TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VARIOUS INSULATION MATERIAL FOR CABLES
| Insulation compounds | ||||||||||||||
| Thermoplastics | Crosslinked materials | |||||||||||||
| Abbreviation (1) | PVC | PE | PBT-FR | TPE-E | ETFE | FEP | PTFE | EPR | PE-X | RX 125 | RX 1555 | RX 155 | PVDF-X | SIR |
| CENELEC-type | T11 | E16 | ||||||||||||
| Thermal characteristics | ||||||||||||||
| Thermal resistance 20,000 h (°C) | 70 | 70 | 110 | 110 | 135 | 180 | 250 | 90 | 90 | 120 | 130 | 135 | 135 | 180 |
| Thermal resistance 24 h (°C) | 100 | 100 | 160 | 160 | 220 | 240 | 300 | 180 | 180 | 200 | 220 | 220 | 220 | 260 |
| Short circuit (°C) | 160 | 100 | 160 | 160 | 250 | 250 | 300 | 250 | 250 | 280 | 280 | 280 | 300 | 350 |
| Resistance to cold, moving (°C) | -5 | -55 | -40 | -40 | -55 | -55 | -70 | -40 | -55 | -40 | -55 | -55 | -55 | -55 |
| Mechanical characteristics | ||||||||||||||
| Tensile strength (N/mm²) | >12.5 | >10 | >25 | >30 | >30 | >10 | >20 | >5.0 | >12.5 | >12.5 | >12.5 | >15 | >28 | >5.0 |
| Elongation at break (%) | >125 | >300 | >200 | >150 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >200 | >150 |
| Abrasion resistance | S | Good | Good | E | E | S | S | S | E | Good | E | Good | E | poor |
| Flexibility (2) | S | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | S | poor | S | poor | E |
| Electrical characteristics | ||||||||||||||
| Volume resistivity at 20°C (Ωcm) | 10 e14 | 10 e16 | 10 e15 | 10 e15 | 10 e16 | 10 e18 | 10 e18 | 10 e15 | 10 e16 | 10 e14 | 10 e16 | 10 e16 | 10 e14 | 10 e15 |
| Dielectric constant at 1 kHz | 5.0 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 5.7 | 3.0 |
| Fire characteristics | ||||||||||||||
| Flame retardant | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Halogen free | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Corrosive combustion gases | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Smoke generation | Strong | aver. | aver. | aver. | low | low | low | aver. | aver. | low | strong | strong | low | aver. |
| Resistance to | ||||||||||||||
| Ionizing radiation (kGy) | 100 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 2000 | 100 | 100 | 2000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 500 |
| Solvents (3) | S | S | Good | Good | E | E | E | S | S | S | Good | S | E | S |
| Oils and fuels (3) | S | S | Good | Good | E | E | E | poor | S | S | Good | S | E | S |
| Acids and alkaline solutions (3) | Good | E | S | S | E | E | E | E | E | Good | Good | Good | E | S |
| Water/Hydrolysis (3) | Good | E | S | S | E | E | E | Good | E | Good | E | E | E | E |
| Weather/UV radiation | Good | poor | Good | Good | E | E | E | Good | S | Good | Good | Good | E | E |
Förkortningar: E = Excellent, S = Satisfactoring, aver. = average
(1) RX = RADOX, for other abbreviations, see Material designations.
(2) depends greatly on cable construction
(3) influenced by type, time and medium temperature