ABB Adaptaflex add to their global approvals with their Low Fire Hazard (LFH) Liquidtight metallic conduits now compliant to North American NFPA 130 requirements

Adaptaflex LFH-SPL, SPL-EF, LFH-SP and LFH-SPSS ranges of liquidtight metallic conduit have now passed ASTM E 162, ASTM E 662 and Bombardier SMP 800-C testing with an outstanding rating.

Covered by an enhanced limited fire hazard sheathing, the liquidtight metallic conduit range from Adaptaflex offers the ideal solution, alongside associated couplings, connectors and fittings, for cable protection applications in the most demanding environments.

These flexible metallic conduit systems already boast the highest EN45545-2 HL3 fire performance rating for both interior and exterior locations, as well as BS6853 Class 1a rating and London Underground approval for both extensive and group use. What's more, systems in the range also boast the highest Ingress Protection (IP) rating in the market, achieving IP66, IP67, IP68 and IP69.

Now the Adaptaflex liquidtight metallic conduit systems have achieved a new standard, passing NFPA 130 tests for Surface Flammability, Smoke Generation Rate and Toxic Gas Generation to ensure these products meet the highest level of fire safety requirements worldwide.

The products that were submitted for testing were the LFH-SPL, SPL-EF, LFH-SP and LFH-SPSS ranges of flexible metallic conduit. In total, there were three key tests that these products were subjected to:

• ASTM E 162 Surface Flammability Test
  Products are positioned in front of a gas-fired radiant panel, inclined at 45 degrees. The flame spread is measured and given an index based on the speed and spread of the flame. No flaming droplets are permitted during the test.
• ASTM E 662 Rate of Smoke Generation Test
  Material is exposed to combustion – with and without flame - to simulate smouldering emission of smoke. Measurement is made of the smoke density after 4 minutes in each mode and must be lower than a value of 200. The maximum smoke density is also recorded for assessment of product worthiness by the Fire Approvals Officer.
• Bombardier SMP 800-C Toxic Gas Generation Test
  Products are exposed to the combustion conditions outlined in the ASTM E 662 test, with testing performed in each of the flaming and non-flaming modes. For each mode, smoke generated by those tests is sampled from the chamber at specific flow rates and measured at the point of maximum smoke generation. The results are analysed for specific toxic species and then compared for acceptance against established threshold or critical concentration criteria for each species.

On passing these extensive tests and achieving these new standards, Adaptaflex LFH-SPL, SPL-EF, LFH-SP and LFH-SPSS ranges can now be used globally on all projects where the highest level of fire performance and ingress protection is demanded.