Electrical cable insulated with an elastomeric flame retardant composition

Claim 2

An electrical cable comprising at least one electrical conductor having an electrical insulation material disposed thereabout contained within a flexible, low smoke, elastomeric, flame retardant jacket adapted to char when exposed to a flame, said jacket made from a crosslinked composition comprising: an elastomeric component comprising a copolymer of ethylene and methyl acrylate containing carboxylic crosslinking sites; from about 180 parts to about 350 parts by weight of at least one filler per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric comonent, said filler selected from the group consisting of calcium silicate, magnesium silicate and hydrated alumina fillers, and said composition characterized by having a limiting oxygen index under ASTM D-2863 of at least about 45 percent and having a maximum specific optical density under ANSI/ASTM E 662-79 in a smoldering state of not more than about 160 and in a flaming state of not more than about 80.

Claim 3

The cable of claim 1 wherein the conductor insulation material is made from said composition.

Claim 4

The cable of claim 1 in the form of a plenum cable wherein the conductor insulation material is selected from the group consisting of polyimide, fluorocarbon and said composition materials, said cable able to meet or exceed the flame propagation and peak optical density requirements of Underwriters Laboratories Tunnel Flame Test UL 910.

Claim 5

An electrical cable adapted for use in plenum and ducts and able to meet or exceed the flame propagaton and peak optical density requirements of Underwriters Laboratories Tunnel Flame Test UL 910, said cable comprising at least one electrical conductor having an electrical insulation material disposed thereabout contained within a flexible, low smoke, halogen-free, elastomeric, flame retardant jacket adapted to char when exposed to a flame, said jacket made from a crosslinked composition comprising: an elastomeric component comprising an elastomeric copolymer of ethylene and methyl acrylate containing carboxylic crosslinking sites; from about 180 parts to about 350 parts by weight of at least one filler per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component, said filler selected from the group consisting of calcium silicate, magnesium silicate and hydrated alumina fillers, and said composition characterized by having a limiting oxygen index under ASTM D-2863 of at least about 45 percent and having a maximum specific optical density under ANSI/ASTM E 662-79 in a smoldering state of not more than about 160 and in a flaming state of not more than about 80; and said insulation material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, fluorocarbon and said composition materials.

Claim 6

An electrical cable adapted for use in plenum and ducts and able to meet or exceed the flame propagaton and peak optical density requirements of Underwriters Laboratories Tunnel Flame Test UL 910, said cable comprising at least one electrical conductor having an electrical insulation material disposed thereabout contained within a flexible, low smoke, halogen-free, elastomeric, flame retardant jacket adapted to char when exposed to a flame, said jacket made from a crosslinked composition comprising: an elastomeric component comprising an elastomeric copolymer of ethylene and methyl acrylate containing carboxylic crosslinking sites; from about 180 parts to about 350 parts by weight of at least one filler per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component, said filler selected from the group consisting of calcium silicate, magnesium silicate and hydrated alumina fillers, and said composition characterized by having a limiting oxygen index under ASTM D-2863 of at least about 45 percent and having a maximum specific optical density under ANSI/ASTM E 662-79 in a smoldering state of not more than about 160 and in a flaming state of not more than about 80; and said insulation material selected from the group consisting of polyimide, fluorocarbon and said composition materials.

Claim 7

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 40 parts by weight of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer per 100 parts by weight of the elastomeric component, said copolymer containing an amount of vinyl acetate sufficient to comprise from about 2% to about 20% by weight of the weight of the elastomeric component.

Claim 8

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 10 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component of a low temperature plasticizer having a molecular weight of about 1,000 to about 3,000.

Claim 9

The cable of claim 6 wherein the plasticizer is a hydroxy terminated glycol.

Claim 10

The cable of claim 7 wherein the hydroxy terminated glycol is poly (tetramethylene-ether) glycol.

Claim 11

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 7 parts by weight of at least one antioxidant per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 12

The cable of claim 9 wherein the antioxidant is a phenolic antioxidant.

Claim 13

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 8 parts by weight of at least one processing aid per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 14

The cable of claim 11 wherein the processing aid comprises from about 0.01 part to about 5 parts by weight of paraffin wax and from about 0.01 part to about 2 parts by weight of stearic acid per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 15

The cable of claim 1 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 40 parts by weight of a halogenated flame retardant compound per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 16

The cable of claim 1 or 4 or 13 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 40 parts by weight of antimony oxide per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 17

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes from about 0.01 part to about 5 parts by weight of a lead stabilizer per 100 parts by weight of said elastomeric component.

Claim 18

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein at least one of said fillers is coated with a hydrophobic material.

Claim 19

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein at least one of said fillers is coated with a coupling agent.

Claim 20

The cable of claim 17 wherein coupling agent is organosilane.

Claim 21

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes an effective amount of a coupling agent.

Claim 22

The cable of claim 19 wherein said coupling agent is organosilane.

Claim 23

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition includes an effective amount of a crosslinking agent.

Claim 24

The cable of claim 21 wherein the crosslinking agent is a radiation sensitizing agent.

Claim 25

The cable of claim 22 wherein the sensitizing agent is tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate.

Claim 26

The cable of claim 22 wherein the sensitizing agent is N 1 N-m-phenylemide-maleimide.

Claim 27

The cable of claim 1 or 4 wherein the composition is crosslinked by high energy electron radiation.

Claim 28

The plenum cable of claim 4, wherein said conductor is insulated with a fluorinated material.