BS7846 Cable
Thermosetting insulated armoured fire-resistant cables - 600/1000V - with low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire, manufactured in accordance with British Standard BS7846.
These cables are widely used in fixed installations in industrial areas, buildings and similar applications, where maintenance of power supply is required for a defined period of time in the event of a fire.
Standard BS7846 Cable Specification
British Standard BS7846 specifies requirements for armoured fire-resistant cables with thermosetting insulation - 600/1000V - with low emission of smoke and corrosive gases when affected by fire.
The Standard also specifies that circuit integrity performance under fire conditions is to be assessed on the basis of various tests separately measuring resistance to fire, resistance to fire with water spray, resistance to fire with mechanical shock (Category F2), or in combination to include direct mechanical impact with water jet (Categories F30, F60 and F120).
The test protocol for fire, direct impact and water hose is defined in BS8491, and was derived as a consequence of the BS 6387 C,W, Z type protocol being insufficient to assess the ability of the cable to maintain function in a fire in order to supply essential services.
In addition to their fire-resistant properties, cables manufactured in accordance with this Standard have a steel wire armour (SWA) or interlocking steel tape armour which makes them suitable for application where the risk of mechanical damage is a concern.
BS7846 cable fire resistance categories
The cables under this Standard are categorised according to their special fire resistance characteristics:
| BS7846 Category | Description |
|---|---|
| F2 | Resistance to fire, resistance to water, resistance to fire with mechanical shock, assessed separately when tested in accordance with this Standard |
| F30 | Resistance to fire with direct mechanical impact and fire assessed in combination for 30mins when tested in accordance with British Standard BS8491 for 30mins |
| F60 | As per F30 for 60mins |
| F120 | As per F30 for 120mins |
BS7846 cable construction
| Component | Material |
|---|---|
| Conductor | Annealed plain or tinned copper (Class 2) |
| Insulation | GP6 or GP8 with levels of HCI no greater than 0.5% |
| Bedding | Polymeric materials with levels of HCI no greater than 0.5% |
| Armour | Galvanised steel wires or galvanised interlocking steel tape |
| Outersheath | Polymeric material conforming to the requirements for LTS 1 contained in BS7655-6.1 |
BS7846 Cable core identification (coloured cores)
As standard, BS7846 cables are multicore cables with the following core IDs:
| Number of cores | Identification |
|---|---|
| Two-core | Brown and blue |
| Three-core | Brown, black and grey |
| Four-core | Blue, brown, black and grey |
| Five-core | Green and yellow, blue, brown, black and grey |
BS7846 Cable Technical Support
The PDF datasheet for the BS7846 cables will provide the key information required for specification and installation, but should you require additional information or support, our technical team are on-hand to provide guidance.
Eland Cables provides LPCB approved cables to BS7846 - these cables are also BASEC approved. Quality and compliance is further assured by testing in The Cable Lab.
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