December 20, 2006
The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., F-CO Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa-ken; President: Makoto Hashimoto; Capital: 200 million yen, 100% funded by Furukawa Electric) and Furukawa Techno Material Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa-ken; President: Nobuyuki Nakamura; Capital: 300 million yen, 100% funded by Furukawa Electric) have jointly developed and brought into the market two cable fire retardant materials: PROTECO Sheet P2-eco and PROTECO Sheet P2DX-eco (Japanese Patent No. 3676052). These are improved varieties of conventional PROTECO Sheet P2 and PROTECO Sheet P2DX, respectively, in terms of halogen inclusion, flame retardance and environmental impact. The products are scheduled to be launched on January 29, 2007, and the sales amount is targeted at 100~300 million yen per year.
Background and Product Performance
The PROTECO Sheet P2-eco is used to prevent cable fire spread by wrapping it, directly or indirectly to include a supporting structure, around communication cables in a cable tunnel or power cables on a cable rack. Use of the PROTECO Sheet P2DX-eco at the beginning and the end of PROTECO Sheet wrapping, where openings are likely to occur, can effectively seal the openings around the cables to prevent fire ingress taking advantage of the expansion of the thermal expansion liner. See Figure 1.
Figure 1 : PROTECO Sheet wrapping around cables on a rack
The fire retardance performance of these products satisfies the criterion of the vertical tray combustion test in compliance with the IEEE Std. 383 (Note 1) (i.e., combustion damage should not reach the top end of the sample 1800 mm in length when heated at 815°C for 20 min) with a combustion damage length of 600 mm, one third of the criterion. See Figure 2.
Start of test
Finish of test
Figure 2 : Vertical tray combustion test (IEEE Std. 383)
Features of the Product (I)
Halogen gas emission (mg/g)
Notification of the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of Japan, SHOBOYO No. 101;
NTT Standard: 20 or less
Smoke density
ASTM E662-83 (Note 2);
NTT Standard: 50 or less
Figure 3 : Combustion property
Features of the Product (II)
The product has excellent mildew resistance, and is suitable for use in cable tunnels where mold grows easily. See Table 1.
| Mildew resistance test | Developed product | Conventional product | Comparative product(*) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mildew resistance test was conducted on the developed, conventional and comparative products, where 51 kinds of mold were cultivated for 28 days. | No mold grows at all. | No mold grows at all. | Mold covers one third of the entire surface. |
 |
 |
 |
* Comparative product has the same compositions as for the developed product, excluding anti-mildew agent.
Targeted Sales and Sales Price
The amount of sales for PROTECO Sheet P2-eco and PROTECO Sheet P2DX-eco is targeted at 100~300 million yen per year for fiscal 2007.
| Product Name | Fire retardant material PROTECO Sheet P2-eco and PROTECO Sheet P2DX-eco |
|---|---|
| Unit of Sales | 5 meter or 10 meter (non-standard lengths are available on request) |
| Sales price | PROTECO Sheet P2-eco: Item No. P2-5 (1-m wide x 5-m long): 31,000 yen/sheet Item No. P2-10 (1-m wide x 10-m long): 57,500 yen/sheet |
PROTECO Sheet P2DX-eco: |
|
| Launching date | January 29, 2007 |
Glossary
- Note 1: IEEE Std. 383
- IEEE stands for The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., a nonprofit organization engaged in the activities such as holding of international conferences, publishing of transactions, technology education and standardization. The IEEE Std. 383 specifies fire resistance standards.
- Note 2: ASTM E662-83
- ASTM stands for American Society for Testing and Materials, an international organization for standardization and specification. The ASTM E662-83 specifies standards for smoke emission test.