Cables, cable bundles, conduits, bundles of conduits, empty pipes, cable trays and cable ladders may also pass through penetration seals in walls and floors and should be taken into consideration during all phases of design and application. The last part of our penetration seal series of articles clarifies some general aspects of cable penetrations.
Cable Groups
Cable penetrations are tested according to European Standard EN 1366-3 and the results are classified according to EN 13501-2. It is very important, albeit less known, that the cables are classified into six different cable groups according to the most frequent cable types and configurations:
Cable types |
Configuration |
Cable Group 1 |
small sheathed cables on their own or bundles of cables with an outer diameter not exceeding 21 mm (Ø ≤ 21 mm), e.g. 10 pieces of 5 mm x 1,5 mm2 or 2 pieces of 1 mm x 95 mm2 cable dimensions (see details in the Standard) |
Cable Group 2 |
medium sheathed cables with an outer diameter of 21 mm < Ø ≤ 50 mm e.g. 1 piece of 4 mm x 95 mm2 or 2 pieces of 1 mm x 185 mm2 cable dimensions (see details in the Standard) |
Cable Group 3 |
large sheathed cables with an outer diameter of 50 mm < Ø ≤ 80 mm e.g. 1 piece of 4 mm x 185 mm2 cable dimensions (see details in the Standard) |
Cable Group 4 |
a bundle of cables from group 1 with the largest diameter not exceeding 100 mm (telecommunication cable) Ø ≤ 100 mm |
Cable Group 5 |
non-sheathed cable types (wire, H07V-R), Ø ≤ 24 mm, e.g. 1 piece of 1 mm x 95 mm2 or 1 piece of 1 mm x 185 mm2 cable dimensions (see details in the Standard) |
Cable Group 6 |
steel, copper or plastic conduits or tubes (empty tubes) three in a bundle, the configuration of the tube is U/C (uncapped in the furnace, capped outside of it), Ø ≤ 16 mm |
When testing, each cable group is placed according to the configuration described in the Standard, and the tested cross section, the distance from each fitting and from the building structure are taken into consideration. If the customer does not wish to have classifications for all the groups, then these groups are left out of the specimen.