IEC 61196-1-212:2021

Coaxial communication cables - Part 1-212: Environmental test methods - UV stability

IEC 61196-1-212:2021 describes three methods to determine the UV resistance of sheath materials for electric and optical fibre cables. These tests apply for outdoor and indoor cable applications according to the product standard. The samples of sheath are taken from the finished cables. Although this test method is written principally for communication cables, it can be used for energy cables if called up by the relevant product standard.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 07-Jul-2021
• ICS: 33.120.10 - Coaxial cables. Waveguides
• Technical Committee: SC 46A - Coaxial cables
• Drafting Committee: WG 3 - TC 46/SC 46A/WG 3
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 09-Aug-2021
• Completion Date: 08-Jul-2021

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 61196-1-212 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Coaxial communication cables –
Part 1-212: Environmental test methods – UV stability
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform IEC online collection - oc.iec.ch
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a Discover our powerful search engine and read freely all the
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical publications previews. With a subscription you will always
committee, …). It also gives information on projects, replaced have access to up to date content tailored to your needs.
and withdrawn publications.
Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished
The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology,
Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published
containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
details all new publications released. Available online and
and French, with equivalent terms in 18 additional languages.
once a month by email.
Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary

(IEV) online.
IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc

If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or
need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service
Centre: [e-mail].
IEC 61196-1-212 ®
Edition 1.0 2021-07
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Coaxial communication cables –

Part 1-212: Environmental test methods – UV stability

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.120.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-9984-5

– 2 – IEC 61196-1-212:2021 © IEC 2021
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Test methods . 7
4.1 Test methods for outdoor application . 7
4.1.1 Method A: xenon arc source . 7
4.1.2 Method B: fluorescent UV lamp. 8
4.1.3 Method C: mercury vapour lamp . 10
4.2 Test methods for indoor application . 11
4.2.1 Method A: xenon arc source . 11
4.2.2 Method B: fluorescent UV lamp. 11
4.2.3 Method C: mercury vapour lamp . 11
5 Measurements . 12
5.1 Loss in mechanical properties . 12
5.1.1 General . 12
5.1.2 Defined test duration . 12
5.1.3 Defined loss in property . 12
5.2 Change in appearance . 12
5.3 Change in colour . 12
6 Evaluation of results . 12
7 Test report . 13
Annex A (informative)  Example of UV test apparatus with mercury vapour lamp
source . 14
Annex B (informative)  Guidelines to the interpretation and use . 16
Bibliography . 19

Figure A.1 – Vapour mercury test apparatus . 14
Figure A.2 – Vapour mercury test apparatus – Details of construction . 15

Table B.1 – Excerpt from MICE table . 17
a
Table B.2 – Measurement units and conversion . 17

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
COAXIAL COMMUNICATION CABLES –

Part 1-212: Environmental test methods – UV stability

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
IEC 61196-1-212 has been prepared by subcommittee 46A: Coaxial cables, of IEC technical
committee 46: Cables, wires, waveguides, RF connectors, RF and microwave passive
components and accessories. It is an International Standard.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
46A/1452/CDV 46A/1487/RVC
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this International Standard is English.

– 4 – IEC 61196-1-212:2021 © IEC 2021
This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement,
available at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by
IEC are described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/standardsdev/publications.
A list of all parts in the IEC 61196 series, published under the general title Coaxial
communication cables, can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
IMPORTANT – The "colour inside" logo on the cover page of this document indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct
understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a
colour printer.
INTRODUCTION
UV hazard assessment for synthetic compounds is possible using a number of UV sources.
For the purposes of this document, three alternative methods are given.
1) Method A uses a xenon arc source to simulate the UV effect on cable sheath. The effect is
measured by the variation of mechanical characteristics and/or change in colour after
exposure.
2) Method B uses a fluorescent lamp to simulate the UV effect on cable sheath. Two different
lamps may be used: type I (called UV-A lamps) and type II (called UV-B lamps). The effect
is measured, as for method A, by the variation of mechanical characteristics and/or
change in colour after exposure.
3) Method C uses a mercury vapour lamp to simulate the UV effect on cable sheath. As for
methods A and B, the effect is determined by the variation of mechanical characteristics
and/or change in colour after exposure. This test has been typically used for
telecommunication cables.
For outdoor cable application only, the test specimens are periodically subjected to water
attack, for methods A and B. A recent modification of method C now allows for a water
immersion cycle.
For method C, the round robin tests made without water (see Annex B) indicate the method
may be applicable to outdoor environments.
Other sources and determination methods are capable of detecting and analysing the UV
hazard for a cable sheath. Examples of such methods are metal halide lamps or sunshine
carbon arc lamps, in combination with proper filters in order to cut off most radiation having
wavelengths lower than 290 nm. Contracting parties may agree to use such other methods,
but such methods cannot claim conformity to this document. If used, it is recommended that
such methods have at least equivalent sensitivity and detection levels as those in this
document.
Informative Annex B gives guidelines for the use and interpretation of results.
NOTE It is useful to recall the introduction to ISO 4892-1:2016, which says, "The relative durability of materials in
actual-use exposures can be very different depending on the location of the exposure because of differences in UV
radiation, time of wetness, temperature, pollutants and other factors. Therefore, even if results from a specific
accelerated laboratory test are found to be useful for comparing the relative durability of materials exposed in a
particular outdoor location or in particular actual-use conditions, it cannot be assumed that they will be useful for
determining the relative durability of materials exposed in a different outdoor location or in
...