Cable Genius

20th August 2007

Different applications require different amounts of flexibility, the conductors within a cable , together with the insulation/sheathing material used, will dictate how rigid or flexible the cable is. Conductors are classed to indicate the degree of flexibility:
Class 1: single wire rigid
Class 2: stranded rigid
Class 5: flexible (fine wires)
Class 6: super flexible

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20th August 2007

Tri-rated Cable conforms to three different standards. These standards are:
1. BS6231 Type CK Conforms
2. UL Subject 758 Appliance Wiring Materials (AWM) for styles 1015 1028 1283 and 1284 as applicable and
3. Canadian Standards Association (CSA) approved. Complies with standard C22.2 No.127 Type TEW

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20th August 2007

LSZH stands for Low Smoke Zero Halogen and refers to the compound making up the sheath of a cable. In the event of a fire, this type of sheath will emit very low levels of smoke, and non-toxic levels of poisonous halogen gases (typically under 0.5% HCl emission).
After the King’s Cross fire in London in 1987 it became mandatory to use this type of sheathing on all London Underground cables since the majority of fatalaties occurred through gas and smoke inhalation rather than directly from the fire itself. This type of sheathing is mainly recommended for use in highly populated enclosed public areas.
Other equivalent terms for this type of sheathing are LSHF (Low Smoke Halogen Free), LS0H (Low Smoke Zero Halogen), 0HLS (Zero Halogen Low Smoke).

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20th August 2007

Flame Retardant refers to a cable’s ability to restrict the propagation of flames in the event of a fire. This is especially important where cables pass from one area to another within a building in order to slow down any spreading of the fire. This is tested by setting fire to a cable in a verticle chamber and measuring the extent to which the flame moves up the cable. There are different categories of loading (A, B or C) depending on the intended use of the cable. The purchaser can select the category appropriate to the required application.
Fire Integrity refers to the amount of times a cable can be exposed to a flame and continue to function. Typical applications of these types of cables are for use in fire alarms, and circuit systems.

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