Confined Spaces Installation

For installations in occupied commercial and residential structures – or in passenger rail tunnels, pedestrian tunnels – there is a stringent requirement for duct and fiber cable products to be manufactured using plenum or Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH) rated materials.

Applications

Rails / Tunnels

Plenum or LSZH?

Engineers rely on local building codes to determine using Plenum or LSZH wherever human safety and protection of equipment is a primary goal in confined spaces with large amounts of cables near humans or electronics, such as in data centers, subways, buildings.

Utility Crawl Space

Example of confined area for commercial utility purposes.

Major Airports

Airports are good examples of environments with several confined spaces.

INSTALLING LSZH IN TUNNEL APPLICATIONS

Use the proper pulling hardware and do not exceed the maximum tensile pull rating of the ducts. Use swivels – attached to each duct and the lead pull line – and wire rope slings (bridle) for maximum pulling clearance in the conduit and reduce twisting of the ducts. When placing different size ducts simultaneously, the pull tension maximum is limited to the duct with lowest published pull tension maximum. Note that when air-jetting in cables, LSZH duct products may have lower than normal jetting pressure maximums due to the nature of the LSZH material.

PLACING OF PLENUM MICRODUCT UNDER RAISED FLOORING

When placing plenum in raised-floor environments, to reduce undulations, it is critical to provide frequent support for the bundle or bundles. 12-way and smaller bundles need supports approximately every three feet, larger bundles about every four feet.

Note that Plenum 8.5/6mm MicroDucts have a slightly larger ID, thus require the use of airtight end caps versus tapered plugs for both inside and outside plant (ISP and OSP) applications.

Recommended Products

MicroDucts LSHF (DuraMicro LSHF)

MicroDucts LSHF (Low Smoke Halogen Free) are specifically designed for in-building applications where fire, smoke, and toxic fumes may pose a risk to human life and critical electronic equipment. Tested to stringent European standards, MicroDucts LSHF offer best-in-class fire performance when tested to EN 13501-1. Once installed, they enable seamless, cost-effective moves, adds, and changes (MACs) and end-to-end fibre jetting in indoor FTTH, LAN, data centre, and transportation networks.

FuturePath LSHF (DuraMulti LSHF)

FuturePath LSHF (Low Smoke Halogen Free) provides multiple MicroDucts bundled into an easy-to-handle unit designed for future growth in in-building fibre networks. It is specifically designed for in-building applications where fire, smoke, and toxic fumes may pose a risk to human life and critical electronic equipment. Once installed, it enables seamless, cost-effective moves, adds, and changes (MACs) and end-to-end fibre jetting in indoor FTTH, LAN, data centre, and transportation networks.