Study on Combustion Characteristics of Cable Based on Cone Calorimeter

Abstract

Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) carries a high fire risk. In this paper, a cone calorimeter is used to carry out radiation ignition experiments, and the heat release rate (HRR), mass loss rate (MLR) and other combustion parameters of XLPE cables under three kinds of radiation intensity are measured. By comparing the ignition time and HRR of samples under different conditions, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) The ignition time of XLPE cables decreases significantly with the increase in external thermal radiation intensity. The critical ignition heat flux (CHF) is about 16.24 kW/m2. (2) The HRR curve of XLPE is consistent with the characteristics of hot, thick material. The HRR rises rapidly to the first peak after ignition and then rapidly decreases. Then, it slowly rises to the second peak. Finally, it slowly decays until the combustion stops. (3) The first peak values of HRR of XLPE under different radiation intensities are almost the same. The time for the second peak of HRR is shorter, and the value is larger with the increase in external thermal radiation intensity. (4) The cable ignition model is established, which can simulate the cable ignition time well under different radiant heat flow conditions. (5) Based on the mathematical model, the ignition time trend with the thickness of sheath layer and conductive core layer as variables is deduced.

Effect of the Current on the Fire Characteristics of Overloaded Polyvinyl Chloride Copper Wires

“…As indicated in the pHRR curves of 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 I e , these wires damaged by various currents require nearly the same time to reach at pHRRs, which are approximately identical. Similar to the thermal aging PVC copper wire [ 7 , 15 ], the wire overloaded at 3.5 I e requires more time to increase its pHRR, which is lower than that of other overloaded wires exposed to various external heat fluxes. This result likewise indicates the 3.5 I e flowing through the PVC copper wires can deteriorate the active composition and structure of polymer insulation materials.…”

“…Meinier et al [ 6 ] studied the fire performance of halogen-free flame-retardant electrical cables with a cone calorimeter and discussed the influence of two parameters, namely, external heat flux and the spacing between cables. Zhang et al [ 7 ] measured combustion parameters, such as the heat release rate (HRR) and mass loss rate of cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables under three radiation intensities. Hirschler [ 8 ] and Barnes [ 9 ] studied the combustion behavior of a series of cables based on ISO 5660 and ASTM d5424 [ 10 ] using a cone calorimeter.…”

Burning characteristics of power cables with cone calorimeter

“…Combustion behavior of power cables studied using a cone calorimeter [ [14] , [15] , [16] ]. Numerous studies have shown that cables under such fire test equipment have the following characteristics [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] ].…”

Experimental study and modelling of real-scale vertical cable tray fires

“…Some of these were performed at a reduced scale, mainly using cone calorimeter. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] The idea is to reduce the scale to ease the study of such complex configurations and to find correlations between the behaviour of the cables at reduced and real scales. However, although these studies provided valuable knowledge, experiments at a real scale remained unavoidable due to the complexity of the problem and the multitude of interactions involved.…”