WCA January 2009

news

Search and develop – not to get burned For the purposes of fire prevention and to ensure the safety of people and assets, a number of laws, decrees and regulations have been introduced, to which engineers, manufacturers, technicians and users must comply.

Electrical cables are among the structural elements that need to satisfy fire resistance requirements. In particular, their behaviour has been analysed under fire conditions and reference standards have been established through the development of international

SIF MDC m m

norms. These standards specify the relevant test apparatus to be used to simulate fire conditions in order to test and analyse reactions of the electrical cables as if they were in their working condition. This apparatus allows cable manufacturers to test products and ensure they comply with international standards where necessary. In particular, these tests focus on flame spread (reference standard: IEC 60332-1-1) fire spread (IEC 60332-3-10), emission of toxic smoke and gases (reference standards: IEC 60754-1 / IEC 60754-2 / IEC 61034-1) and fire resistance (IEC 60331-11). In recent years many companies have purchased test equipment to test their products, and therefore to guarantee the necessary requirements and to sell in specific sectors, and as part of a research and development strategy. SIF MDC produces the complete range of test equipment, not only respecting the standard requirements, but also adding or customising any piece of equipment to further improve its performance or ease of use. BritNed contract for ABB ABB is providing the cables for a high-voltage connection between the power grids of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company began manufacturing the high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables in August 2008 and expects to complete the needed 500km of cable in April 2010. The 260km BritNed link will allow energy trading between the two countries and increase the reliability of electricity supplies to both. “BritNed is another step towards an integrated electricity network for Europe,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division. The cables will provide a link between the Isle of Grain in Kent and Maasvlakte in the Netherlands. Laying of the land-based sections was scheduled for late 2008, while the marine cable installation is expected to begin in April 2009. The 119mm diameter cable sea cables will weigh approximately 44kg per metre and will be installed by cable-laying vessels. The system will have a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) and will be in operation by 2011. HVDC technology is used to transport electrical power over long distances with low losses using underground or submarine cables. ABB pioneered the technology in the 1950s, when the company built the world’s first commercial HVDC transmission link in Sweden and has since supplied more than half of the world’s HVDC projects, providing an installed transmission capacity of more than 45,000 MW. ABB’s HVDC projects include the world’s longest underground power link (in Australia) and the world’s longest underwater connection, the NorNed project between Norway and the Netherlands. ABB Ltd – Switzerland Website : www.abb.com SIF MDC – Italy Fax : +39 035 4559358 Website : www.sifmdc.com Email : info@sifmdc.com

29

Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2009