CA1058715A - Fire retardant electric cables - Google Patents

Fire retardant electric cables

Info

Publication number
CA1058715A
CA1058715A CA268,814A CA268814A CA1058715A CA 1058715 A CA1058715 A CA 1058715A CA 268814 A CA268814 A CA 268814A CA 1058715 A CA1058715 A CA 1058715A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
laminate
fire retardant
cable
earth wire
core
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA268,814A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Harold R. Bennett
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd
Original Assignee
Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd filed Critical Pirelli General Cable Works Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1058715A publication Critical patent/CA1058715A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01BCABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B7/00Insulated conductors or cables characterised by their form
    • H01B7/17Protection against damage caused by external factors, e.g. sheaths or armouring
    • H01B7/29Protection against damage caused by extremes of temperature or by flame
    • H01B7/295Protection against damage caused by extremes of temperature or by flame using material resistant to flame

Abstract

Fire Resistant Electric Cables Abstract of the Disclosure A fire-resistant multi-core electric cable comprises two or more electric conductors, each of which is insulated with a coating of silicone rubber insulation, a bare earth wire, and a sheath consisting of a laminate of a thermoplastic polymeric composition/
aluminium or copper foil and an extruded sheathing of a fire retardant polymeric composition around the laminate the sheath enclosing the insulated conductors and the earth wire with the metal layer of the laminate on the inside and in contact with the earth wire throughout the length of the cable.

Description

: ~587~5 This i1~vention is concerned ~rith electric - cables having good fire resis-tant properties.
A known class of fire resistant cables is the so-called mineral insulated cable ~hich contains no organic material at all. This type of cable has been ; de~eloped to withstand heating to 800C for 4 hours without its func*ioning being adversely affected~ It is ~ell known, howe~er, that ~ineral insulated cables ; need speci~l equipmen-t for their installation and the- 10 formation of terminations wlth such cables is very time-consuming~
l~e ha~e now developed a multi-core electric cable that is easier to install than mineral insulated cable and which meets the major operating requirements of the latter as a wiring cable. In particular, during laboratory tests, the cable we have de~eloped has continued to function after being heated for 4 hours at oO0 C, though it is damaged by such -treatmen*.
According to the present invention, there is provided a multi-core electric cable, which comprises two or more electric conductors, each of which is insulated with a coating of silicone rubber insulation1 a bare earth wire, and a sheath consisting of a laminate of a thermo-, .
~ - plastic polymeric composition~aluminium or copper foil and ,i an extruded sheathing of a fire retardant polymeric com-~i position around the laminate, the sheath enclosing the insulated conduc~tors and the earth wire with the metal layer 1 of the laminate on the inside and in contact with the earth - ~ wire throughout the length of the cable.
The metal layer constitutes an efficient electro ',
2 -;

s static screen l~hich is particularly advantageous where these cables are installed near electronic equipment, such as computers.
The cable construction according to the in-~ention is suitable for cables in which the cross-sectional area o~ each conductor is up to 4 square milli-metres and which comprise from 2 to~19 separate conductors.
By way of example only, this construction may be used for 2 and 5 pair 0~5 mm telephone and signal cablcs for use in a high fire risk area, such as a power station.
Silicone rubber compositions su1table for use AS electrical insulation and adapted for coating on con-ductors by extrusion are well know~ and commercially available. An~ o~ known compositions of this kind may be used in the cable according to the in~ention.
The earth wire is preferably formed of tinned copper. It may be laid up helically with the insulated conductors or laid straight, in each case in contact with - the metal la~er of the laminate.
Suitable thermoplastic polymers for the polymer/
aluminiu~ or copper laminate are, for example, polyvinyl chloride (pvc)~poly~in~lidene chloride, polyethylene and polypropylene, of which polyvinyl chloride is preferred.
Such laminates are either known in the art and generally available or can be produced in the same ~ay as the l~nown laminates; preferred laminates are those having a metal layer having a thickness of 100 to 250 microns. To form the sheath around the core consisting of the insulated con-, ductors and the earth wire, the polymer/metal laminate, in the form of tape having a width somewhat greater than - ~ - 3 -. . .

l~SI~ 5 the circumferencc of the core, is fed longitudinally on to the core and is formed (by suitable guide surfaces) around the core so as to encircle the latter completely, with onc edge of the laminate overlapping the other and forming a longitudinal seam along the length of the cable. The ,outer sheathing of ~ire retardant polymer composition is then extruded on to the outer surface o~
the laminate.
- The outer coating may be formed of any fire retardant pol~ner composition~ The polymer present in the composition may, for example be PVC, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene or a thermoplastic ; rubber, and the polymer may be cross-linked by any suitable means. The composition contains one or more fire retardants, the choice of fire retardant being mainly dependent on the particular polymer present. Suitable fire retardan-ts are, , ~or example, chlorina-ted paraf~in, antimony trio~ide, ~ . ~
'' magnesium carbona*e, zinc borate and aluminium hydrate.
~ Suitable compositions of this kind are kno~n in the art -' 20 and generally available.
We have found that the combination of silicone rubber insulation for the conductors and a sheath of a fire retardant thermoplastic polymer, such as PVC, ~hich has an ~ internal liningof me~al~the metal lining being in contact
3 25 with a bare earth wire which forms a part of the core, ;~ provides a cable having a favourable com~ination of ~ properties. Thus the cable is mechanically robust so that `I,it is suitable for surface mounting and _ __ ~S~37~5 i~ easy to in~tall. It also continues to ~unction9 even though damaged by very severe overheating.
Cables in accorda~ce with the invention ha~ing from 2 ~o 19 cores and with ~he individual conductors having cross-sectional areas of from 0~5 to 4.0 ~m 9 were manu*actured from the following l~aterials:

