CALCULATING THE CROS SECTION OF CABLES

To select the correct cable tray / ladder dimension for the cables we want to support, first we must calculate their total cross section. As the cables can never be laid perfectly on the cable tray (they are never very close and laying in parallel), it is insufficient to base the cross-section calculation on just the cable diameter. So instead of using the (πr2) formula, it is advisable to use the formula: (4r2). Thus, the total cross section TCS of the cables is:

TCS = Σ(4r²)