Direct-buried cable (DBC) is a kind of communications or transmissions

electrical cable An electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is used to carry electric current. One or more electrical cables and their corresponding connectors may be formed into a ''cable assembly'', which ...

which is especially designed to be buried under the ground without any other cover, sheath, or duct to protect it. Most direct-buried cable is built to specific tolerances to

heat In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...

moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapo ...

conductivity Conductivity may refer to: *Electrical conductivity, a measure of a material's ability to conduct an electric current **Conductivity (electrolytic), the electrical conductivity of an electrolyte in solution **Ionic conductivity (solid state), elec ...

, and

soil acidity Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...

. Unlike standard telecommunications and

power cable A power cable is an electrical cable, an assembly of one or more electrical conductors, usually held together with an overall sheath. The assembly is used for transmission of electrical power. Power cables may be installed as permanent wiring wi ...

s, which have only a thin layer of insulation and a waterproof outer cover, DBC consists of multiple layers of heavy metallic-banded sheathing, reinforced by heavy rubber covers, shock absorbing gel, wrapped thread-fortified waterproof tape, and stiffened by a heavy metal core. DBC is preferable in some areas since it is more resistant to being the focus of

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

discharges.

Communications

Most cable of this kind is

coaxial In geometry, coaxial means that several three-dimensional linear or planar forms share a common axis. The two-dimensional analog is ''concentric''. Common examples: A coaxial cable is a three-dimensional linear structure. It has a wire conduc ...

or bundled

fiber-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

cable. In the 20th century much of it was

filled cable In telecommunication, a filled cable is a cable that has a non-hygroscopic material, usually a gel called icky-pick, inside the jacket or sheath. The nonhygroscopic material fills the spaces between the interior parts of the cable, preventing moi ...

. Direct-buried cable is cheaper and easier to lay than other kinds of cable that require protection from the earth. However, DBC is also easily cut during digging or other excavations. As a result, most direct-buried cable is found on side roads, not main thoroughfares.

Power

Some power cabling is also direct-buried. This kind of cabling must follow strict regulatory procedures regarding installation Salata F., De Lieto Vollaro A., De Lieto Vollaro R
A model for the evaluation of heat loss from underground cables in non-uniform soil to optimize the system design.
Thermal Science, DOI REFERENCE
10.2298/TSCI120528119S
/ref> and backfilling. This is usually used for

undergrounding In civil engineering, undergrounding is the replacement of overhead cables providing electrical power or telecommunications, with underground cables. It helps in wildfire prevention and in making the power lines less susceptible to outages dur ...

in areas where overhead cabling is impractical or dangerous.

References

{{reflist

External links

Guide to direct buried cabling procedures
Cables

Communications

Power

See also

References

External links