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[March 2002]
Formation of Ceramic Layer Helps Prevent Cable Meltdown Fire Risk
Wacker-Chemie says that the new terminal at Munich's Franz-Josef Strauss Airport will be spared the sort of fire damage and casualties sustained at Duesseldorf Airport back in 1996. An innovative rubber used in the cable jacket underlies a new approach to fire prevention.Wacker's speciality rubber keeps functioning up to 1100°C (nearly the melting point of copper) which rules out short circuits. It forms an electrically insulating ceramic layer when burned. In contrast, explains the company, conventional plastics form ash at much lower temperatures, thus exposing the bare copper wire. In the event of fire, the wire then expands and causes short circuiting.
Furthermore, these rubbers developed by the Munich based Wacker-Chemie give off considerably less smoke. The result is greater safety, because most fire fatalities (some 90%) are due to toxic fumes. Seventeen people died in the Duesseldorf Airport fire - all of them victims of smoke inhalation. Other landmark buildings have now taken on the new Wacker product.
Wacker-Chemie turns over around 3 billion euro annually and employs around 18,000 people. It constantly invests over 5% of this annual sales figure in R&D.
Part of the group is Wacker Ceramics, which has three locations: Kempten (Germany), Bazet (France) and Adrian (MI, USA). Wacker Ceramics works in the areas of advanced ceramics, boron compounds, functional coatings and microporous insulation materials. Using internationally certified processes, it manufactures both customer specific products and high volume standard parts.
ENDS