Cables in permafrost
igu-blog-adm | 12. February 2021
The current weather situation is impressive. Temperatures in Germany go below -25 degrees at night. I haven’t experienced that very often.
There are beautiful natural spectacles from huge icicles to frozen waterfalls. Besides these beautiful perspectives, however, there are also less beautiful ones.
Roads freeze over, rail traffic comes to a standstill. Some machines freeze and paralyse businesses, water pipes freeze or even burst.
But what does the cold do to the cables used and how do cables behave in permafrost? Read more about this in today’s article.
Cables for cold applications
There are customers who come to us because they need a cable for cold applications. For example, in a storage and retrieval unit of a deep-freeze warehouse. Our cables are matched to the temperature here accordingly. However, this is predictable. For such temperature-resistant cables, we carry out countless tests in our climate chamber. Due to these, the product ultimately delivers what it promises.
The different materials such as PUR, PVC or TPE are qualified for different temperature ranges and can therefore be used optimally.
Cables in permafrost
Now permafrost is something that very few people choose voluntarily. Very few customers plan for such temperatures and loads for their cables when they buy them.
If a customer has to reckon with this because, for example, equipment is stationed outdoors, we like to take a close look at it.
Cables will survive movements in permafrost undamaged only if they are made of the right materials. This mainly concerns the material of the outer jacket. Because with the wrong material and such temperatures, the jacket of a cable often breaks. Important information on the temperature load of your cable can be found in the catalogue. The form of use of the cable is also clearly stated there.
We covered this topic in our chainflex® laboratory online seminar – Part II this week. But you can still watch the whole thing today via the link.
Fortunately, these arctic temperatures with permafrost are rather the exception in Germany. Nevertheless, we should give appropriate thought to the use of cables. Do you have any concerns or questions about your application and cables during permafrost? Feel free to contact us. We are here for you!