Günter Beyer, PhD was manager of the physical and chemical laboratories at Kabelwerk EUPEN AG (Belgium); now he works globally as a consultant. In 2003 and 2004 he received the Jack Spergel Memorial Award by IWCS for his fundamental work on nanocomposites by organoclays and carbon nanotubes as new classes of flame retardants for polymers.

About the Editor xv 1 Overview of the Global Cable Industry - Markets and Materials 1Astrid Aupetit 1.1 Demand for Polymeric Material 3 1.1.1 Main Companies Profile 3 1.1.1.1 Prysmian 4 1.1.1.2 Nexans 4 1.1.1.3 Southwire 5 1.1.1.4 Sumitomo Electric Industries 5 1.1.1.5 Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. 5 1.1.1.6 LS Cable & System 6 1.1.1.7 Leoni AG 6 1.1.1.8 Hengtong Group 6 1.1.2 Global Demand 7 1.2 Asia and Australasia 10 1.2.1 Demand for Cable 10 1.2.2 Demand for Polymeric Material 11 [...]ope 12 1.3.1 Demand for Cables 12 1.3.2 Demand for Polymeric Materials 13 1.4 The Middle East and Africa 14 1.4.1 Demand for Cables 14 1.4.2 Demand for Polymeric Materials 14 1.5 North America 16 1.5.1 Demand for Cables 16 1.5.2 Demand for Polymeric Materials 17 1.6 South and Central America 18 1.6.1 Demand for Cables 18 1.6.2 Demand for Polymeric Materials 19 2 Thermoplastics for Cables 21Theo Geussens 2.1 Introduction 21 2.2 Polyolefin Materials 21 2.2.1 Polyethylene 22 2.2.1.1 Manufacturing Processes 25 2.2.1.2 Cable Applications 26 2.2.2 Polypropylene (PP) 32 2.2.2.1 Manufacturing Processes 33 2.2.2.2 Applications 33 2.3 Chlorinated Polymers 35 2.3.1 Polyvinylchloride (PVC) 35 2.3.2 Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE) 36 2.4 Fluoropolymers 37 2.4.1 Fluoro-Ethylene Propylene polymer 37 2.4.2 Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), and Perfluoroalkoxy Polymer (PFA) 38 2.4.3 Ethylene Chlorotrifluoroethylene (ECTFE) 40 2.4.4 Polyvinyldifluoride (PVDF) 40 2.5 Polyamide (PA) 40 2.6 Polyesters 41 2.6.1 Polybutylphtherephtalate (PBT) 41 2.6.2 Polyester Elastomers 41 2.7 Thermoplastic Polyurethane 42 References 43 3 Elastomers for Cables 57Burkhard Herpich 3.1 Introduction 57 3.2 Rubber Compounds 63 3.2.1 Rubber 63 3.2.2 Fillers 66 3.2.3 Plasticizer 68 3.2.4 Stabilizers 70 3.2.5 Classical Cross-linking Systems 71 3.2.5.1 Cross-linking with Sulfur Systems 71 3.2.5.2 Cross-linking with Peroxide Systems 71 3.2.5.3 Moving Die Rheometers (MDRs) 72 3.2.6 Other Cross-linking Systems 73 3.2.6.1 Cross-linking by Irradiation 73 3.2.6.2 Cross-linking with Silanes 73 3.3 Compounding 73 3.4 Extrusion 76 3.5 Cross-linking/Vulcanization 78 3.5.1 Vulcanization in Saturated HotWater Steam 78 3.5.2 Vulcanization in Liquid Salt Mixtures under Pressure 80 3.5.3 Electron Beam Cross-linking 81 References 82 4 Extrusion of Cables 85Stéphan Puissant 4.1 Historical Introduction to Cable Extrusion 85 4.2 Extruder in Cable Lines 87 4.2.1 Description of the Single Screw Extruder 87 4.2.1.1 Different Functional Screw Zones 87 4.2.1.2 Description of a Screw Geometry 88 4.2.2 Feeding Zone of the Extrusion Screw 89 4.2.2.1 Friction-Based Feeding Mechanism 89 4.2.2.2 Simple Modeling of the Feeding Zone 90 4.2.2.3 Improvement of the Feeding Zone: Use of Helical Grooved Barrel 95 4.2.3 Thin Film Plastification 97 4.2.3.1 Melting on the Backside of Flight 97 4.2.3.2 Initiation of Liquid Film 98 4.2.3.3 Melt Flow Rate in the Liquid Film 99 4.2.3.4 Influence of Different Parameters on Melting Length 99 4.2.3.5 Thin Film Melting with the Help of a Barrier Zone 103 4.2.3.6 Barrier Zone, Its Advantages, and Its Drawbacks 103 4.2.4 Metering Zone 104 4.2.4.1 Representation of the Metering Zone 104 4.2.4.2 1D Analysis 105 4.2