Marine cable

Wires & Cables IEC 60332-3 ( Flame Test on Bunched Wires/Cables ) IEC60332-3C describes a method of type approval testing to define the ability of bunched cables to resist fire propagation. In this test, a cable specimen, consisting of number of 3.5m lengths of cables are fixed to a vertical ladder tray where they are applied with a flame from a gas burner for a specified times under controlled air flow. Four categories (A, B, C & D) are defined and distinguished by test duration and the volume of non metallic material of the sample under test. The cable specimen is deemed to have met the requirements of the standard if, after burning has ceased, the extent of charred or affected portion does not reach a height exceeding 2.5m above the bottom edge of the burner. UL Fire standard If a cable can pass a specified UL fire standard, an UL performance verification mark can be applied onto the cable jacket, illustrating both the UL class and the number. There are four primary fire testing standards as follows: CMP (Plenum Flame Test / Steiner Tunnel Test) Plenum rated cables meet the NFPA-262 standard (formerly known as UL 910) which provides the most stringent requirement of all the tests. Cable samples on a horizontal tray in a tunnel type of chamber are burned at 87.9KW (300000 BTU / Hr) for 20 minutes. To qualify for a plenum rating, the cables must have the flame spread of less than 5 feet or 1.5 meters, with a smoke density during the test of (a) 0.5 peak ; and (b) 0.15 maximum average. The CMP cable is usually installed in air ventilation duct and air return widely used in Canada and USA. The fire retardancy properties of CMP cable is much better than LSZH cable complying with IEC 603323-3. Vertical Flame Test www.siechem.com 216