Consider this:
Those who do not invest in maintenance lose security.
The power of maintenance
Did you know? Improper handling, lack of care in the laying of electrical cables, and incompetence in executing terminations and splices are the major causes of failures in the electrical system.
After installation, and periodically, all accessible points for visual inspection should be checked for imperfections in the cable polymers, excessive bending, burnt smell, contact with foreign bodies, and even melting of the insulation. Screw connections should be verified, especially when using aluminum conductors. Signs of corrosion on metal parts and excess moisture in connections should be assessed.
Insulation resistance can be monitored over the years in low-voltage cables, and thermal imaging can be used along the circuit, while medium-voltage installations can be assessed by measuring partial discharges, tangent delta, and time-domain reflectometry using specific equipment.
Reels vs. Drums vs. Coils
#TBT on Tuesday. We revisit this topic to remind that good maintenance practices also apply to initial practices; storage is one of the most critical aspects to preserve the integrity of cables so that everything arrives at the installation with total safety. For this, there are reels and coils. These packaging options have their requirements established in the standards NBR 7312 – Reels for wires and electrical cables, and NBR 11873 – Wooden drums.
It’s interesting to note that the term “drum” refers only to the empty packaging. When it has the cable inside, the correct term changes from “drum” to “coil.” In general, wires and cables supplied on reels are of small cross-section, up to 6 mm2. Larger cables are supplied on wooden coils due to weight.
Wooden drums come in various sizes to accommodate the different lengths (runs) of cable required by customers, with the diameter ranging from 65 cm to 270 cm. It is essential to consider the weight of a coil to define its run. Cable suppliers can handle coils of 6 or 7 tons without problems, while this may be a hindrance in the field, in the handling by third parties.
Therefore, when purchasing a large quantity of cables for a specific project, a Cutting Plan should be developed to define the sizes and weights of the coils based on the limitations of unloading and laying of the cables.
Wordplay: Education is so important that it even applies to cables.
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