Page 10 of 18 SPECIFICATION 55PC, ISSUE 8
NOTE: ANY PRINTED COPY OF THIS DOCUMENT
IS AN UNCONTROLLED COPY.
© 2008-2015 Tyco Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved.
should only be handled when wearing gloves. The test tube shall be maintained with the
prepared specimens in the upright position for three weeks at an ambient temperature of
21 ± 3ºC. After this conditioning period, the mirror shall be removed and inspected for any
signs of corrosion which appear as transparent glass. Results can be quantified by imaging the
entire mirror and determining the percentage of surface area which is transparent.
4.6.5 Crosslinked Verification
4.6.5.1 Finished Wire
One inch (25 mm) of insulation shall be removed from each end of a 24-inch (610-mm)
specimen of finished wire. Both ends of the specimen shall be connected together and the test
load specified in Table 4 shall be attached to the connected specimen ends. The specimen
loop shall then be suspended over a stainless steel mandrel with a sintered polytetrafluoro-
ethylene coating. The mandrel shall have the diameter specified in Table 4, and shall be of
sufficient rigidity so as not to flex under load. This specimen, so prepared on the mandrel,
shall be conditioned in an air-circulating oven at 300 ± 3°C for 1 hour. The velocity of air
past the specimen (measured at room temperature) shall not be less than 100 feet (30 m) per
minute. After conditioning, the oven shall be shut off, the door opened, and the specimen
allowed to cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. When cool, the specimen shall be freed from
tension, removed from the mandrel, and straightened. The specimen shall then be subjected to
the bend test (4.6.5.1.1) followed by the voltage withstand test (4.6.14).
4.6.5.1.1 Bend Test
At a temperature maintained between 20 and 25°C, one end of the wire specimen shall be
secured to the mandrel and the other end to a weight equal to one half the test load specified in
Table 4. The mandrel shall be rotated until the full length of the specimen is wrapped around
the mandrel and is under the specified tension with adjoining turns in contact. The mandrel
shall then be rotated in the reverse direction until the full length of the specimen which was
outside during the first wrapping is now next to the mandrel. This procedure shall be repeated
until two bends in each direction have been formed in the same section of the specimen. The
specimen shall then be examined for cracking of the insulation.
4.6.5.2 Finished Cable
Two inches (51 mm) of the jacket shall be removed from each end of a 15-inch (381-mm)
specimen of finished cable, and the shield, if any, shall be pushed back and formed into a
pigtail at each end of the specimen. One inch (25 mm) of insulation from each conductor shall
then be removed from each end of the specimen. The cable specimen shall then be loaded
with sufficient weight to hang straight, and shall be conditioned in an air-circulating oven at
300 ± 3°C for 1 hour. The velocity of air past the specimen (measured at room temperature)
shall not be less than 100 feet (30 m) per minute. After conditioning, the oven shall be shut
off, the door opened, and the specimen allowed to cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. When
cool, the cable specimen shall then be examined for cracking of the jacket. The voltage
withstand test (4.6.14) shall then be conducted on shielded and jacketed cable specimens only.