Fire-Rated Cable Technology: Testing Methods and Installation Practices

The purpose of this article is to educate safety, facility, and design engineers about fire-rated cables used for emergency shutdown due to a hydrocarbon (HC) fuel fire. The survivability of such cables in comparison to regular cables under fire conditions is discussed. In addition, an explanation of various technologies of fire-rated cables available today as well as the issues with the previous technology are provided. A new standard, IEEE P1717 (Standardfor Testing Circuit Integrity Cables Using a Hydrocarbon Pool Fire Test Protocol) is currently being developed. An overview of the draft teststandard as well as other test methods that are used in the United States and Canada as well as internationally (such as UL 1709, NEK 606, and IEC 61892-4 [Under writers Laboratory (UL), Norsk Elektroteknisk Komite (NEK, Norwegian Electrotechnical Committee), and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)]) are included. The installation practices of fire-rated cables and what to consider for these cables when designing emergency shutdown systems are reviewed.