Tests and certificates may not be something you think a lot about going about your everyday life, but when an electrician is responsible for the power supply during a festival or at another event, there is a lot at stake. If the power shuts down, there is no music, which creates a bad mood among the audience. Therefore, the responsible electrician relays on the cables and connectors, he chooses. To make the right choice, he or she can lean on the products’ tests and certificates. It provides an initial security, but in order to be completely sure that he chose the right product, it is always a good idea to test all equipment as a unified system. Traditionally, the electrician has probably bought copper cables, since these are the ones that have always been used, but aluminum cables are an excellent alternative. Nowadays, there are solutions that can run the same current, or higher, as a standard copper H07RN-F rubber cable and have been tested to the same standard.
Alukaflex® the flexible aluminum cable
DanCables has developed a highly flexible aluminum cable for temporary installations. It is available with up to 5 conductors with rubber or PUR outer sheath, and the cable is designed according to class 5, DIN VDE 0295 and IEC 60228 standards. The Alukaflex® rubber cable (which corresponds to a 90 ° C 07BN4-F cable) has obtained the DEKRA certificate and is therefore a good replacement for the H07RN-F rubber cable. At the same time, the Alukaflex® cable is up to 40% lighter in weight and significantly cheaper in purchase, since the prices of the raw materials are about three times as low when compared to copper.
Alukaflex® DEKRA-certificate
DEKRA is an international expert organization, founded in 1925, and is one of the world’s largest testing and certification companies. They are active in many different markets. DEKRA’s product testing and certification experts test and certify consumer, industrial, automotive and ICT products and medical devices for worldwide markets. Thus, it is extremely competent people who have tested the Alukaflex® rubber cable, according to the same standards as H07RN-F, and guarantee the quality.
Long-term testing of Alukaflex Connect at third-party testing center
Alukaflex Connect is an innovative concept consisting of the flexible Alukaflex® aluminum cable and special developed Powersafe bi-metal connectors from Phase 3 Connectors. The concept benefits from the high current value of the 1 pole connectors and the low weight of the flexible aluminum cable to create a safe and high-performance solution.
DanCables and Phase 3 Connectors have done a qualifying short-term test of Alukaflex Connect (two connectors connected and connected to Alukaflex® cables). The results were very positive and showed that the cables can be loaded with high current without causing overheating and melting the plug.
Therefore, a recognized third-party test center was contacted to test the Alukaflex Connect concept (and thus the Alukaflex cable and connectors) in a long-term test. This test center has extensive experience with electrical connections, and aluminum cables in general. This expertise provides assurance that the test is being performed correctly, impartially and very thoroughly, so the results are to be trusted.
The test center initiated a long-term test to ensure that Alukaflex Connect can handle long-term operations. They connected two Alukaflex cables, applied to bi-metal connectors, just as before, but this time they tested at full load for 3500 hours non-stop. This is done to test whether the connectors can handle this long-term load and whether the crimping system can handle this load too. The connector is pressed on the cables, and when working with a flexible aluminum conductor, this requires special attention to make sure it´s done correctly. A standard crimping solution does not crimp and compress the conductors tight enough and therefore does not provide a satisfactory connection. Three different crimping systems were tested to find the best one for this application.
After 3500 hours of full load and additional 500 hours of Heat Cycle Test, it was found that neither cables, connectors nor crimping system showed signs of overheating, declining performance or failure. This shows that Alukaflex Connect is a reliable solution for both temporary and long-term installation projects.
Contact Us
If you would like to hear more about Alukaflex tests and certificates as well as the results for the long-term test, give us a call on +45 44 22 30 80 or contact us via the form on the contact page.
