Hard drawn copper is difficult to work with and stranding and bunching of the finer wires in this state would be very difficult. By heat treating the copper at the correct temperatures the ductility can be restored to make the cable soft and flexible again. The heat treating process is known as annealing and the resulting metal is known as soft annealed copper. The degree of annealing is controlled by temperature and time, copper wire is used with different degrees of annealing depending on the application.Hard drawn copper has significantly higher tensile strength than soft annealed copper and is used as overhead wire whereas the soft annealed copper is flexible and has somewhat improved conductivity over hard drawn copper conductor.

XLPE is Cross-linked Polyethylene.. The process of cross-linking or vulcanisation consists of producing chemical bonds at intervals between the long molecular chains to give a “ladder” effect which prevents slippage between molecules. As a result of cross-linking, the material becomes heat resistant and does not soften at high temperatures. It develops resistance to stress cracking and ageing . With the change in structure, the XLPE derives superior electrical properties. XLPE Cables have higher current rating and longer service life compared to PVC Cables. Under short circuit condition,this cable can withstand up to 250ºC temperature compared to 160ºC for PVC cables.
It also has higher overloading capacity under emergency conditions. XLPE Cables are ideal for transmission and distribution of power because it has high corrosion resistance under polluted atmosphere along with better resistance power against chemicals and corrosive alkalis. Not only this it can withstand vibration and hot impacts. It also has 100 times more moisture resistance capacity compared to PVC.