Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

A Simple Model of Thermally-Induced Electrical Cable Failure

Published

Author(s)

Kevin B. McGrattan, Kristopher Overholt

Abstract

A simple thermal model to predict the failure of electrical power, instrument, and control cables is described. The model is intended as a subroutine for deterministic fire models, and it is of comparable accuracy and simplicity to the activation algorithms for various other fire protection devices (e.g., sprinklers, heat and smoke detectors). Model predictions are compared to experimental measurements of instrumented cables in a variety of configurations. The experimental program, known as CAROLFIRE, was sponsored by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and conducted at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Details of the experimental program are contained in a separate report.
Citation
NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR) - 7472
Report Number
7472

Keywords

electrical cables, fire

Citation

McGrattan, K. and Overholt, K. (2008), A Simple Model of Thermally-Induced Electrical Cable Failure, NIST Interagency/Internal Report (NISTIR), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, [online], https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.7472 (Accessed April 18, 2024)
Created April 2, 2008, Updated November 10, 2018