Conducts~r~- Plain annealed copper complying with BS 6360 Non-insulatea earth con- - Tinned annealed copper tinuity conductor~compl~ing with BS 6360 ~ 10 Core insulation- Silicone rubbsr complying with BS 689g 1969 :~ PVC-coated alu~inium foil - A~nealed aluminium strip : with a film of PVC securely bonded to one surf`ace. The metal strip was annealed, commercially pure al~minium having a thickne~s of 0.150 mm ~ 000125 ~m. The weight of the PVC layer was 2 gm per s~uare me~re with a tolerance of - 0.5 gm +
.1 gm per square metre.
:;
PVC outer sheath- Type 2 PYC c~mplyi~g with . - BS 6746 1969.
. ' ' ' . ' `' 20 The make up, dimensions and weights of the cables that were manufactured are shown in Table 1 below.

. :
. ' .

.
.: .

:i, :
.~

-,. - 5 : :

~51~5 ____ _ ________~ _ . ~ ~ U~ ~ o U~O o o o o U~ U~O U~ o o o ~ ~ ~a~ o ~ o ~--~ o ~oo ~ ~ co 1-- ~ ;r ¢
~ ,, ~ ~ o ~ P
Cl ~ ~ .~ ., ., o ~ o ~
~ ~o o o o o o o o o o o o ~ o o o o m ~
o h ~ ~ ~ a. . . .
~I O oq C~
_ ~ . g~
O . ~4 ~
Z; ~ ~ ~. ~, ~ . .... . O ... ~ .... . .
.~d ~ ~ OOOO OOOO OOOO OOO O O
. H .
C~ H
_ , ~1 ~ . ~ ~0 CO ~ ~CO U~ ~00 U~ ~CO o~ ~
.~1 .~ ~ ~ .~
,Q ~ ~ ~ ... ... , . . ~ 1 . ...
S~ ~ X ..
., ~ ~3 ~ Z
~ O ~

~ ~ ~~0 co u~ ~ 0 oo ~ ~ 0 co ~ ~ co co c~ co o ~ ~ e1 ~ 1~ N I t`~ [' C'3 ~ ~ r` ~ 1 ~\ r~ 1"
r1 S~l ~
O
Gq t~ O
O ~ X.i .
H
N __ ~ O U~ 0 0 It~ 0 0 i~ 0 0 r~
~ O ~
O S~ .
X t~ o~
~` _ .. ~ a~
~ tu ~
.t ~i _ _ , ~ 6 ~OS1~7~

Lengths of cer*ain of the above-dePZcribed cables were subjected to the following tests.

Fire Resistance .

A gas flame at a tempe.rature of 80oc was applied to the cable with working voltage applied to the cable~ After six hours, there wa~ no electrical breakdown.
The PVC sheath ~180 meets the requir~ment~ of BS 4066 for flame re*ardant cables~
AnQther flre resistance test i~ defined in C~E~G~Bo Specification 09990~ which requires the cable to be su~jected to a gas flame a* a temperature of 1000C and to continue to operate for a minimum of twenty minute~ZZ. Application of this test to the cable of the invention showed that after one hour at this temperature~
the cable wa~ still functioning satisfactoriiy~
i i ~ ~ Mechanical .. : .
.. :
' ~ 20 The ca~le wa~ bent through 180 on a mandrel ; ten time~ the diameter of the cable, straightened and then bent through i80 in the opposite direction. This procedure was repeated five times; no kinking or creaq-in f tha outer ~heath de~eloped.
, 25 ' Volta~e Z ~ The breakdown voltage o~ samples of cahle~
according to the~lnvention (having 2 cores ~ith a nDmlnal cross-sectional area of 2.5 mm2 and having 3 cores ~ith a nominal cross-~Zect1onal area o~ 1~5 mm2) wa~ determined ,, ~
.j .
I ~ - 7 ~058~5 follot~ing the bending test described aboveO The result~
are given in Table 2 beloW.
In the case of the 3 x 0.15 mm2 cable, failure took the form of flashover at the endsO The sheath of a further s~mple was then ~tripped back 150 mm to elim-inate end flashover and the breakdown voltage again deter~ined. The results are gi~e~ in Table 2 below.

