Selection of material for instrument electrical cable trays
Thread Content
May I ask what materials should be chosen for instruments and electrical cable trays in chemical processing workshops, and what are the relevant requirements? Are flame retardancy, hazard prevention, and static electricity discharge requirements necessary? In that case, only steel materials can be used. Do fiberglass or plastic-steel materials have anti-static properties? What do people usually use? Thank you
For applications where corrosion resistance is required, fiberglass bridge racks are chosen; shielding is considered only as a secondary option； Shielding can be achieved through cable armor and shielding layers ； In environments with high acid and alkali corrosion, steel cable trays will deteriorate within a few months; there’s no need to think about shielding at all. I haven’t encountered any special situations. There are only a few types of cable trays: hot-dip galvanized, aluminum alloy, and fiberglass reinforced plastic.
The second floor is correct. Consider the on-site environment
The commonly used configuration in our facility: electrical fiberglass, with a flat steel bar inserted inside for grounding purposes； The instruments are hot-dip galvanized, with grounding every 30 meters; they are suitable for most applications. The shielding relies on the cable itself; grounding is necessary according to the specifications, and once grounding is in place, issues such as static electricity are eliminated.
Aluminum alloy cable trays are highly recommended; if you consider the long term, the overall cost is reasonable.
Check the standard specifications. In short, the commonly used materials are galvanized carbon steel, aluminum alloy (or aluminum-magnesium alloy), as well as composite material cable trays (epoxy resin). When making a choice, the main factors to consider are hardness, cost, and corrosion resistance; construction considerations may also be important, but I haven’t thought about those. For environments without corrosion, galvanized carbon steel can be used, while aluminum alloy is better in corrosive environments. For devices exposed to acids and bases, epoxy resin, which has good corrosion resistance, should be used
Regarding cable trays made of fiberglass reinforced plastic, hot-dip galvanized carbon steel, and aluminum alloy, pretty much everything was said upstairs. There is also a bridge frame made of wire mesh; the most common material used for this is stainless steel, and it works well, but it is only suitable for sealing Gran cables, not for the method of sealing cable conduits.
Depending on the situation, consider using fiberglass reinforced plastic cable trays in cases of severe corrosion； For applications where corrosion is not severe, galvanized cable trays can be considered; the key with galvanized cable trays is to control the method of galvanizing and the thickness. Stainless steel cable trays are too expensive, so they are generally not necessary.
In chemical processing workshops, it is first necessary to determine whether the chemicals are highly corrosive. For ordinary chemicals or those with mild acidity or alkalinity, galvanized cable trays are used; if the acidity or alkalinity is high, fiberglass-reinforced plastic cable trays are preferred due to their strength requirements. Nowadays, new types of composite epoxy resin cable trays are available, which offer excellent corrosion resistance and high strength. Flame resistance is no problem, and shielding is also fine. As for static discharge bonding in hazardous environments, there’s no need to worry about that either – the surface or lining plates are properly designed for this purpose.