- Business news
Leading cable and pipe seal manufacturer Roxtec will showcase its latest naval sector technology – including its new fibre optic shielding – at this year’s Combined Naval Event (CNE). The Roxtec UK team will be on hand at the premier gathering of the naval community to demonstrate how its industry-leading safety seals deliver critical protection to vessels. CNE will run from May 21-23 in Farnborough and Roxtec can be found at stand C10.
Roxtec is the global leader in the manufacture of innovative cable and pipe transit systems, supplying many of the world’s biggest firms. One of Roxtec’s biggest sectors is marine, and the company supplies cable and pipe transits for multiple demands to many of the leading navies around the globe.
Shield and seal your fibre
The company has recently developed an industry-leading penetration seal for electromagnetic shielding to be used with non-metallic fibre optic cables, known as the Roxtec WaveGuide Seal ES. Fibre optic cables are becoming increasingly common in naval vessels for their efficiency. One single fibre optic strand can carry significantly more data than an ordinary ethernet cable. In addition, one fibre optic cable can accommodate hundreds of fibre strands and as a result replace thousands of ethernet cables, streamlining the installation. Mikael Grudd, Manager of the department of Electromagnetics at Roxtec, explains:
“The more modern the ship, the more fibre optics we see. Ship designers want more fibre optics to improve installation time and keep down the ship’s electromagnetic signature, as fibre optics do not generate any electromagnetic signature.”
Roxtec WaveGuide Seal ES
The Roxtec WaveGuide Seal ES is designed for routing non-metallic fibre optic cables into a shielded enclosure while maintaining the enclosure’s electromagnetic integrity. The waveguide seal protects electronics from electromagnetic threats such as electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and HEMP.
HEMP is an immensely powerful Cold War weapon. It is a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, created through a nuclear weapon detonation, tens of kilometres or more from the surface of the Earth. The effects of a HEMP attack are a total disaster for the electrical power grid and other critical infrastructure. It makes transformers overheat and explode – and can blow away the entire power grid. The electricity supply goes down and all modern electronics, including computers, communication systems and systems in cars and aircraft, in a very vast area risk severe damage in just a few seconds. Mikael Grudd says:
“The war in Ukraine as well as nuclear tests undertaken by North Korea are bringing the HEMP threat into sharper focus. Navies are very interested in how Roxtec can protect their vessels as they want their warships to remain fully functional even if they are located close to the initial attack. The ships may be the last line of defence and are not allowed to fail regardless of the effects of HEMP.”
High performance
The Roxtec WaveGuide Seal ES solution offers both environmental protection and electromagnetic shielding in a single seal. It is a high-performance product, based on a waveguide technique, offering minimum 100dB shielding effectiveness. Mr Grudd says:
“Very few ships in the world need this 100dB level which is extremely high so this is exceptionally robust protection. In addition, very few of our competitors offer this electromagnetic protection combined with water, gas and fire protection. We have all these features in one seal which no other company presently does."
“Most other solutions provide protection from fire, gas and water but do not protect fibre optic cable entries from electromagnetic interference. Our lab has proved Roxtec seals provide protection for fibre optic cable entries from water, gas, fire and electromagnetic pulses. This is an industry first.”
