INSTRUMENTATION CABLES TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

1.1. INSTRUMENT CABLES

This specification covers the requirements for instrument signal cables, thermocouple
extension cables, RTD cables and power / control cables.

1.1.1 The cable design shall generally follow BS 5308 Part-1 for various cables listed in clause

1.1.2 Above. Thermocouple cables design shall comply with ANSI MC 96.1. The power and control
cables shall be generally as per BS 6346. For these cables, equivalent IEC/IS specifications
are also acceptable.

1.1.3 The insulation grade shall be 1100 V for all cables.

1.1.4 The primary insulation shall be cross-linked Polyethylene with temperature rating 70 deg.C
conforming to BS-5308 / IS 7098. Inner and outer sheath / jacket shall be made of extruded
fire retardant, low smoke, low halogen, low toxic, polymeric compound having physical
properties as per IS-5831 –Type ST2.

1.1.5 All cables shall be armoured and suitable for operation when installed as follows: -Directly
buried in the ground -Fastened to cable ladder rack or tray in the open air -In underground
ducts -In overhead closed cable ducts

1.1.6 Running length of the cable shall be printed at least at every 5 meter interval. For multipair/
multitriad cables, pair identification shall be provided with numbers at interval of not more
than 250 mm as per vendor’s standard.

1.1.7 A pair of communication wire shall be provided for multipair / multritraid cables. Each wires
shall be 0.5 mm2 of plain annealed single or multi-strand copper conductor with 0.4 mm thick
70 Deg.C XLPE insulation.

1.1.8 All cables shall be fire retardant and low smoke.

 1.2. DESIGN AND TESTING STANDARDS

1.2.1 Instrument signal, RTD and thermocouple cables

STANDARDS
Conductors BS 6360/ IS 8130 for instrument signal and RTD
cables and ANSI MC 96.1/IEC-60584-3 for
thermocouple cables.
Insulation: XLPE • Insulation shall be Cross-linked Polyethylene
(XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098.
Armour: Round wire armour galvanized steel as per IS
1554 Part 1
Inner & Outer Sheath-PVC: Extruded Fire Retardant, Low Smoke, Low
Halogen, Low Toxic, PVC having physical
properties as per IS 5831-Type ST2. Flammability
and chemical properties shall be as follows: •
Oxygen Index: 30 (minimum) at room Temp as
per ASTM-D-2863-77 • Temperature Index: 250
Deg C (minimum) at Oxygen Index of 21 as per
ASTM-D-2863. • Light Transmission: 70%
(minimum) as per IEC 1034. • Flammability test:
As per IEC 332 Part-1 & Part-3
Cat. A • Corrosivity of combustion gases: pH-
index> 4.3, Electrolytic conductivity < 100 micro
S/cm as per IEC 754-2 • Toxicity index: Maximum
05 Gases to be extracted – HCL, HBr, HF, CO,
CO2, NO, SO2, HCN as per NES-713. HCL shall
be first gas to be extracted Inner Sheath and outer
sheath thickness: Min. Inner sheath thickness and
outer sheath thickness shall be as per IS:1554(P-
1)1988 (should not be less than 0.5 mm). Outer
Sheath Colour: Blue Inner Sheath Colour: Black
Testing of the instrument signal and RTD cables. BS 5308
Testing / Calibration of thermocouple cables. ANSI MC96.1 / IEC-60584-2
Dimensions: BS 5308

1.2.2 Power And Control cable

DESCRIPTION STANDARDS
Conductors IS : 8130 / BS 6360
Insulation-XLPE • Insulation shall be Cross-linked Polyethylene
(XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098.
Armour Round wire armour galvanized steel as per IS
1554 Part 1
Inner & Outer Sheath-PVC Extruded Fire Retardant, Low Smoke, Low
Halogen, Low Toxic, PVC having physical
properties as per IS 5831Type ST2. Flammability
and chemical properties shall be as follows: •
Oxygen Index: 30 (minimum) at room Temp as
per ASTM-D-2863-77 • Temperature Index: 250
Deg C (minimum) at Oxygen Index of 21 as per

Testing and Dimensions of the cables
ASTM-D-2863. • Light Transmission: 70%
(minimum) as per IEC 1034. • Flammability test:
As per IEC 332 Part-1 & Part-3 Cat. A •
Corrosivity of combustion gases: pH-index> 4.3,
Electrolytic conductivity < 100 micro S/cm as per
IEC 754-2 • Toxicity index: Maximum 05 Gases to
be extracted – HCL, HBr, HF, CO, CO2, NO,
SO2, HCN as per NES-713. HCL shall be first gas
to be extracted. Inner Sheath and outer sheath
thickness: Min. Inner sheath thickness and outer
sheath thickness shall be as per IS:1554(P-
1)1988, should not be less than 0.5 mm. Power
Cables: Black Control Cables: Blue with black
bands (4 bands at 90o apart)
IS : 1554 Part I, BS 6469 / BS 6346

1.3 CABLE CONSTRUCTION

The various mechanical / electrical parameters indicated here are indicative and the contractor
shall be responsible to select / design the cables as per applicable standards.

1.3.1 Instrument Signal cables (4-20 mA or switch Contacts)

DESCRIPTION
Conductor • 7 stranded / 0.53 mm dia (1.5 mm2) stranded
i) Single Pair annealed tinned copper conductors of electrolytic
ii) 6/ 12 Pair grade copper.
• 7 stranded / 0.53 mm dia (1.5 mm2) annealed
tinned copper conductors of electrolytic grade
copper.
Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) as per BS
Insulation
5308/IS 7098.
PVC, fire retardant, low smoke, low halogen, low
Inner & outer sheath
toxic, polymeric compound.
Pairs Two insulated conductors shall be uniformly
twisted together to form a pair at least 10 twists
per metre.
Shall not exceed 12.3 ohms/ km at 20ºC for
Maximum DC resistance
cables with 1.5 mm2 conductor .
Mutual capacitance BS 5308 Part 1
L/R ratio of adjacent cores /pairs BS 5308 Part 1
Shield Shield shall be aluminium backed mylar /
polyester tape bonded together with the metallic
side down helically applied with either side having
25% overlap and 100% coverage. The minimum
shield thickness shall be 0.05 mm in case of
single pair and 0.075 mm in case of multipair
cable.
Drain wire Drain wire shall be provided for individual pair and
overall shield with 0.5 mm2 multistranded bare
tinned annealed copper conductor continuously in
contact with aluminium side of shield. The drain
wire resistance including shield shall not exceed
 30 ohm/km. Electrostatic noise rejection ratio shall
be over 76 dB.
Colour coding • Individual pair core insulation : Blue & Black
• Inner jacket : Black
• Outer jacket : Blue for intrinsically safe
application and blue with black bands (4 bands at
90o apart) for non IS applications.

1.3.2 RTD cable

ITEMS DESCRIPTION
Conductor • 7 stranded / 0.53 mm dia (1.5 mm2) annealed tinned copper conductors of
1 Triad electrolytic grade copper.
6/ 8 Triad • 7 stranded / 0.53 mm dia (1.5 mm2) annealed tinned copper conductors of
electrolytic grade copper.
Insulation Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098
Three insulated conductors shall be uniformly twisted together to form a Triad
Triads
at least 10 twists per metre.
Maximum DC Shall not exceed 12.3 ohms/ km at 20ºC for cables with 1.5 mm2 conductor.
resistance
Mutual capacitance BS 5308 Part 1
L/R ratio of adjacent BS 5308 Part 1
triads
Shield Shield shall be aluminium backed mylar / polyester tape bonded together with
the metallic side down helically applied with either side having 25% overlap
and 100% coverage. The minimum shield thickness shall be 0.05 mm in case
of single triad and 0.075 mm in case of multitriad cable
Drain wire Drain wire shall be provided for individual pair and overall shield with 0.5
mm2 multistranded bare tinned annealed copper conductor continuously in
contact with aluminium side of shield. The drain wire resistance including
shield shall not exceed 30 ohm/km. Electrostatic noise rejection ratio shall be
over 76 dB.
Colour coding • Core insulation : Red, Yellow and Blue
• Inner jacket : Black
• Outer jacket: Blue for intrinsically safe application and blue with black
bands (4 bands at 90°apart).
1.3.3 Thermocouple Cables

ITEMS DESCRIPTION
Conductor • 16 AWG or 1.5 mm2 solid conductors Conductor material should be as
i) Single pair cable follows:
K type T/C – Nickel / Chromium; Nickel / Aluminium (KX), Class 1.
Insulation Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098 Colour code:
Nickel / Chromium: Green Nickel / Aluminium: White
Pairs Two insulated conductors shall be uniformly twisted together to form a pair
at least 10 twists per metre. The lay length of adjacent pairs / Triads in case
of Multipair cables shall not be equal, to reduce cross-talk.
Mutual capacitance BS 5308 Part 1
L/R ratio of adjacent BS 5308 Part 1
pairs
Core inductance Shall not exceed 4 mH/km. However, for J-type thermocouple inductance
could be 8 mH/km.
Shield Shield shall be aluminium backed mylar / polyester tape bonded together
with the metallic side down helically applied with either side having 25%
overlap and 100% coverage. The minimum shield thickness shall be 0.05
mm in case of single pair and 0.075 mm in case of multi pair cable
Drain wire Drain wire shall be provided for individual pair and overall shield with 0.5
mm2 multistranded bare tinned annealed copper conductor continuously in
contact with aluminium side of shield. The drain wire resistance including
shield shall not exceed 30 ohm/km. Electrostatic noise rejection ration shall
be over 76 db.
Colour coding Outer Sheath color – Green
Inner Sheath color - Black

Note: All thermocouple extension cable shall be matched and calibrated in accordance with
IEC-60584-2 ANSI MC 96.1

1.3.4 Control cables.

ITEMS DESCRIPTION
Conductor 2 Core / • 7 stranded / 0.53 mm dia (1.5 mm2) annealed tinned copper conductors of
Multi-core type electrolytic grade copper.
Insulation Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098
PVC, fire retardant, low smoke, low halogen, low toxic, polymeric
Inner & outer sheath
compound.
Maximum DC resistance Shall not exceed 12.3 ohms/ km at 20ºC for cables with 1.5 mm2 conductor
Core Identification IS : 1554 / BS 6746
1.3.5 Power Cables

ITEMS DESCRIPTION
Conductor 7 stranded / 0.67 mm dia. (2.5 mm2) annealed tinned copper conductors of
electrolytic grade copper. The size of the conductor specified here is minimum.
However, the exact size of the conductor shall be selected based on the length of
cable and power consumption. For higher conductor sizes, aluminium can be
considered.
Insulation Cross-linked Polyethylene (XLPE) as per BS 5308 / IS 7098
Core Identification IS-1554 / BS 6746
Colour coding Outer sheath colour –Black
Neutral wire insulation colour – Black
Phase wire insulation colour – Red
Ground wire insulation colour -Green

1.4 Cable Testing:

Vendor shall submit routine and Acceptance test certificates, in original at the time of delivery of
cables.

1.4.1 Type Test:Certificate from independent test house for the following tests shall be furnished
by the vendor for the FRLS low halogen sheathed cable.

A. Flammability Test as per IEC 60332, Part-III, Cat A.

B. Electrostatic noise Rejection test.
C. Oxygen Index, Temperature rating, light transmission, pH Index, electrical conductivity and
toxicity index for the cable

1.4.2 Routine Test and Acceptance test: Each of the following tests to be carried out by vendor
during various stages of manufacturing. Purchaser shall review the related documentations.
In addition, the Following test shall be carried out for checking properties of low halogen
FRLS sheathing material.

a. Light Emission test as per IEC-1034. Acceptance norms shall be minimum 70%.

b. Determination of the degree of acidity of gases evolved during combustion as per IEC
754-2 (pH value to be minimum 4.3 and conductivity to be maximum 100 micro
Siemens/cms
c. Toxicity Index as per NES-713. Value shall not exceed 5.
d. Tear Resistance as per BS 7655 Section 6.1
e. Abrasion test method as per BS 6724 Annexure E

These tests shall be carried in presence of purchaser or his authorized representatives.

Immediately after completion of the electrical test the ends of the cable shall be sealed to
prevent ingress of moisture with suitable of rubber/PVC caps.
1.5 CABLE DRUMS

1.5.1 Cables shall be drummed in continuous lengths on cable drums. For protection during transport
and storage, battens shall be fitted around the entire periphery of the drum.

1.5.2 Drum identification shall be painted black on both sides of drum with permanent oil paint. The
following information shall be given on the drums as a minimum:

a. Drum identification number

b. Voltage grade
c. Type of cable.
d. Number of cores and cross-sectional area
e. Cable quantity
f. Purchaser's order number and item number
g. Total weight of cable and drum

1.6 IDENTIFICATION MARKS ON CABLES:

1.6.1 Signal Cables:

Outer Embossing: Following embossing should be in bold fonts at outer sheath at every 5 meter
interval
 Type of Cable i.e. Signal Cable
 No of Pairs i.e. 1, 6, 12 etc.
 Core Size i.e. 1.5 sq mm etc.

Sequential meter marking shall be embossed at every 1 meter interval

Individual pairs Embossing and identification: Core no shall be printed on each core for
identification at regular interval of 250 mm or so. The pair numbers shall be available on
individual pair by method of polyester number tape also.

Control Cables: Following embossing should be in bold fonts at outer sheath at every 5 meter interval.

 Type of Cable i.e. Control Cable

 No of Cores i.e. 2, 4, 10, 12, 24 etc.
 Core Size i.e. 1.5 sq mm

Sequential meter marking shall be embossed at every 1 meter interval

1.6.2 Thermocouple Cables:

Outer Embossing: Following embossing should be in bold fonts at outer sheath at every 5 meter
interval.

 Type of Cable i.e. T/C Cable

 No of Pairs
 Core Size i.e. 16 AWG
 Temperature Range

Sequential meter marking shall be embossed at every 1 meter interval

Individual pairs Embossing and identification: Each core of pair shall be numbered for
identification at regular interval of 250 mm or so.