: Table 2 io _ _ ~
Si~e mm Core colour Volt~e at Form of . kV failure _ _ _ ~_ ,After bending : 2 x 2.5 Red 11 Breakdown A 15 Bla~k 11 Breakdown 3 x 1~5 Red 11 Fl~hover . Yellow 12 Fla~ho~er ~` Blue 13 Breakdown With 150 mm tails :
3 x 1.5 Red 16 Breakdo-~n . Yellow 18 Breakdown . . . . Blue . _ _ Bre akdown These ~oltage~reakdown strengths give a very good margin of ~afety over voltage surges from contactor~
and fluorescent tubes which may well be of the order of 5kVo , .
, : ~oisture Resistance , .
3~ The breakdown v~ltage of lengths of cores of ,, 5871~ii certain of the above_described cables were determined, both before and after the bending test described above.
Further samples of the same core~ were immersed in water for 24 hours and the breakdown voltage then determined.
The results of these tests are gi~en in Table 3 below.

Table 3 _. _ , ~ ~
Description 3 x 1.5 mm2 2 x 2.5 mm 2 x ~ mm . :
_ , ,, _ _ Bre~kdown voltage lOkV lOkV lOkV
of cable/earth Breakdown ~oltage . lOk~ ; 10kV lOkV
after bending test .
Breakdown voltage .
on core immersed lOk~ lOk~ lOk~
in water at 20C
for 24 hours ~ . - _ _ Lengths o~ the cable were stored in containers ; so as to maintain a 100% relative humidity condition in 20~ the cable. After ei$ht weeks, the cables were opened up and no corrosion of the Rluminium foil or the bare earth conductor was found.
: -: ~

, :~

::

::

.

Claims (5)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:-
1. A multi-core electric cable which comprises at least two electric conductors, each of which is insulated with a coating of silicone rubber insulation, a bare earthwire, and a sheath consisting of a laminate of a thermoplastic polymeric composition and a metal foil, the metal being selected from the group consisting of aluminium and copper, and an extruded sheathing of a fire retardant polymeric composition around the laminate, the sheath enclosing the insulated conductors and the earth wire with the metal layer of the laminate on in the inside and in con-tact with the earth wire throughout the length of the cable.
2. A multi-core cable according to claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic polymer of said laminate is selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene and polypropylene.
3. A multi-core cable according to claim 1, wherein the metal layer of said laminate has a thickness of 100 to 250 microns.
4. A multi-core cable according to claim 1, wherein the outer sheathing is formed of a composition comprising a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene and thermoplastic rubber, and a fire retardant for said polymer.
5. A multi-core cable according to claim 1, wherein the outer sheathing is formed of a composition comprising cross-linked polyethylene and a fire retardant therefor.
CA268,814A 1976-01-09 1976-12-29 Fire retardant electric cables Expired CA1058715A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB825/76A GB1500121A (en) 1976-01-09 1976-01-09 Fire resistant electric cables

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1058715A true CA1058715A (en) 1979-07-17

Family

ID=9711139

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA268,814A Expired CA1058715A (en) 1976-01-09 1976-12-29 Fire retardant electric cables

Country Status (16)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS5286189A (en)
AR (1) AR211157A1 (en)
BR (1) BR7700166A (en)
CA (1) CA1058715A (en)
DE (1) DE2659541A1 (en)
DK (1) DK877A (en)
ES (1) ES454881A1 (en)
FR (1) FR2337922A1 (en)
GB (1) GB1500121A (en)
HK (1) HK15183A (en)
IE (1) IE44196B1 (en)
IT (1) IT1074691B (en)
MX (1) MX143319A (en)
NO (1) NO770041L (en)
NZ (1) NZ182986A (en)
SE (1) SE7613981L (en)

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2260216B (en) * 1991-10-01 1995-07-05 Northern Telecom Ltd Improvements in cables
AU676036B2 (en) * 1993-06-11 1997-02-27 Bicc Public Limited Company Electric cables
GB2327529B (en) * 1997-07-08 2001-07-04 City Electrical Factors Ltd Electrical cable
BR0015984B1 (en) 1999-11-30 2010-06-15 electric cable, and method for producing an electric cable.
CN113628790B (en) * 2021-08-17 2023-06-06 贵州新曙光电缆有限公司 Molded line conductor crosslinked polyethylene insulation medium-voltage power cable

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3032604A (en) * 1959-03-30 1962-05-01 Belden Mfg Co Electrical cable

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2094376A (en) 1978-06-29
FR2337922B3 (en) 1979-09-07
GB1500121A (en) 1978-02-08
HK15183A (en) 1983-05-13
ES454881A1 (en) 1978-01-16
NZ182986A (en) 1980-02-21
NO770041L (en) 1977-07-12
JPS5286189A (en) 1977-07-18
SE7613981L (en) 1977-07-10
IE44196B1 (en) 1981-09-09
FR2337922A1 (en) 1977-08-05
IT1074691B (en) 1985-04-20
AR211157A1 (en) 1977-10-31
DE2659541A1 (en) 1977-07-21
MX143319A (en) 1981-04-14
DK877A (en) 1977-07-10
IE44196L (en) 1977-07-09
BR7700166A (en) 1977-08-16

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