What Kind of Insulation Is Used on Your High Temperature Industrial Cable?
If you have a wiring project being done on your industrial location, you will need cables that are designed to perform in such areas. Industrial environments such as chemical processing plants, glass manufacturing plants, steel manufacturing plants, power-generating plants, and other facilities tend to exhibit unusually high or low temperatures, heat, and flame.
While many high temperatures cables are made of annealed tinned copper or annealed nickel-plated copper, their applications can vary depending on other factors like the kind of insulation and jacketing used.The coating on these high temperature wires are of course made to improve conductivity of the copper and enhance thermal performance. The coating, especially that of 27 percent or 2 percent nickel will make the cable withstand thermal shocks, however, if the insulation does not match the application, you may encounter cable failures and damages. Here are the common types of insulation that you will find in high temperature industrial cables:
Extruded fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)
This insulation may consist of a braided fiberglass cover and treated with a moisture resistance and high temperature resistance finish. It is a type of insulation you will find being used in cables such as the Radix Wire FEP/FEP High Temperature Cable 200C/600V. This material not only protects the cable against acids, water, degreaser solvents, but also resists oxidation, flame, heat, oil, abrasion, and ozone. It has working temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius.
Extruded Perfluoroalkoxy (PFA)
This insulation material has high stress or crack resistance. The material retains its flexibility and toughness even at increased temperatures of up to 250 degrees Celsius. It is also resistant to chemicals and oils. It has low flammability, excellent resistant to ozone, and negligible moisture absorption. It also resists weather and sunlight. It is used to insulate wires such as the Radix Wire Fluidgard 250 High Temperature Cable 250C/600V
Reinforced Mica tape
In environments where extreme heat and high temperatures are likely to be experienced such as in ovens, furnaces, and kilns, the cable is insulated with a highly heat and flame resistant material like reinforced mica tape. Mica has optimal working temperatures that go as high as 1000 degrees Celsius making it one of the toughest and highly thermally performing insulation materials we have today. It is used in cables such as the Radix Wire MCS Furnace High Temperature Lead Wire 700C/600V to 1000C/300V. Mica tape also has excellent moisture and radiation resistance and withstands harsh electrical as well as thermal overloads.
The next time you are in the market shopping for high temperature cable for a wiring project in your industrial facility, make sure you know the insulation, jacketing, or other protection material used on the wire. This way, you will ensure that you have the right cable for the right application. Remember that the insulation may need to be further protected from mechanical abuse and abrasion and a jacketing material, which also withstands the heat, flame, radiation, and other damaging elements may also be used. Usually, different insulation materials have different properties and it is likely that the jacketing used to protect the insulation has similar protection properties like the insulation itself.