A look at World of Stranded Wiring Configurations

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A look at World of Stranded Wiring Configurations
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Bunching and stranding are key engineering
aspects in copper wire manufacturing. Cables are
mostly classified as Solid or Stranded. While
Solid wires have a standalone configuration, the
stranded wires have two or more small wire
bundles packaged or wrapped together to form a
large, single conductor.
If you are looking to make a better choice in
stranded copper wires, you should know the basic
construction and physical aspects. These are
closely related to how they perform and deliver
in heavy duty industrial as well as general
domestic applications.
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Solid wires
Copper wires in this segment has just one strand.
They are mostly preferred for circuit designs and
grounding applications. It is used where there is
a high possibility of disruption. They are easy
to identify and cut in case of tripping or fault
detection. Mechanical tough and cheap cost of
manufacturing make solid bare copper wires the
basic wiring construction. The only disadvantage
is the lack of flexibility.
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Stranded copper wires

• A strand is a filament of wire. Many such strands
  are clubbed together to produce a solid
  configuration with larger diameter. Stranding is
  a more flexible construction given the number of
  strands that go into the core, without actually
  changing the overall cross-sectional diameter
  significantly.
• These wires deliver a better conductance on
  account of larger surface area. Even when there
  is a failure of one strand in the core, the
  performance of the overall bunch is hardly
  affected. This is the biggest advantage of using
  stranded copper wires over solid ones.
• Another advantage of using stranded copper wires
  is the visible reduction in the electrical
  phenomenon called the Skin Effect. This
  localized loss of power over the surface of the
  conductor reduces significantly when stranded
  copper wires are used instead of solid wire.
• This is the primary reason why telecommunication
  and acoustics industry use stranded wires with
  prompt results in performance and precision Line
  Leveling

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Various modes of stranding
Stranding can be done is multiple ways, each
giving rise to a totally different family of
stranded copper wires, physically and
mechanically different from each other with
unique set of applications. They are

• Bunched cables
• Bunched copper wires are arranged in an
  unstructured manner without any specific
  configuration. The number of braids or strands
  differs from one cable to another.
• Bunching is done to enhance the physical
  flexibility of the wire, rendering them easiest
  and cheapest option in the family of stranded
  copper wires. They are mostly laid or winded in
  left-hand/ anti clockwise/ reverse direction.

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• Concentric

Arranged in a circular or concentric manner,
these stranded wires are layered in alternate
directions over the central core. These wires
have significantly higher crush resistance and
used extensively in underground laying of power
and telephone lines.
These wires are also raised in an anti-clockwise
direction, like their bunched counterparts. The
concentric laying follows a certain geometric
series. They can be manufactured with a limited
set of stranded members- 7, 19, 37, 61, etc. such
that each layer has six strands against the layer
under it.
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