TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

SECTION-VI
1.0 Technical description of galvanised steel earthwire
1.1 Details of earthwire
1.1.1 The galvanised steel earthwire shall generally conform to the specification of
ACSR core wire as mentioned in IS: 398 (part-II) except where otherwise
specified herein.
1.1.2 The details of the earthwire for are tabulated below:
Sl. no. Particulars Details
1 Stranding and wire diameter 7/3.15 mm steel
2 Number of strands
(i) Steel core 1
(ii) Outer steel layer 6
3 Total sectional area 54.55 sq mm
4 Overall diameter 9.45 mm
5 Approximate weight 428 kg/km
6 Calculated D.C. resistance at 200 Centigrade 3.375 Ohms/km

7 Minimum ultimate tensile strength 56 kN

8 Direction of lay of outer layer Right hand

1.2 Workmanship
1.2.1 All steel strands shall be smooth, uniform and free from all imperfections, such as
spills and splits, die marks, scratches, abrasions and kinks after drawing and also
after stranding.
1.2.2 The finished material shall have minimum brittleness as it will be subjected to
appreciable vibration while in use.
1.2.3 The steel strands shall be hot dip galvanised and shall have minimum, zinc coating
of 275gms/sqm after stranding. The zinc coating shall be smooth, continuous, of
uniform thickness, free form imperfections and shall withstand three and a half
dips after stranding in standard Preece test. The steel wire rod shall be of such
quality and purity that, when drawn to the size of the strands specified and coated
with zinc, the finished strands shall be of uniform quality and have the same
properties and characteristics as prescribed in ASTM designation B498-M.
1.2.4 The steel strands shall be preformed and post-formed in order to prevent spreading
of strands while cutting of composite earthwire. Care shall be taken to avoid
damage to galvanisation during pre-forming and post-forming operation.
1.2.5 To avoid susceptibility towards wet storage stains (white rust), the finished
material shall be provided with a protective coating of boiled linseed oil.
1.3 Joints in wires

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 There shall be no joint of any kind in the finished steel wire strand entering into
the manufacture of the earthwire. There shall be no strand joints or strand splices
in any length of the completed stranded earthwire.
1.4 Tolerances
The manufacturing tolerance to the extent of the following limits only shall be
permitted in the diameter of the individual steel strands and lay length of the
earthwire:
Sl. Particulars Standard Maximum Minimum
no.
1 Diameter 3.15 mm 3.20 mm 3.10 mm
2 Lay strength 160 mm 175 mm 145 mm

1.5 Materials
1.5.1 Steel
The steel wire strands shall be drawn from high carbon steel rods and shall
conform to the following requirements as to the chemical composition:
Sl. Element % Composition
no.
1 Carbon Not more than 0.55
2 Manganese 0.4 to 0.9
3 Phosphorous Not more than 0.04
4 Sulphur Not more than 0.04
5 Silicon 0.15 to 0.35

1.5.2 Zinc
The zinc used for galvanising shall be electrolytic high grade zinc of 99.95%
purity. It shall conform to and satisfy all the requirements of IS: 209.
1.6 Standard length
1.6.1 The standard length of the earthwire shall be 2000 meters. The tolerance on length
shall be ± 5% on the standard length.
1.6.2 Random length will be accepted provided no length is less than 70% of standard
length and the total quantity of random lengths is not more than 10%(ten percent)
of the total quantity in each shipment.
2.0 Tests and standards
The above line materials shall be of proven design/type tested. Type tested
material shall mean that all such type tests which are specified herein below and
have been successfully carried out during last five years to prove the process of
manufacture and general conformity of the material to this specification. The
bidder shall be required to submit the copies of type test reports of these materials.
The test reports submitted shall be for the tests conducted within last 5 (five) years
prior to the date of bid opening. The type tests conducted earlier should have been

