Effects of Quantity and Arrangement of a Flame-Retardant Cable on Burning Characteristics in Open and Compartment Environments

Abstract

The results of cable burning experiments conducted in a well-controlled or open environment may differ from fire phenomena in an actual installation environment of cables where the effects of ventilation conditions and thermal feedback exist. In order to prevent the misunderstanding of fire phenomena due to these differences, the changes in burning characteristics in open and compartment environments were investigated for a flame-retardant (TFR-8) cable and general PVC (VCTF) cable arranged on three-layer trays. As a result, it was confirmed that the fire scale, fire spread area, and cable damage varied greatly depending on the cable arrangement under the same cable quantity condition. Furthermore, the maximum heat release rate (HRR) and fire growth rate of TFR-8 in the compartment environment increased more than 3-times compared to the open environment, and showed a similar level of fire risk to VCTF even though it is a flame-retardant cable. Additional experiments using vertical and horizontal openings of various shapes were conducted to evaluate the individual contributions of thermal feedbacks from the wall and smoke layer to the changes in burning characteristics within the compartment. The results of this study can be used as basic data to reduce fire damage while providing an essential understanding of cable fire phenomena.