Take the headache out of short-circuits
EDITOR ’ S CHOICE SHORT CIRCUIT PROTECTION
PANDUIT
Take the headache out of short-circuits
Short-circuit protection in any large scale building , such as industrial sites , enterprise or data centre needs a planned , structured , and implemented solution to ensure critical damage to power cables , building infrastructure and human life is mitigated .
Cable containment systems are crucial to reducing , and possibly eliminating , serious damage to cabling carrying high capacity power into the building ’ s grey space and to transformers . Cables can be in single , double , trefoil or quad configuration within these environments and they need to be contained .
When there is a short-circuit event , the cables repel each other with the force of an explosion . That force can cause damage to the containment system and the surrounding area , damaging or destroying equipment and structures and even causing death to anyone in the close vicinity .
There are various methods of containing the cables to reduce and even eliminate the risk of serious damage if a short-circuit occurs . Panduit ’ s solutions include the traditional cleat , which is a metal or polymer containment system , and can be bulky and heavy . The size of the cleat depends on the fault current of the cable , cable size and cleat spacing . However , there are also two alternatives , a stainless steel strap and a tie solution .
There are two key benefits to these new alternative solutions ; they can be much faster to install and much cheaper . Additional benefits include the ability to secure cable more often along its length , so spreading the load and reducing the likelihood of a shortcircuit event breaking the cable free of its restraints .
The strap and tie solutions also allow double or possibly treble loops around the cable ( s ), to increase the security . Moreover , the versatility of the straps and ties allows multiple cables to be securely restrained , whereas due to cable-diameter variation a cleat may not be effective across multiple cables , so a new cleat is required , which may be on back order , causing delay . Also cushion sleeving is available and often required between the cable and strap or tie ( as shown in images ). If a short-circuit occurs this stops the strap cutting into the cable .
Panduit metal ties are unique in that they offer either mechanical or have friction lock providing a highly secure , vibrationproof closure . Moreover , using the cable tie installation tool ensures the cables are retained with predetermined tension and cut leaving a clean flush edge .
The straps and ties use far less material to produce than cleats , use far less packaging and weigh much less and take up far less space when shipping and storing , as well as offering reduced headspace when installed .
For further information , please visit www . panduit . com
Issue 63 PECM 23