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 conducted in accredited laboratory (accredited based on ISO/IEC guide 25/17025
& EN 45001 by the national accredition body of the country where the laboratory
is located) or witnessed by the representative(s) of the owner or any other utility.
In case the tests have been conducted earlier than the above stipulated period or in
the event of any discrepancy in the test report (i.e. any test report not applicable
due to any design/manufacturing charge including substitution of components or
due to non-compliance with the requirement stipulated in the technical
specifications) the tests shall be conducted by the contractor at no extra cost to the
owner.
2.1 Type tests on earthwire
The following tests shall be conducted once on a sample / samples of earthwire for
every 500 kms of production from each manufacturing facility
Sl. no. Type of test Remarks
1 UTS test As per annexure - A
2 DC resistance test As per annexure - A

2.2 Acceptance test on earth wire

Sl. no. Type of test Remarks
1 Visual and dimensional check on As per annexure - A
drum
2 Visual check for joints scratches etc. As per annexure - A
and lengths of earthwire
3 Dimensional check As per annexure - A
4 Lay length check As per annexure - A
5 Galvanising test As per annexure - A
6 Torsion test As per annexure - A
7 Elongation test As per IS:398 (part-II)
8 Wrap test As per IS:398 (part-II)
9 DC resistance test As per IS:398 (part-II)
10 Breaking load test As per IS:398 (part-II)
11 Chemical analysis of steel As per annexure - A
2.3 Routine tests on earthwire
Sl. no. Type of test Remarks
1 Check for correctness of stranding As per annexure - A
2 Check that there are no cuts, fins etc. As per annexure - A
on the strands
3 Check that drums are as per As per annexure - A
Specification
 
2.4 Tests during manufacture earthwire
Sl. no. Type of test Remarks
1 Chemical analysis of zinc used for As per annexure - A
galvanising
2 Chemical analysis of steel As per annexure - A

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2.5 Testing expenses
2.5.1 Bidders shall indicate the laboratories in which they propose to conduct
the type tests. They shall ensure that the tests can be completed in these
laboratories within the time schedule guaranteed by them.
2.5.2 In case of failure in any type test the contractor is either required to manufacture
fresh sample lot and repeat all the test successfully once or repeat that particular
type test three times successfully on the sample selected from the already
manufactured lot at his own expenses. In case fresh lot is manufactured for testing
then the lot already manufactured shall be rejected. The decision of the owner in
this regard shall be final and binding on contractor.
2.5.3 The entire cost of testing for the acceptance and routine tests and tests during
manufacture specified herein shall be treated as included in the quoted unit price
except for the expenses of the inspector/ owner's representative.
2.5.4 In case of failure in any type test, repeat type tests are required to be conducted,
then all the expenses for deputation of inspector/owner's representative shall be
deducted from the contract price. Also if on receipt of the contract's notice of
testing the owner's representative/inspector does not find 'plant' to be ready for
testing, the expenses incurred by the owner for re-deputation shall be deducted
from the contract price.
2.6 Additional tests
2.6.1 The owner reserves the right of having at his own expenses any other test(s) of
reasonable nature carried out at contractor’s premises, at site, or in any other place
in addition to the aforesaid type, acceptance and routine tests to satisfy himself
that the materials comply with the specifications.
2.6.2 The owner also reserves the right to conduct all the tests mentioned in this
specification at his own expense on the samples drawn from the site at
contractor’s premises or at any other test centre. In case of evidence of non
compliance, it shall be
binding on the part of contractor to prove the compliance of the items to the
technical specifications by repeat tests, or correction of deficiencies, or
replacement of defective item all without any extra cost to the owner.
2.7 Sample batch for type testing
2.7.1 The contractor shall offer material for selection of samples for type testing only
after getting quality assurance plan approved from owner. The sample shall be
manufactured strictly in accordance with the quality assurance plan approved by
owner.
2.7.2 The contractor shall offer at least three drums for selection of sample required for
conducting all the type test.

