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AWG Calculation - Known Number of Conductors

The following formula can be used in conjunction with the table shown below to get an approximate AWG value for a cable with a known number of conductors, with each conductor having a known diameter.

S1 =  (πD2) / 4

                  ∑S = n.S1

As an example, let's assume we want to know the AWG for a copper conductor cable having 41 strands of 0.20mm wire.

First we need to calculate the area of a single strand:

0.20 × 0.20 = 0.04

                     0.04 × 3.14 = 0.1256

                                         0.11256 ÷ 4 = 0.0314

Then we need to get the (approximate) area for 41 strands:

                                                       41 × 0.0314 = 1.2874

Now we use the table below to find the AWG number for a cable with an area of 1.29mm2 (an approximation is close enough for all practical applications).

Nominal Area (mm2) AWG Value Nominal Area (mm2) AWG Value Nominal Area (mm2) AWG Value Nominal Area (mm2) AWG Value
33.62 2 2.627 13 0.205 24 0.0159 35
29.94 2.5 2.336 13.5 0.183 24.5 0.0142 35.5
26.66 3 2.082 14 0.162 25 0.0127 36
23.75 3.5 1.855 14.5 0.145 25.5 0.0112 36.5
21.149 4 1.652 15 0.128 26 0.0103 37
18.840 4.5 1.472 15.5 0.114 26.5 0.00894 37.5
16.766 5 1.308 16 0.102 27 0.00811 38
14.938 5.5 1.167 16.5 0.0910 27.5 0.00694 38.5
13.298 6 1.040 17 0.0804 28 0.00621 39
11.846 6.5 0.924 17.5 0.0718 28.5 0.00552 39.5
10.551 7 0.823 18 0.0647 29 0.00487 40
9.400 7.5 0.732 18.5 0.0569 29.5 0.00456 40.5
8.367 8 0.653 19 0.0507 30 0.00397 41
7.456 8.5 0.582 19.5 0.0457 30.5 0.00343 41.5
6.631 9 0.519 20 0.0401 31 0.00317 42
5.910 9.5 0.462 20.5 0.0358 31.5 0.00292 42.5
5.261 10 0.412 21 0.0324 32 0.00245 43
4.689 10.5 0.367 21.5 0.0285 32.5 0.00223 43.5
4.168 11 0.324 22 0.0255 33 0.00203 44
3.713 11.5 0.289 22.5 0.0277 33.5 0.00183 44.5
3.308 12 0.259 23 0.0201 34    
2.950 12.5 0.230 23.5 0.0176 34.5    

For our example, we get an AWG of 16