This white paper will focus on issues related to moisture
and its effects on UTP Plenum cabling solutions. For the
purpose of argument we will be looking beyond stan-
dards and testing for issues that, quite frankly, should
never happen under normal circumstances. However, as
many of us who have been in the industry for a number
of years realize, sometimes the unlikely becomes reality!
TrueNet
®
AirES
®
Technology
The Effect of Moisture
Ingress on AirES Cable
TrueNet
®
AirES
®
Technology: The Effect of Moisture Ingress on AirES Cable
Page 2
The industry bodies have this to say about wet and dry
locations:
BICSI TDM manual, 9th edition, Chapter 4 – Horizontal
Distribution Systems, Section 1 – Horizontal Pathway
Systems, final paragraph of page 4-5, which states:
Wet Locations
Intrabuilding horizontal pathways shall be installed in
“dry” locations that protect cables from moisture levels
that are beyond the intended operating range of
“inside” premises cables. For example, slab-on-grade
construction where pathways are installed underground

than that of FEP alone (for more information please see
our “Electrical Attributes” white paper on this subject).
It is worth noting the dielectric constant of water is ter-
rible when compared with most insulation materials.
Additionally, as many people know, mixing amperage
with water is never a good idea. For this reason BICSI
and the NEC have mandated that UTP cabling be
placed in “dry” locations.
However we have decided to test how AirES would per-
form in a “wet” environment. Because of ADC’s ingen-
ious use of air pockets to improve electrical perform-
ance, a query has arisen with regards to moisture travel-
ing down the air channels themselves.
To put this issue to the test, we submerged a sample of
AirES cable in a water solution with a dye tracer. For
the test we needed a control sample as well and used a
competitors cable with solid FEP insulation over the
copper conductor. As in the image below, both cables
were cut to the same length. The same amount of solu-
tion (5ml) was used for each.
We then placed both samples (Green AirES and White
Competitor) into the solution for a period of 2 hours. It’s
worth noting that the fluid level in the AirES graduated
cylinder with the cable sample was at 5.95ml. The com-
petitor sample fluid level was at 6.1ml. This can be attrib-
uted to reduced displacement of fluid with AirES,
because of the smaller outer diameter/cross sectional
area of the cable.
TrueNet
®

white conductor, with a color change to blue where the
dye has penetrated.
Although a fascinating result, it is actually quite mean-
ingless in a real life installation. This did, however, prove
that the air pockets do exist.
TrueNet
®
AirES
®
Technology: The Effect of Moisture Ingress on AirES Cable
Page 4
We then tested the cable as it is installed e.g. with a
jack attached. A little bit of history about ADC connec-
tivity first. One of our claims has been the 45° IDC.
With the use of this technology, ADC has been able to
achieve a gas tight seal around the contact and in
doing so sealed the cabling conductor to that contact.
In the example above, ribs (arrow 1) on either side of
the connection point squeeze (hold) the insulation to
take any disturbance through movement of the cable
away from the contact itself. These ribs also help to seal
the insulation around the conductor. The IDC, or
Insulation Displacement Contact, does just that. It dis-
places the FEP insulation around the connection point,
which completely seals the junction from gas and/or
water ingress.
To simulate what might happen if an ADC jack with
AirES cable were to be subjected to direct contact with
water we submerged a terminated jack into the same
water/dye tracer liquid as the first test. In this test we