As essential products for home or office decoration, wires have a huge market. With growing environmental awareness, more and more people are opting for low-smoke zero-halogen (LSZH) fire-resistant wires. However, there is much to consider when it comes to LSZH fire-resistant wires.

When selecting wires, choosing fire-resistant wires that utilize LSZH irradiation cross-linking technology is a safer and more reliable option.

So, what exactly is LSZH irradiation cross-linking technology?

Irradiation cross-linked LSZH flame-retardant and fire-resistant wires and cables are produced using a high-energy electron beam generated by an electron accelerator, which bombards the insulation and sheath. This process breaks the polymer chains, and each break point becomes a free radical. These unstable free radicals recombine, transforming the original linear molecular structure into a three-dimensional network molecular structure, thus forming cross-links.

Since the early 1950s, when it was discovered that irradiating polymers to induce cross-linking could enhance the heat resistance, wear resistance, and flame retardancy of wires and cables, this method has gained widespread attention and gradually become an important technique for polymer modification. Chuangyuan Fire-Resistant Wires utilize irradiation cross-linking technology, endowing the wires with features such as environmental friendliness, safety, and long service life.

What are the advantages of LSZH irradiation cross-linking technology?

First, it's important to understand that LSZH cable materials use polyolefin-based halogen-free materials as the base, such as polyethylene, cross-linked polyethylene, and irradiation cross-linked polyethylene. If traditional warm-water cross-linking technology is used, wire quality can be unstable due to factors like water temperature, extrusion process, and cross-linking additives. In contrast, the quality of irradiation cross-linked cables depends on the electron beam irradiation dose, which is controlled by setting parameters on specialized equipment, resulting in good processing stability.

Furthermore, irradiation cross-linked polyethylene offers significantly higher transmission capacity and short-term overload capacity. At the same time, the material's heat resistance, insulation properties, chemical corrosion resistance, aging resistance, and mechanical strength are greatly improved.

How to identify if LSZH irradiation cross-linking technology is used?

• Insulation Surface Heating/Burning Test:

  • Apply a soldering iron to the insulation layer; there should be no significant indentation.

  • Or, use a lighter to burn the insulation. Normally, it should not ignite easily. After prolonged burning, the cable's insulation layer should remain relatively intact, without dense smoke or a pungent odor, and the diameter may increase somewhat.

• Compare Density:

  • The density of irradiation cross-linked LSZH flame-retardant wire and cable materials is greater than that of water. You can strip off a small piece of insulation and place it in water. If it floats on the surface, it is definitely not an LSZH material.

Now that you understand the advantages and identification methods of LSZH irradiation cross-linking technology, do you have a better understanding of this technology? When selecting wires, will you pay more attention to their performance and safety?