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2.7.3 The contractor is required to carry out all the acceptance tests successfully in
presence of owner’s representative before sample selection.
2.8 Test reports
2.8.1 Copies of type test reports shall be furnished in at least six copies alongwith one
original. One copy will be returned duly certified by the owner only after which
the commercial production of the material shall start.
2.8.2 Record of routine test reports shall be maintained by the contractor at his works
for periodic inspection by the owner's representative.
2.8.3 Test certificates of tests during manufacture shall be maintained by the contractor.
These shall be produced for verification as and when desired by the owner.
2.9 Inspection
2.9.1 The owner's representative shall at all times be entitled to have access to the works
and all places of manufacture, where earthwire shall be manufactured and
representative shall have full facilities for unrestricted inspection of the
contractor’s works, raw materials and process of manufacture for conducting
necessary tests as detailed herein.
2.9.2 The contractor shall keep the owner informed in advance of the time of starting
and of the progress of manufacture of earthwire in its various stages so that
arrangements can be made for inspection.
2.9.3 No material shall be dispatched from its point of manufacture before it has been
satisfactorily inspected and tested, unless the inspection is waived off by the
owner in writing. In the latter case also the earthwire shall be dispatched only
after satisfactory testing for all tests specified herein have been completed.
2.9.4 The acceptance of any quantity of material shall in no way relieve the contractor
of any of his responsibilities for meeting all requirements of the specification, and
shall not prevent subsequent rejection if such material is later found to be
defective.
2.10 Test facilities
2.10.1 The following additional test facilities shall be available at the contractor’s works:
(a) Calibration of various testing and measuring equipment including
tensile testing machine, resistance measurement facilities, burette,
thermometer, barometer etc.
(b) Standard resistance for calibration of resistance bridges.
(c) Finished earthwire shall be checked for length verification and surface
finish on separate rewinding machine at reduced speed (variable from
8 to 16 meters per minute). The rewinding facilities shall have
appropriate clutch system and free of vibrations, jerks etc., with
traverse laying facilities.
2.11 Packing for earthwire
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2.11.1 The earthwire shall be supplied in non-returnable, strong, wooden drums and
provided with lagging of adequate strength, constructed to protect the earthwire
against all damage and displacement during transit, storage and subsequent
handling and stringing operations in the field. The contractor shall be responsible
for any loss or damage during transportation handling and storage due to improper
packing. The drums shall generally conform to IS:1778-1980, except as otherwise
specified hereinafter.
2.11.2 The drums shall be suitable for wheel mounting and for letting off the earthwire
under a minimum controlled tension of the order of 5 kN
2.11.3 The general outline of the drum for earthwire shall be as per annexed drawing.
The contractor should submit their proposed drum drawings alongwith the bid.
2.11.4 For earthwire, two standard length shall be wound on each drum.
2.11.5 For earthwire, each strand shall be individually welded to prevent parting of two
lengths at a tension less than 15 kN. The two ends where the first length finishes
and the second length starts, shall be clearly marked with adhesive tape and no
weld should be present outside these marks. The length between the two marks
shall be treated as scrap and will not be taken into account for measurement
purposes.
2.11.6 All wooden components shall be manufactured out of seasoned softwood free
from defects that may materially weaken the component parts of the drums.
Preservative treatment shall be applied to the entire drum with preservatives of a
quality which is not harmful to the earthwire.
2.11.7 The flanges shall be of two ply construction with each ply at right angles to the
adjacent ply and nailed together. The nails shall be driven from the inside face
flange, punched and then clenched on the outer face. The thickness of each ply
shall not vary by more than 3 mm from that indicated in the figure. There shall be
at least 3 nails per plank of ply with maximum nail spacing of 75 mm. Where a
slot is cut in the flange to receive the inner end of the earthwire the entrance shall
be in line with the periphery of the barrel.
2.11.8 The wooden battens used for making the barrel of the earthwire shall be of
segmental type. These shall be nailed to the barrel supports with at least two nails.
The battens shall be closely butted and shall provide a round barrel with smooth
external surface. The edges of the battens shall be rounded or chamfered to avoid
damage to the earthwire.
2.11.9 Barrel studs shall be used for the construction of drums. The flanges shall be
holed and the barrel studs shaft be threaded over a length on either end, sufficient
to accommodate washers, spindle plates and nuts for fixing flanges at the required
spacing.

