Feb 01, 2023
UL fire rating is divided into 5 types:
v Supercharged grade. This includes CMP copper cables (UTP and ScTP) and OFNP or OFCP fiber optic cables and is the highest rated cable. On a bundle of supercharged cables, the flame spread on the cable when forced to the flame with a fan It will extinguish itself within 5m. And because this kind of cable contains chemical substances, it will not emit toxic smoke or steam when burning or at extremely high temperature. In the United States, supercharged cables are the preferred cables. In communication wiring, It is usually installed in ventilation ducts or in air return pressurization systems used by air handling equipment.
v Trunk level. This includes CMR copper cable and OFNR or OFCR fiber optic cable, which is the second highest level cable. When the bundled trunk level cable is forced to blow by the fan, the flame on the cable must be extinguished within 5m. , however, it has no smoke or toxicity specifications. Other countries outside the United States commonly use this fire rated cable in building trunks and horizontal cables.
v Commercial grade. This includes CM copper cables and OFN or OFC optical fiber cables. Commercial grade cables are lower than the trunk grade, and the flames on the bundled cables must extinguish themselves when they spread within 5m, but there is no restriction on forced blowing by fans. There are also no smoke or toxicity specifications. Commercial grade cables are often used for horizontal runs and are generally bundled together.
v General purpose grade. This includes CMG copper cable as well as OFNG or OFCG fiber optic cable. The performance of this grade of cable is similar to commercial grade.
v Household grade. This refers to CMX copper cable, which has no optical fiber classification and is the lowest level in the UL fire rating. A flame on a household grade cable must extinguish itself when it spreads to within 5m, but there is no smoke or toxicity specification. Household Grade cable should generally only be used in home or small office systems where each cable is laid individually. It should not be laid in bundles because the flame spread pattern of bundled cables is very different from that of a single cable.
standard
In order to ensure data security, people hope that after a fire, there will be enough time to return all data before the entire network is paralyzed, and transfer them to a safe place to minimize the possibility of data loss. Therefore, in the cable standard, there is also a kind of fire protection standard, which is called the "line integrity" standard. Its goal is that the cable can still keep the line open in the fire scene, so that power and information can still be transmitted normally. Therefore, cables that meet the series integrity requirements are also called fireproof cables.
At present, there are two types of common fireproof cable levels:
Chinese Standard: At 750°C, it can still work for 90 minutes (E90).
German standard: at 800-850°C, it can still work for 180 minutes (FE180).
Although the latest Chinese data center standard requires all cables to use CMP-level integrated wiring cables, that is, they can still transmit data normally without damage at a temperature of 500°C, leaving a certain amount of time for emergency backup of information. However, it cannot meet the requirements of the national standard for fire-resistant cables, and it cannot be called a fire-resistant cable.
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