Fire protection of electrical systems

NUVIATech Protection offers various protection products for electrical systems. Products intended for full compartmentalisation through anti-propagation systems such as fire screens or mattresses surrounding the cable trays or pull chamber.

Products intended for maintaining the functionality of electrical systems through rigid enclosures or flexible wrapping around cable trays. Products intended to reduce the heat load input of various items of equipment and cables.

Background

For safety or security reasons, electrical systems may need to stay operating in the event of fire.
Electrical systems can also be considered as fire initiators. For this reason, it is necessary to provide dedicated protection systems to inhibit the heat load contribution.
Electrical systems can also be considered as fire conveyors. To stop the propagation of the fire along cables or from electrical equipment, it is necessary to provide dedicated protection systems allowing sectorisation.

Challenges

Functional protection ensures that the temperature is placed under protection and does not exceed the maximum temperature allowed by the equipment or the protected system.
The heat load subtraction is very useful, especially during FRSs (fire risk studies), for example, during a downgrading of equipment or lowering a protection of performance in the rest of the room.
For the product/solutions in-order to be qualified, they must undergo a multitude of fire-resistant standard tests, either individual or cumulative, to meet the different load configurations.
The implementation of product/solutions is an essential aspect for NUVIATech Protection since it constitutes the key to success in construction or renovation projects. This aspect of constructability is therefore considered from the beginning of the design phase, to guarantee installation in a complex environment that complies with certifications.

Applicable norm and standards

Fire resistance tests of building components are carried out according to standardised test methods described in the Fire Resistance Decree of the Ministry of the Interior.

For years, the fire protection requirements for electrical systems were not covered by an official test standard. All qualifications were carried out through specific fire resistance tests in accredited laboratories (ISO 17025). Since 2018, a European standard has been published (EN 1366-11) relating to functional protection.

Our product/solutions are also qualified according to USA standards (UL, ASTM, NFPA).

Our product/solutions also meet the specific standards of our customers (EDF, ITER, CEA, NAVAL GROUP), not only in terms of fire safety but also in terms of waterproofing, displacement and any other requirements from sensitive industrial plants.