Electronic – the “screen of the cable” for medium/high voltage cables

The material described in the patent referred to is not semiconductor material in the sense that we understand it in the electronics field: The material is described as a polymer base "mixed with a conductivity imparting agent such as carbon black".

In other words, it forms a weakly conducting, yet not perfectly insulating, shield layer around the conductor element. Modern parlance would refer to this as a partially conductive material, I suggest.

The application seems to be similar to the use of a very high value resistor between an earthing strap, and the building earth such straps are often connected to.

Referring to the default source, WikiPedia:

At the inner (2) and outer (4) sides of this insulation, semi-conducting layers are fused to the insulation.[4] The function of these layers is to prevent air-filled cavities between the metal conductors and the dielectric so that little electric discharges can arise and endanger the insulation material.

On the same page, more information is forthcoming from the section on cable joints, though applicable to the cable itself, as well:

The black parts in this picture are semi-conducting rubber parts. The outer one is at earth potential and spreads the electric field in a similar way as in a cable terminal. The inner one is at high-voltage and shields the connector of the conductors from the electric field.

While this is not definitive first-hand knowledge, such use of semiconducting, or to be more precise, partially conductive i.e. high resistance shield layers seems to be common knowledge in the literature.

I have previously answered some similar questions: How do I tell what gauge wire I need? and High voltage cable cross section .

I will expand a bit more, below.

In Australia, we have two relevant standards:

• AS 3000 - Wiring Rules. Covers minimum requirements for a safe installation, including that:

  • cables should not melt due to overheating,
  • cables should not catch fire in fault conditions,
  • cables should be large enough to meet a 'fault loop impedance' requirement for safety in case of earth fault, and so on.

• AS 3008 - Selection of Cables. Includes numerous tables and calculations for calculating the current-carrying capacity of various sizes and types of cables, under various installation conditions.

In some applications there are short-cuts. The final sub-circuits of commercial and domestic wiring, i.e. power points, washing machines, etc. will usually be 2.5mm² copper. Lighting circuits will usually be 1.5mm². And so on. You will learn these shortcuts as you work.

2.5mm² is good for about 20 amps under most installation conditions. But not all installation conditions. Part of your work as an engineer is to determine when the 'short-cut' will do, and when the 'short-cut' is inappropriate and detailed calculations are required.

Things to consider in cable selection:

• Current requirement of the load (amps)
• Voltage drop - for long cable runs this is just as much a concern as the current-carrying capacity.
• Ambient conditions - hot surroundings or poor ventilation decrease the capacity of the cable, so you need a bigger cable for the same current.
• Cable fault withstand capacity - the ability of the cable to withstand the temperature rise in case of a short-circuit. If the cable is too small, it will catch fire before the fuse/circuit breaker operates.
• Cable insulation material - EPR cables have a higher rating than XLPE, which in turn has a higher rating than PVC. So if you use EPR, your cable can be smaller than the equivalent in PVC.
• Physical installation considerations - sometimes better to use two smaller cables than one big cable, if you have to make a sharp bend.
• Spacing between cables - if installing multiple cables in the same run, they heat each other up, which decreases their capacity, so the cables have to be bigger.
• Special requirements - metallic screening to prevent radiated electromagnetic interference? De-rating due to non-sinusoidal load current i.e. switching power supply? Full size neutral or half size neutral? And so on.

When you become a professional engineer, and you are responsible for cable selection, you will be introduced to the relevant standards in your country, such as AS 3000 and AS 3008.

Follow them. In my country they are the minimum requirement. No short-cuts. No short-cuts even if the electrician says it's OK.

Usually the electrician knows what they are talking about (more than you, the engineer), but if you are signing off on an electrical design then it is your name on the dotted line, not the electrician's. If it blows up and burns something down, the electrician will be nowhere to be found - the lawyers will come after you.