JSC "NIKI Tomsk" (Scientific Research Cable Institute is part of the "Cable Alliance Holding", which unites the cable assets of UMMC) has developed a draft interstate standard GOST 24334 "Power cables for non-stationary laying".
“It will replace GOST 1980, which today is morally obsolete, since the range of flexible cables has expanded significantly, new promising materials for insulation and sheath are entering the market,” said Alexei Nor, director of the Cable Research Institute.
The development of a fundamentally new version of GOST took about two years. The project has been brought to the level of international standards. The document defines the technical requirements for rubber compounds that are best suited for insulation and sheathing of flexible cables. They include criteria such as oil, light and fire resistance, low corrosiveness, reduced fire hazard.
The previous version of GOST did not contain requirements for the characteristics of insulation and shell materials. This allowed unscrupulous manufacturers to use cheap thermoplastic elastomers instead of rubber compounds, which did not meet the requirements for the safety and reliability of cable products.
“The new GOST also involves the use of PVC compounds, but in a limited range: in comparison with rubber they are more rigid ... PVC will fail faster, especially at low temperatures. Rubber retains its flexibility, so it has a wider range of use and, accordingly, high demand, "- said Deputy Director of NIKI Evgeny Lazarev.
Another new direction, taken into account in the GOST, is the manufacture of flexible conductive conductors from an aluminum alloy. The main competitive advantage of aluminum is its metal consumption: it is three times lighter than copper, while the throughput is only 35% lower. At the same time, it has a rather low resistance to bending. To date, aluminum producers have developed an alloy composition suitable for the manufacture of a wide range of cables intended for connecting various types of equipment.
Now the issue of the timing of the introduction of the new GOST is being resolved: it will take time for manufacturers to bring technical conditions in line with new standard.
