Received 11/30/04

MSHA/OSRV

Safety Analysis of Trailing

Cables Used on High-Voltage
Continuous Miners

Thomas Novak, Ph.D., P.E.

AB34-HEAR-SUBMISSION-5
 Introduction
„ MSHA’s Proposed Rules for High-Voltage Continuous Miners
require special precautions with respect to cable handling,
as compared with low and medium-voltage trailing cables.
„ The rigorous cable-handling requirements have lessened
potential productivity gains to a point where mine operators
are asking why high-voltage trailing cables cannot be
treated the same as low and medium-voltage trailing
cables.
„ With the other proposed safety requirements in place, the
following question arises, “Is there truly an increased safety
hazard associated with a high-voltage system, as compared
with existing low and medium-voltage systems?”
 Study funded by Joy Mining Machinery
to Answer the Following Questions:

„ Is a trailing cable on a high-voltage system

more likely to be damaged and cause a
shock hazard as compared with cables used
on existing low and medium-voltage
systems?
„ If a direct-contact shock does occur on a
high-voltage system, is it more dangerous
than one from an existing low or medium-
voltage system?
 Typical trailing cable for a low-voltage
(440 V or 550 V) continuous miner

4/0 AWG 2-kV TYPE G-GC

Jacket CPE CABLE Reinforcement
Approx 145 mils Two reverse open
of EHD black wraps of polypropylene
chlorinated polyethylene filament
Ground Conductor
Ground Check Power Conductor Colored Insulation
Ground 8 AWG tinned copper Ground Check Outer Jacket
2 AWG tinned Cu with 45 mils of yellow
polypropylene

Inner Jacket
Approx 60 mils Insulation
of HD black 80 mils
chlorinated (min average)
polyethylene colored ethylene Separator
propylene rubber
Reinforcement
Inner Jacket
Power Conductor Separator
4/0 AWG tinned roped White mylar tape pulled
bunched compressed Cu Filler Cured Rubber longitudinally
 Typical trailing cable for a medium-
voltage (950 V) continuous miner

2/0 AWG 2-kV SHD-GC

Outer Jacket CPE CABLE Reinforcement
Approx 135 mils Two reverse open
of EHD black wraps of polypropylene Rubber-Backed Fabric Outer Jacket
chlorinated polyethylene filament Shield Reinforcement
Insulation Inner Jacket
Ground Ground Check
3 AWG tinned Cu 8 AWG tinned copper
with 45 mils of yellow
Inner Jacket polypropylene
Approx 70 mils
of EHD black Shield
chlorinated Rubber backed fabric
polyethylene tape helically applied Separator
and wrapped. Composite Ground Check Ground Conductor
Insulation braid of tin coated Cu
80 mils wires and colored nylon
Power Conductor
(min average) yarn. (60% min Cu
ethylene coverage) Phase ID by
propylene rubber color of nylon
Power Conductor Separator
2/0 AWG tinned roped Mylar tape pulled
bunched compressed Cu Filler Cured Rubber longitudinally
 Typical Trailing Cable for a 2300-V or
4160-V Continuous miner

Braided Shield Ground Check

1/0 AWG 5-kV SHD-GC Inner Jacket
Outer Jacket INT ORANGE CPE Reinforcement
Approx 100 mils Two reverse open
of EHD orange
CABLE wraps of polypropylene
chlorinated polyethylene filament Outer Jacket
Ground Ground Check
4 AWG tinned Cu 8 AWG tinned copper
with 45 mils of yellow
Inner Jacket polypropylene
Approx 100 mils
of EHD green Shield Ground
chlorinated Copper-Nylon braid
polyethylene (60% min Cu coverage)
Phase ID by color of
Insulation nylon Power Conductor
100 mils Braided Shield
Tape Insulation
(min average)
Semiconducting butyl/
ethylene
nylon tape helically
propylene rubber
applied and lapped
Power Conductor Conductor Shield
1/0 AWG tinned roped 16 mils extruded semi-
bunched compressed Cu Filler Cured Rubber Conductor Shield
conducting compound
Semi-Conducting Tape
Shock Hazard – Scenario 1: Cable is
Punctured by a Metallic Object

Low Voltage
Nail „ No shielding.
„ The nail is elevated to line-to-
ground voltage.
„ The hazard could go
undetected for an indefinite
period of time.
Shock Hazard – Scenario 1: Cable is
Punctured by a Metallic Object

Medium Voltage
„ Grounded shielding (60%
coverage) reduces the possibility
of this type of hazard.
„ Provides a conductive path
which causes tripping when the
ground-fault current exceeds 6A.
Shock Hazard – Scenario 1: Cable is
Punctured by a Metallic Object

High Voltage
„ Grounded shielding (60%
coverage) plus semi-con tape
(100 % coverage) virtually
eliminates this hazard.

„ Provides a conductive path which

causes tripping when the ground-
fault current exceeds 0.125 A.
Shock Hazard – Scenario 2: Cable is
Gouged and Allows Water and Dirt to
Penetrate to a Power Conductor

Low Voltage
„ Creates a leakage path
to cable jacket.
„ Can go unnoticed for an
indefinite period.
 Shock Hazard – Scenario 2: Cable is
Gouged and Allows Water and Dirt to
Penetrate to a Power Conductor

Shield Medium Voltage

„ Braided shield helps reduce
this hazard.

„ But tripping will not occur

unless the leakage resistance
is less than 65.5 Ω.
 Shock Hazard – Scenario 2: Cable is
Gouged and Allows Water and Dirt to
Penetrate to a Power Conductor

Shield High Voltage

„ Braided shield and very sensitive
ground-fault protection (0.125 A
trip) significantly reduce this
hazard.

