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SWA with a shroud of mystery

Sergio Fernandez

My understanding is/was that when using an SWA it needs to have a gland on each end for the armoured steel.  Normally/ideally the gland should enter the enclosure from the underside and it would normally have a shroud over the top.  If you take the standard BW or CW (other brands and types are available like Storm Glands).  

While having a discussion recently with a friend who deals with ATEX a lot he said that the shroud would be better not being fitted in a lot of situations.  Take for example a gland that is outside your dwelling where it is exposed to the elements the shroud can get condensation inside and not have a means for draining.  The gland itself is normally OK as mainly made from brass but the Amour of the SWA can start to corrode.  This can also happen is some production environment where there is moisture in the air.

I wonder what thoughts people have about this concept of no shroud for an SWA?

As always please be polite and respectful in this purely academic debate.


Come on everybody lets help inspire the future.

Parents

  • Sometimes I think contractors imagine that swa covers all the considerations in Section 522. I have seen the gland plate, enclosure and wire armour completely corroded at a water treatment plant in Belfast, a relatively new marina in Portaferry, connections to plant below a public swimming pool, a concrete plant near Lisburn. All that in the first three months of 2024 and hundreds of times in the many years previous since I started the inspection wing of my business. 

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  • Sometimes I think contractors imagine that swa covers all the considerations in Section 522. I have seen the gland plate, enclosure and wire armour completely corroded at a water treatment plant in Belfast, a relatively new marina in Portaferry, connections to plant below a public swimming pool, a concrete plant near Lisburn. All that in the first three months of 2024 and hundreds of times in the many years previous since I started the inspection wing of my business. 

Children
  • in reply to lyledunn

    Maybe they need some kind of breather plug for the enclosure and the gland.  It would be good to get the opinion of others on this.  Lets hope this become a lively debate and as engineers we suggest improvement for the industry as a whole. 

  • in reply to lyledunn

    Not SWA, but today I received an order of some 3 inch equal T steel. In fact 80 mm and 9 mm thick, so almost 1400 mm². At one point, 90% of the original structure had gone. The reason was that it was damp and exposed to oxygen. The bit below ground just had a bit of surface rust.

    Think of rebar - that does not rust until the concrete cracks.

    So it is all down to the atmosphere. I doubt that a shroud will make much difference.

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