What is a Medium Voltage Cable?
What is a medium voltage cable?
In electrical engineering, a medium voltage cable is considered to be a cable that has a voltage rating between 1000V and 30KV. However, the term “medium voltage cable” is not clearly defined. To get an idea of what type of cable is needed, we need to first look at where the application is.Where is a medium voltage cable used?
Within a power grid, medium-voltage cables serve to supply a region with electrical energy. Although they are integral parts of a power grid, medium-voltage cables are not used for national electricity exchange since they maintain voltage levels between the high-voltage network and the house installation. Larger electricity consumers, such as industrial companies, hospitals, large swimming pools and larger radio towers, usually have their own medium-voltage cables within the company's own transformer station. Since traction power networks have a grid between 15kV and 25kV, there is also a medium voltage line in use. Large systems, such as cranes or conveyor systems also require medium-voltage cables to supply power due to the increased energy requirement. With these large systems, voltage needs to be increased so that a lower current can be carried within the same cable, which means that the nominal conductor cross section can be reduced. However, in comparison to a fixed installation power network, these types of applications require energy to travel via moving parts. Therefore, flexible cables and carriers that can travel long distances are essential because the medium-voltage cables within these applications must be designed to handle permanent movement.
The CFCRANE medium-voltage cable
Igus® has developed the CFCRANE medium-voltage cable specifically for these applications, and it can carry voltages up to 6/10KV for distances up to 1km. Due to the materials used, the CFCRANE cable is suitable for both indoor and outdoor applications, and like all chainflex® cables from igus®, the CFCRANE cable has been put through its paces within our state of the art test laboratory. With a bending radius of up to 10xd, the durability of the cable has been established and thus has a guaranteed service life of up to four years.
CFCRANE medium voltage cable from chainflex®
The CFCRANE is available in two different outer jacket materials—PUR and "igupren", an in-house jacket material based on rubber. Although the version with igupren has been in use for decades, both materials are highly abrasion-resistant and are therefore ideal for use in energy chains.
