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Low Smoke Zero Halogen
Based on a field failure of an LSZH jacket under stress, American Polywater fast-tracked a technical research project to study potentially damaging interaction of commercial cable pulling lubricants with LSZH and LSHF cables.   This research focused on commercially available polyolefin-base jackets loaded with inorganic hydrates.   This study is ongoing, but has shown the following so far:
  1. The performance of any LSZH material is dependent on compound specifics, and performance cannot be generalized.   Some LSZH materials are quite robust on exposure to temperature, water, and commercially available pulling lubricants. However, others are not.

  2. Jackets that are sensitive to water in high-temperature aging do not test well in lubricants.

  3. Wax emulsion lubricants showed the most significant deterioration of LSZH jackets.

  4. Some polymer technologies used in Polywater® Lubricants are more universally suitable for LSZH jackets than others.   However, once again, this depends on the jacket.   American Polywater, in consultation with the cables' manufacturer, can recommend a specific pulling lubricant based on this work.

  5. Thermoset LSZH jackets, on the average, test better than thermoplastic.   However, being thermoset does not guarantee compatibility with all lubricants, and many thermoplastics are quite robust in accelerated lubricant immersion testing.

  6. Incompatibility with LSZH jackets is not a problem exclusive to Polywater® Lubricants.   All commercial brands of cable pulling lubricant thus far tested show degradation to one degree or another.

  7. American Polywater used its research as a foundation to develop a specialty cable pulling lubricant that is compatible with LSZH/LSHF cables: Polywater LZ.   Criteria in the development of LZ included:

                    Lubricant and residue are compatible with LSZH/LSHF cables.
                    Lubricant residue itself is low-smoke halogen-free.
                    Lubricant residue is as non-combustible as fire-resistant cable.
                    Lubricant must offer high-performance friction reduction.

    Polywater® LZ meets these criteria, and is now commercially available.
We encourage those interested in the topic to view the PDF linked below (an Insulated Conductors Committee Presentation in October 2006) and/or contact American Polywater's project leader, Sheri Dahlke (dahlke@polywater.com) at 1-651-430-2270 ext. 482 for more details.   Check back at this site for future updates as our research progresses.
Resource Link Description
LSZH Cable Failure PowerPoint presentation of a documented LSZH cable failure.   Describes conditions, causes, test methodology, observations, and potential remedies.
Polywater Lubricant LZ Product flyer for a new high-performance, specification-grade pulling lubricant formulated specifically for use with low-smoke halogen-free cables.
Polywater LZ Spec Sheet A technical data sheet on Polywater® LZ, listing properties, compatibility, testing, application, uses, ordering information, a model specification, and more.
Houston Wire & Cable Recommendation Endorsement of Polywater® LZ from Houston Wire & Cable Company for use specifically on their LifeGuard™ Cable Products line.
The Okonite Company Approval Approval of Polywater® LZ from The Okonite Company for use specifically on their Okolon™ and Okoclear-TS™ Cable Products.
Dow Jacket Recommendation Cable lubricant recommendation from Dow Chemical Company for use specifically on their DFDE-1638 EXP2 Non-halogen jacket compound.


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