„ Tripping will occur with a

leakage resistance up to 8 kΩ.
 Shock Hazard – Scenario 3: Cable is
Damaged so that a Bare Energized
Conductor is Exposed

Low Voltage
„ A minimum of 205 mils of reinforced inner and
outer jacketing,
„ A minimum of 80 mils of insulation, and
„ A layer of mylar tape.
 Shock Hazard – Scenario 3: Cable is
Damaged so that a Bare Energized
Conductor is Exposed

Medium Voltage
„ A minimum of 205 mils of reinforced inner
and outer jacketing,
„ A braided nylon/copper shield,
„ A layer of rubber-backed-fabric tape (lapped),
„ A minimum of 80 mils of insulation, and
„ A layer of mylar tape.
 Shock Hazard – Scenario 3: Cable is
Damaged so that a Bare Energized
Conductor is Exposed

High Voltage
„ A minimum of 220 mils of reinforced inner and
outer jacketing,
„ A braided nylon/copper shield,
„ A layer of semi-conducting tape (lapped),
„ A minimum of 110 mils of insulation, and
„ 15 mils of extruded semi-conducting compound.
 Advantages of the High-Voltage Cable

„ The combined thickness of the inner Braided Shield Ground Check

and outer jackets is increased by Inner Jacket
7.3%, and the insulation thickness is
increased by 37.5%. Outer Jacket

„ The rubber-backed-fabric tape is

replaced by a layer of semi-
conducting tape. Ground

„ The mylar tape is replaced with 15

mils of extruded semi-conducting Power Conductor
compound. Insulation
Braided Shield

„ The separate colors required for the

inner (green) and outer jackets
(orange) increase the possibility for Conductor Shield

visually detecting damaged jackets Semi-Conducting Tape

on the cable
Three-Phase Generic Circuit for
Modeling Electrical Hazards
Transformer
Impedance
Transformer
Secondary Zt
Series Resistance and
Inductive Reactance of Cable
ZL
Zt To
ZL
Continuous
ZL
X Miner

Zt -jXC -jXC -jXC

IF RF Fault
Resistance
Shunt
Capacitive
Reactance IC
Neutral
IR RNG Grounding
Resistor
Single-Phase Representation of
the Previous Circuit

VL-L
X
3 IF RF
-jXC
RNG IR 3 IC
 Values of Neutral-Grounding Resistors
480

480-V System: RNG = 3 = 18.5 Ω,

15
Low Voltage 600
3
600-V System: R NG = = 23.1 Ω,
15
1040
Medium Voltage 1040-V System: RNG = 3 = 40.0 Ω.
15
2400
High Voltage 3
2400-V System: R NG = = 2.77 kΩ
0.5
 Cable Capacitance
Grounding Conductor Braided Copper Shield
7.354ξ
C pu =
Filler Phase Conductor
[pF/ft]
Outer Jacket Conductor Insulation ⎛ 2t ⎞
Pilot Conductor log10 ⎜1 + ⎟
⎝ d⎠

7.354(3.2)
C pu = = 127 pF/ft
⎛ 2(0.110) ⎞
log10 ⎜1 + ⎟
⎝ 0.414 ⎠
Line-to-Ground
Phase Capacitance
Conductor
C = (800 ft) (127 x 10-12 pF/ft) = 0.102 µF
Shield
Insulation
Ground
 Body Resistance
Body Resistance [Ω]

2000
Ω

IEC

IEEE
1000
c[]
n
a
e
p
yIm
d
o
B

650

200 400 600

Contact Voltage [V]
Calculation of Body Current

VL-L
X
3 IF RF
-jXC
RNG IR 3 IC
Body Currents at the Various
Voltage Levels
480 V 15 A 600 V 15 A
1040 V 15 A 2400 V 0.5 A
4160 V 0.5 A
1,400

1,200

1,000
Body Current [mA]

800

600

400

200

0
400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000
Body Resistance [Ω]
 Summary of Body Currents

Body Resistance = 500 Ω Body Resistance = 650 Ω Body Resistance = 1000 Ω

Voltage Body Current GFR Body Current GFR Body Current GFR
[mA] Tripped [mA] Tripped [mA] Tripped
480 V 534 NO 415 NO 272 NO
600 V 662 NO 515 NO 339 NO
1040 V 1,112 NO 870 NO 577 NO
2400 V 424 YES 405 YES 368 YES
4160 V 453 YES 440 YES 414 YES
 Body Resistance = 500 Ω

5.0
480 V
600 V
1040 V
2400 V
4160 V
Dalziel’s Ventricular
Fibrillation Prediction
1.0

Body Currents for a 0.5

Body Resistance of
Time [s]
500 Ω
High-Voltage Pickup
0.1
Low and Medium
Voltage Pickup

0.05

0.01
10 50 100 500 1000 10,000
Current [mA]
 Body Resistance = 650 Ω

5.0

Low and Medium

Voltage Pickup
1.0

Body Currents for 0.5

a Body Resistance
Time [s]
High-Voltage Pickup
of 650 Ω
480 V
0.1 600 V
1040 V
2400 V
0.05
4160 V

Dalziel’s Ventricular
Fibrillation Prediction
0.01
10 50 100 500 1000 10,000
Current [mA]
 Body Resistance = 1000 Ω

5.0
480 V
600 V
1040 V
2400 V
4160 V
Dalziel’s Ventricular
Fibrillation Prediction
1.0

0.5

Body Currents for a Time [s]

Body Resistance of
1000 Ω High-Voltage Pickup
0.1
Low and Medium
Voltage Pickup

0.05

0.01
10 50 100 500 1000 10,000
Current [mA]
Thank You!