EN 50086-2-4 Conduit Systems, Cable Management Underground

EN 50086-2-4 defines specifications for cable management in conduit systems. This method is used to investigate conduit systems buried underground for the protection and management of insulated conductors and/or cables in electrical or communication systems. The test method is suitable for use with a range of materials, including metallic, non-metallic, and composites. The test specimen is compressed along its major axis at a constant rate of displacement until one of the three end of test criteria is reached:

• Specimen fractures which causes a drop in force
• A predetermined force value is reached
• Or, a predetermined displacement is reached

Hardened-steel compression platens are recommended to apply the deformation load to the test specimen. These anvils can be fitted to any universal tensile testing machine.

The challenge:

• Non-parallel specimens

Our solution:

• Non-parallel specimens – The parallelism of the compression platens is important, and it is recommended that a spherical seating style compression platen is utilized along with a rigid platen. The self-aligning nature of this fixture will maximize the contact area between the platen and the specimen. Swivel seating can be placed on the platen attached to the instrument's base or load cell in the moving crosshead. To reduce the possible effects from off-center loading, it is preferred to place the swivel seat in the base.

It is important to review EN 50086-2-4 to fully understand the test setup, procedure, and results requirements.