the interconnecting cables between the inverter
output and the motor input have somewhat been ignored, until
10 to 15 years ago. During this time period numerous
technical papers were written describing the impact of a
cable's impedance. So much has been written about these
cables that these authors advise a review of the references,
especially reference [1] to this document and to those of the
other references. As a result of all this work, it was learned
that a three phase cable design should be symmetrical design
and have a continuous overall metallic sheath with a high
degree of conductivity [2].
III. THE CABLE OF CHOICE
A symmetrically designed cable would have 3 phase
conductors insulated with a good thermosetting insulation, 3
grounding conductors – one in each cable interstice, an
overall continuously corrugated metal sheath, and an overall
protective jacket. An example of this cable for 600 volt
application is shown in Figures 1A and 1B. This type of cable
has an Underwriter's Laboratories Inc. (UL) designation of
type "MC", for metal-clad. It is also recognized as a type "RA"
cable by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).
Fig. 1A Cross-section of
600 Volt MC Cable