WITHDRAWN IEC 61914:2009 | Cable Cleats for Electrical Installations
Published 04 Aug 2021
By Chris Dodds | Sales & Marketing Manager at Thorne & Derrick International | Specialist Distributor for Ellis Patents | UK Leading Manufacturer of Cable Cleats for LV MV HV Power System Protection
The following article has been authored with the intent to highlight a serious specification shortcoming with respect to the understanding of conformance to the current IEC standard and the short-circuit testing and purchasing of cable cleats.
Working with Ellis Patents, Thorne & Derrick have successfully addressed this issue across several recent UK projects in the offshore wind, battery storage, utility substation and data centre sectors – needless to say, power is everywhere, and we hope this article will lead to a more widespread correction and update at specifier and contractor levels throughout the electrical industry.
Thorne & Derrick are a leading Specialist Distributor of LV HV Jointing, Earthing, Substation & Electrical Eqpt; this includes Cable Management, Fastening & Support Systems such as cable ties, cable hangers and strapping systems for LV up to 132kV power cable networks located onshore and offshore in industrial, hazardous and high voltage applications.
To nutshell this for us, you should ensure your cable cleats are tested to IEC61914:2015 – IEC61914:2009 is Revised, Superseded and Withdrawn. Here is why.
So What’s Changed?
IEC 61914:2009 Is Withdrawn
IEC 61914:2015 is available as IEC 61914:2015 RLV which contains the International Standard and its Redline Version, showing all changes of the technical content compared to the previous edition.
IEC 61914:2015 specifies requirements and tests for cable cleats and intermediate restraints used for securing cable in electrical installations. Cable cleats provide resistance to electromechanical forces where declared. This standard includes cable cleats that rely on a mounting surface specified by the manufacturer for axial and/or lateral retention of cables.
This 2nd Edition of IEC61914 cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2009. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) Additional declaration and test for lateral load retention depending on cleat mounting orientation with associated new figures;
b) Additional declaration of the distance between the cable centres in any short-circuit test and associated new figures;
c) Specification of the cable to be used in short-circuit testing and relaxation of the ambient temperature limits for the test;
d) Additional requirement to photograph the short-circuit test arrangement before and after the test and to record more complete details of the cable used;
e) Revised parameters for the test of resistance to UV light.
This edition also includes the following editorial changes with respect to the previous edition:
f) Revised and updated normative references and bibliography;
g) Editorial clarification of definitions;
h) Editorial clarification of procedures for selection of test samples and the testing of cleats designed for more than one cable;
i) Relaxation of some mandrel material requirements;
j) Clarification of the inspection requirements following a short-circuit test and adding the option of either a.c. or d.c. voltage testing following a second short-circuit;
k) Clarification that the resistance to corrosion test applies to all types of fixing;
l) New cleat example illustration;
m) Limitations of use of the formulae in Annex B added.
“Cable cleats are critical electrical safety products – in the event of a short circuit they can protect your people, not just plant. During a recent tender bid we were alerted to non-conformance of a competitor product during the technical qualification procedure for a major UK infrastructure project. Simply, their product was tested to the cancelled 2009, not superseding 2015 version. Thorne & Derrick distribute LV HV Cable Accessories & Electrical Equipment from market-leading manufacturers tested to the current range of international standards,” comments Chris Dodds (Sales Manager at Thorne & Derrick).
“The closest example I can think of for this is car seat belts. If you were on the market to purchase a car and were advised that the seatbelts on the car you had chosen were not compliant to the latest industry standards, you may decide against purchasing that car due to safety concerns. Moreover the car would not be safe for sale in UK or European markets and would not bear the required UK CA or CE mark. Cable cleats for cables can be viewed in a similar way to seatbelts in cars as they both perform safety functions, adds Noman Shabir (National Sales Manager at Ellis Patents).
All cable cleats stocked and supplied by Thorne & Derrick are short-circuit tested to the current updated version IEC61914:2015.
