Evaluating wire and cable components with thermal analysis

Figures I through 6 illustrate typical thermal characteristics of some wire and cable components. Each material used in the many wire constructions has a normal pattern for a thermogram. Some materials, like polyethylene, show very marked thermal changes when internal transitions such as melting occur. Other materials, including a few types of rubber, require careful technique and high instrument sensitivity to detect transition during a thermal scan. When a transition pattern for a given material is not as expected, it may give very useful information about a cure or compounding problem. Other test or analytical tools may be needed to resolve a problem, but thermal analysis provides an excellent source of evaluation data for many materials.