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Calculating the Area of a Cable

For single-strand cable use the following formula to calculate the exact area of the cable where the diameter of the cable-strand is known:

s =  π(D/2)2

Where:

s = area of a single strand D = diameter of a single strand p = 3.14

As an example, let's consider a single-strand cable with a wire diameter of 0.9mm. Applying the above formula we get:

s = 3.14(0.9/2)2    = 3.14(0.45)2    = 3.14 × 0.20    = 0.64mm2

The following formula can be used to calculate the approximate area of a multi-strand cable where both the diameter of an individual strand and the strand-count are known:

s   = (πd2 / 4 (to get the area of a single strand) S   = n.s (to get the approximate area of a number of strands)

Where:

s = area of a single strand D = diameter of a single strand p = 3.14 S = area of defined no. of strands n = number of strands

As an example, let's assume we want to know the area 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

                                         0.1256 / 4 = 0.0314

The approximate area for 41 strands is:

41 × 0.0314 = 1.2874