Centaur heavy-duty saddle cleats improve safety for restraint of high voltage cables

(11/11/2008)

Ellis Patents has developed a range of heavy-duty saddle cleats that will eradicate a serious safety issue surrounding the restraint of high voltage cables up to 400kV with a diameter range of 100 to 160mm.

“At present neither the British nor European Standards take into account cleats on cables of this size,” said Richard Shaw, managing director of Ellis Patents. “As a result, those specifying for such jobs are very much in the hands of the manufacturers, and the problem with this is that none of the limited number of products currently available have been short circuit tested.

“What this means is that there is no proof the saddle cleats being used in these costly, and often highly important, installations will be able to withstand the most testing elements of the job they’ve been bought for.”

Ellis Patents range of Centaur of heavy-duty extruded aluminium saddle cleats have been designed specifically to overcome this major problem.

Instead of being supplied with warranties based purely on calculations and mechanical tests, the Ellis Patents team put its new cleats through the most rigorous of testing procedures. Using cable manufactured by ABB in Sweden, the company shipped its Centaur saddle cleats to the Netherlands where the product was tested to 163 kA peak and 63 kA RMS for one second, in both 3 phase and phase to phase fault scenarios.

“The importance of cable cleats has long been underestimated and when you consider their value doesn’t really come to the fore until they are exposed to short circuit conditions it’s easy to see why,” added Richard.

“Having already been put through, and passed, the most aggressive of testing procedures, the Centaur range provides the kind of peace of mind that manufacturer warranted products simply can’t deliver.”

The Centaur range has been put into standard production by Ellis Patents and is available now.

Related categories:  Cables, conduit and trunking   Industrial   Power    Power distribution cables