Electric power and control cables can be subjected to very high tension during installation. As cables are pulled around bends sidewall bearing pressure (SWBP) should be monitored to keep the sidewall bearing pressure below the limits set by industiy standards and manufacturer's recommendations, otherwise the cable can get damaged. Typically, manufacturers and cable installers have used various ways to protect cables from high sidewall bearing pressures. Cable manufacturers use metal clad armor of either aluminum interlocked armor (AIA) or continuously corrugated metal armor. Cable installers have several options. They can increase the bending radius' the cable is pulled around or can design to install shorter cable pulls and splicing the several sections. This paper will detail the development and evaluation of a new design of power cable that provides increased mechanical protection without the use of metallic armor while also improving overall flexibility. The new design incorporates a polymer layer that has been shown to improve both the mechanical toughness of electrical power cables while providing improved flexibility compared to cables using metallic armor. The data presented supports that polymeric armor provides 5 times better impact performance than metallic armored products. Power cables that contain polymeric armor can achieve up to 3000 pounds/radius foot of SWBP. This allows installers and customers to install cables for longer distances without the need for expensive splices which also affects cable reliability.
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