Wire & Cable
TURI publications related to the wire and cable industry
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TURI Technical Report No. 58. The goal of this project is the production of high-performance, low-cost lead-free PVC compounds for wire and cable insulation, to address the serious environmental issues surrounding the use of their leaded counterparts and the lack of market acceptance of current alternatives to PVC. Clay nanocomposite technology has been chosen as a means to achieve this goal, as it has been demonstrated that such
systems can improve a variety of properties relevant to the performance of wire and cable insulation (thermal stability, barrier properties, flame retardance, etc.). Here we report on the characterization of transparent, lead-free PVC nanocomposites produced by melt blending with organoclay loadings of 2, 5, and 10 wt%. Structural studies carried out via x-ray diffraction indicate significant intercalation as well as orientation of the clay sheets in the flow direction. From MOCON testing, nanocomposites with 2 wt% clay showed a five-fold increase in oxygen barrier. While a substantial improvement in thermal stability was not observed in TGA experiments, the greatly improved oxygen barrier properties may nevertheless enhance thermal stability in real-world settings. From mechanical properties testing, the modulus of the PVC/nanocomposite was found to increase with clay content; nevertheless, 2 wt% was found to be the optimal loading level due to the degradation of ultimate properties with higher clay content.
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TURI Technical Report No. 56. New regulations have led to the need for non-lead compounds to be used in wire and cable applications. There are two approaches for lead free EPDM wire and cable compounds. One is to find alternative stabilizers, and the other is to change resins. In a previous study, hydrotalcite was examined as a replacement for lead additives in applications using Ziegler-Natta based EPDM, and was very effective as an alternative stabilizer. In this research, the metallocene based EPDM was investigated as a potential replacement elastomer, which would not require lead stabilization.
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TURI Technical Report No. 54. The explosion of the information age has led to a scramble to increase the infrastructure of data carrying capacity. The building industry has seen a large increase in the demand for new housing. The electronic market continues to grow at an astounding pace. All of these industries require insulating wire for use in their products. As the amount of wire products increase special attention must be paid to the impact which these products make on the environment. Lately attention has been focused on polyvinyl chloride or PVC. New legislation in places such as California and Europe have begun to regulate the use of substances that are common additives to PVC. This project proposes to research the technical, economic and environmental feasibility of using alternative resins to PVC in the wire and cable industry.
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TURI Technical Report No. 51. Environmental, health and safety concerns with the basic raw materials used in manufacturing coated wire and cable are driving innovation and change in the industry. These concerns include the life cycle impacts of heavy metals such as lead, brominated flame-retardants, and resin systems based on polyvinyl chloride. Seeking to help Massachusetts' wire and cable industry deal with the complex regulatory and technical issues, the Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMASS Lowell contracted the preparation of this background report. The report examines the
sector's main environmental, health and safety issues, European and United States (U.S.) regulatory drivers, and the state of new materials development. The report also outlines a set of research and technology diffusion recommendations for the Institute and is meant to serve as an
introduction and reference point for those in industry, government and academia concerned with wire and cable industry environmental, health and safety issues.
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TURI Methods & Policy Report #22. Facilities in the Cable & Wire industry employed various toxics use reduction techniques. The predominant technique employed was "Improved Operation & Maintenance of Production Unit Equipment & Methods" which was reported in 45% of the reduction entries. In addition, 80% of the reduction entries occurred during the "Processing Operations" stage of the production operations lifecycle.
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TURI Technical Report No. 48. Requiring the addition of a new multi-wire strand galvanizing line to meet growing
market demand, Riverdale Mills made the goals of toxics use reduction a large part of the
operational requirements of the new line. The company sought to reduce or eliminate the
chemicals conventionally used in the process, the byproducts generated and the energy
required. These goals required the innovative re-thinking of a mature industrial process.
Riverdale Mills chose an induction heating chamber for the annealing process,
eliminating the use of lead in the conventional liquid lead annealing process. Following
annealing, commercial hot-dip wire galvanizing operations typically use hydrochloric
acid in a pickling process, and zinc ammonium chloride as a flux prior to immersion into
the zinc bath. Modifying the annealing process and annealing within an inert atmosphere
replaced both the pickling and the flux processes; these were replaced by an alkaline soap
pre-wash and hot water rinse. Re-engineering the process to eliminate the need to re-heat
the wire during processing achieved significant energy savings.
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