Burning Characteristics of Power Cables in a Compartment

Power cables are one of the major sources of fire in almost every type of industry including power plants. The present paper discusses an experimental setup fabricated to determine the burning characteristics of powered cables in a compartment of size 4 m × 4m × 4 m. Power cables having outer layer of PVC and inner layer of insulation of cross linked polyethylene (XLPE) have been laid on a cable tray as per IEEE 383 and burned. An addition tray above the test tray at a distance of 27 cm has been fixed to determine the effect of burning of the lower tray on the upper tray. The measured parameters include heat release rate (HRR), mass loss rate, cable temperature, char length and afterburn time.