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2.11.10 Normally, the nuts on the studs shall stand protruded of the flanges. All the nails
used on the inner surface of the flanges and the drum barrel shall be counter sunk.
The ends of barrel shall generally be flushed with the top of the nuts.
2.11.11 The inner cheek of the flanges and drum barrel surface shall be painted with a
bitumen based paint.
2.11.12 Before reeling, cardboard or double corrugated or thick bituminised waterproof
bamboo paper shall be secured to the drum barrel and inside of flanges of the
drum by means of a suitable commercial adhesive material. After reeling the
earthwire, the exposed surface of the outer layer of earthwire shall be wrapped
with water proof thick bituminised bamboo paper to preserve the earthwire from
dirt, grit and damage during transport and handling.
2.11.13 A minimum space of 50 mm for earthwire shall be provided between the inner
surface of the external protective lagging and outer layer of the earthwire.
2.11.14 Each batten shall be securely nailed across grains as far as possible to the flange,
edges with at least 2 nails per end. The length of the nails shall not be less than
twice the thickness of the battens. The nails shall not protrude above the general
surface and shall not have exposed sharp edges or allow the battens to be released
due to corrosion.
2.11.15 The nuts on the barrel studs shall be tack welded on the one side in order to fully
secure them. On the second end, a spring washer shall be used.
2.11.16 Outside the protective lagging there shall be minimum of two binder consisting of
hoop iron/galvanised steel wire. Each protective lagging shall have two recesses
to accommodate the binders.
2.11.17 The earthwire ends shall be properly sealed and secured on the side of one of the
flanges to avoid loosening of the earthwire layers during transit and handling.

2.12 Marking
Each drum shall have the following information stenciled on it in indelible ink
alongwith other essential data
(a) Contract/award letter number.
(b) Name and address of consignee.
(c) Manufacturer’s name and address.
(d) Drum number.
(e) Size of earthwire.
(f) Length of earthwire in meters.
(g) Gross weight of drum with earthwire & lagging.
(h) Weight of empty drum with lagging.
(i) Arrow marking for unwinding.
(j) Position of the earthwire ends.

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 (k) Distance between outer most layer of earthwire and the inner surface
of lagging.
(l) Barrel diameter at three locations and an arrow marking at the location
of measurement.
2.13 Verification of earthwire length
The owner reserves the right to verify the length of earthwire after unreeling at
least 10%(ten percent) of the drums in a lot offered for inspection.
2.14 Standards
The earthwire shall conform to the following Indian/International standards,
which shall mean latest revisions, amendments/changes adopted and published,
unless otherwise in the specification.
In the event of the supply of earthwire conforming to standards other than
specified, the contractor shall confirm in his bid that these standards are
equivalent to those specified. In case of award salient features of comparison
between the standards proposed by the contractor and those specified in this
documents will be provided by the contractor to establish their equivalence.
Sl. Indian Title International
no. standard standard
1 IS: 209-1992 Specification for zinc BS:3436-1986
2 IS: 398-1990 Specification for aluminium conductors IEC:1089-1991
for overhead transmission purposes BS:215-1970
3 IS:398-1998 Aluminum conductor galvanised steel BS;215-1970
part-II reinforced IEC:1089-1991
4 IS :398-1996 Aluminum alloy stranded conductor BS-3242-1970
part-IV ASTM-8399
M86
IEC:1089-1991
5 IS:398-1992 Aluminum conductor galvanised steel- IEC:1089-1991
part-V reinforced for extra high voltage (400 BS:215-1970
KV) and above
6 IS : 1778- Reels and drums for bare conductors BS:1559-1949
1997
7 IS : 1521- Method of tensile testing of steel wire ISO 6892-1984
1991
8 IS : 2629- Recommended practice for hot dip
1990 galvanising of iron and steel
9 IS : 2633- Method of testing uniformity of coating
1992 on zinc coated articles
10 IS : 4826- Galvanised coating on round steel wires IEC : 888-1987
1992 BS:443-1969
11 IS : 6745- Methods of determination of weight of BS:433-1969
1991 zinc coating of zinc coated iron and ISO 1460 -
steel articles 1973
12 IS : 8263- Method of radio interference tests on IEC:437-1973
1991 high voltage insulators NEMA:107-
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 1964 CISPR
13 IS : 9997- Aluminium alloy redraw rods IEC 104 -
1991 1987
14 Zinc coated steel wires for stranded IEC : 888-1987
conductors
15 Hard drawn aluminium wire for IEC : 889-1987
overhead line conductors

The standards mentioned above are available from:

Reference abbreviation Name and address
BS British standards,
British standards institution
101, Pentonvile road,
N - 19-ND, UK
IEC/CISPR International electro technical commission,
Bureau central de la commission,
Electro technique international,
1 Rue de verembe,
Geneva, Switzerland
BIS/IS Beureau of Indian standards.
Manak bhavan,
9, Bahadur shah zafar marg,
New Delhi – 110001, India.
ISO International organisation for standardization.
Danish board of standardization
Danish standardizing sraat,
Aurehoegvej-12
DK-2900, Heeleprup, Denmark.
NEMA National electric manufacture association,
155, east 44th street.
New York, NY 10017, USA

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 ANNEXURE-A

1.0 Tests on earthwire

1.1 UTS test
Circles perpendicular to the axis of the earthwire shall be marked at two places on
a sample of earthwire of minimum 5 m length suitably compressed with dead end
clamps at either end. The load shall be increased at a steady rate upto 50% of UTS
and held for one minute. The circles drawn shall not be distorted due to relative
movement of strands. Thereafter the load shall be increased at steady rate to 100%
of UTS and held for one minute. The earthwire sample shall not fail during this
period. The applied load shall then be increased until the failing load is reached
and the value recorded.
1.2 D.C. resistance test
On a earthwire sample of minimum 5m length two contact clamps shall be fixed
with a predetermined bolt torque. The resistance shall be measured by a Kelvin
double bridge by placing the clamps initially at zero metre and subsequently one
metre apart. The test shall be repeated at least five times and the average value
recorded. The value obtained shall be corrected to the value at 200C. The
resistance corrected at 200C shall conform to the requirements of this
specification.
1.3 Chemical analysis of zinc
Samples taken from the zinc ingots shall be chemically/ spectrographically
analysed. The same shall be in conformity to the requirements stated in the
specification.
1.4 Chemical analysis of steel
Samples taken from the steel ingots/coils/strands shall be chemically/
spectrographically analysed. The same shall be in conformity to the requirements
stated in this specification.
1.5 Visual and dimensional check on drums and its barrel strength test.
The drums shall be visually and dimensionally checked to ensure that they
conform to the requirements of this specification. The details regarding barrel
strength test will be discussed and mutually agreed to by contractor and owner in
the quality assurance programme.
1.6 Visual check for joints, scratches etc. and length of earthwire
Ten percent drums from each lot shall be rewound in the presence of the owner.
The owner shall visually check for scratches, joints etc. and see that the earthwire
generally conforms to the requirements of this specification. The length of
earthwire wound on the drum shall be measured with the help of counter meter
during rewinding.
1.7 Dimensional check

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 The individual strands shall be dimensionally checked to ensure that they conform
to the requirement of this specification.
1.8 Lay length check
The lay length shall be checked to ensure that they conform to the requirements of
this specification.
1.9 Galvanising test
The test procedure shall be as specified in IS:4826-1979. The material shall
conform to the requirements of this specification. The adherence of zinc shall be
checked by wrapping around a mandrel four times the diameter of steel wire.
1.10 Torsion test
The minimum number of twists which a single steel strand shall withstand during
torsion test shall be eighteen for a length equal to 100 times the standard diameter
of the strand. In case test sample length is less or more than 100 times the
stranded diameter of the strand the minimum number of twists will be
proportioned to the length and if number comes in the fraction then it will be
rounded off to next higher whole number.

END OF SECTION - VI

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