A cable conduit, or cable gland, is a pipe used to route and protect cables of various kinds. In general, cable conduits are used for electric and telecommunications cables.
Since they are designed for underground installation, as part of their mechanical properties, cable glands must have a high resistance to crushing and impact.
Very strong resistance to crushing is in fact the most important quality to check before purchasing a cable conduit.
Once installed, in fact, the pipe will be constantly subjected to the static load as well as any load due to above-ground stresses such as vehicle load.
Impact resistance is the second characteristic that every cable conduit must have, it is essential especially when laying the product.
When the pipe is laid underground, in fact, the outer surface is accidentally stressed by stones that can fall with more or less force on the pipe.
Therefore, it is advisable that the soil layer adjacent to the cable gland is free of stones and consists of small-grained crushed stone or sand. Should larger rocks hit the cable conduit, there is no guarantee that it will withstand the impact without breaking.
When we talk about a corrugated cable gland, we are referring to a double-wall cable conduit, which means that it consists of two co-extruded tubular elements. The one on the outside has a corrugated surface while the one on the inside is smooth. The two layers cannot separate due to the co-extrusion used in the manufacturing process.
Therefore, there is no difference between cable conduit and corrugated pipe, we are talking about the same product, i.e. a pipe where the cables are routed without any friction due to the smooth inner surface. On the outside, on the other hand, the corrugation ensures strong anchoring to the ground.
Another common mistake is to talk about “electrical corrugated pipe” or “electrical cable conduits” in that no electricity flows inside the corrugations; it passes through the electric cables contained in the pipe.
Generally, the double-wall cable conduit is manufactured from polyethylene because this material has several properties, including: