Practically indestructible: The new HRADIL PR44 optical hybrid cable.

With their new optical hybrid cable PR44, Hradil Spezialkabel GmbH of Bietigheim have come up with a survival artist as regards functionality. The technical background to it: the cables sheath is made of basalt fibre. This material is made from mineral fibres produced from , an alkaline volcanic rock. The fibres are produced from molten basalt at temperatures between 1,400°C and 1,500°C, and are green-brown in colour. Originally developed for the thermal insulation material of nuclear reactors, they are processed as continuous filaments.

The material properties of basalt are impressive With a tensile strength of up to 4,840 MPa and a compressive strength of 93 Gpa, a cable sheath made of basalt fibre is just about mechanically indestructible. Operational temperature range: from -260°C to +890°C. Upper temperature limit: +890°C. Melting temperature: +1,500 °C.



The new HRADIL PR44 optical hybrid cable.

The HRADIL engineers have airtightly embedded a metal tube made of VA, diameter 5 mm, in the basalt material. Depending on the task required, the metal tube is configured in turn with a varying number of optical and copper conductors for the transmission of control and data signals. Despite its outstanding protective properties, the new HRADIL optical hybrid cable is extremely lightweight, unlike armoured cables, for example. It is intended for use in permanent installations, e.g. in the cabling of buildings or tunnels. HRADIL have also designed a special optical hybrid cable for an Austrian cableway, whereby the cable is braided into the cableway suspension rope.