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  HomeTechnical Lib Overview of some common used sheath materials

Overview of some common used sheath materials

The main function of the sheath is to prevent the cable or wire from being damaged by the external environment. However, different materials and different properties will provide different protection for the cable. Here are some common sheath materials: PVC, LSZH, and PE sheaths.

1. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheath
PVC is self-extinguishing and has certain flame retardant properties. It is suitable for places that require certain flame retardant requirements, such as electricity, communications, transportation, construction, etc., but it will emit toxic smoke when burning. Therefore, it is not suitable for places with low smoke and low toxicity requirements in the event of a fire, such as passenger facilities, commercial areas, high-rise buildings, important public facilities and other places with dense traffic, or factories with high importance.
1) Main advantages: low price, simple process, light weight, stable chemical properties, corrosion resistance, moisture resistance, and no flame retardancy, so it is widely used in low-voltage distribution lines, especially in terminal circuits.
2) Main disadvantages: Ordinary PVC is not suitable for low temperature environment. It becomes hard and brittle at low temperature. It cannot be used in environments below -15℃, nor should it be constructed in environments below -5℃. PVC emits toxic gases when burning, which greatly limits its application range. It has poor adaptability to atmospheric aging conditions and is prone to accelerated aging under strong sunlight or high temperature.
In order to overcome the shortcomings of PVC, it is usually necessary to add a variety of polymers to improve its performance. Different additive formulas and different molding process methods can achieve different performances, such as increasing flexibility, increasing strength, improving tear resistance, flame retardant performance, and increasing the working temperature. Therefore, for severely cold areas below -15℃, cold-resistant polyvinyl chloride of different grades (such as -30℃, -40℃) should be selected. In high temperature environments (90℃/105℃), heat-resistant polyvinyl chloride should be selected. Similarly, when there are requirements such as oil resistance and sunlight resistance, corresponding PVC materials should be selected.

2. Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) Sheath
LSZH sheath material is a new type of high-performance flame retardant material. Compared with traditional PVC materials, it has the following characteristics:
1. Low smoke zero halogen: Low smoke zero halogen is the biggest feature of this type of material, which can effectively reduce the toxic gas generated during a fire and protect the lives of people.
2. Excellent flame retardant performance: Low smoke zero halogen sheath material has good flame retardant performance and can play a good protective role in the event of a fire.
3. Good physical properties: This type of material has good physical properties such as wear resistance, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, and cold resistance, which can ensure the long-term stable operation of cables and equipment.
Because its main function is to protect wires and cables when a fire occurs, reduce the harm to the human body caused by harmful substances such as smoke and toxic gases generated by wires and cables in a fire, and ensure the transmission performance of wires and cables, reducing fire losses and casualties. Low smoke halogen-free cable sheaths are widely used in wire and cable systems in the fields of construction, communications, electricity, mining, transportation, petrochemicals, ships, etc., such as railways, rail transit, highways, airports, large shopping malls, hospitals, schools and other crowded public places, offshore platforms, ship equipment and power systems, etc.

3. Polyethylene (PE) sheath
Polyethylene sheath is a commonly used cable sheath material, mainly used to protect the outer layer of wires and cables. Polyethylene sheaths are widely used in power, communications, radio and television and other fields. Below we will specifically introduce the advantages and disadvantages of polyethylene sheaths.
Polyethylene sheaths have the following advantages:
1. Good corrosion resistance: Polyethylene sheaths can resist the erosion of most chemicals and have strong corrosion resistance.
2. Good insulation: Polyethylene sheaths are an excellent electrical insulation material that can avoid short circuits between electrical appliances and have good insulation.
3. Good thermal stability: Polyethylene sheaths can maintain good insulation performance and stability over a wide temperature range.
4. Good physical properties: The polyethylene sheath has high tensile strength and high hardness, which can provide good structural integrity. It also has the characteristics of wear resistance, water resistance, and scratch resistance, and can provide good physical protection.
5. Low cost: Polyethylene is a common plastic that is widely used and has a low cost, so the polyethylene sheath has a low price and is more economical and practical.
Polyethylene sheath also has the following disadvantages:
1. Poor flexibility: Compared with other materials, the polyethylene sheath has poor flexibility, is not soft enough, and is easy to break.
2. Easy to age: Under long-term use or poor environmental conditions, the polyethylene sheath is prone to aging, which affects the service life of wires and cables.
3. Not suitable for high temperature environment: The polyethylene sheath has a low operating temperature and is prone to softening and melting in high temperature environments, so it is not suitable for wire and cable protection in high temperature environments.