Tensile Force Resistance of Optical Broadband Access Cables

Abstract

The article presents the results obtained from tensile force resistance tests of the modern designs of ОВНСLS-HF, ОВНРLS-HF and ОВНВLS-HF optical cables for intra-facility applications, which are used for arranging broadband access. The term «broadband access» is the general name of technology using which permanent connection to the Internet, television and telephone line is set up. A great variety of carriers and data transmission methods can be used for providing broadband access. At the beginning of the second half of the last century, the first digital communication systems intended for fast remote transmission of digital streams emerged. The integrated communication cable networks constructed for this purpose opened the possibility to offer enhanced telephone service called DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) for subscribers. The cables are manufactured in compliance with the requirements of technical specifications. The cable design includes an optical fiber with buffer coating, with free laying of either from 2 to 288 optical fibers in the bundle of micromodules with free laying, a strength member in the form of a bundle of aramid yarns, or force elements in the form of two fiberglass rods inside the outer sheath, and the outer polymeric sheath itself. The cables are fire retardant and do not contain any materials releasing corrosive products of smoke and gas emission during combustion and smoldering. The mechanical tests were carried out on the РРК-ЕК2 stretching and crushing installation with the tensile force increased up to 14 kN. The results of signal attenuation measurements in the optical fiber carried out using the type YOKOGAWA AQ7275 optical reflectometer are presented, and the graphs of attenuation as a function of tensile force for these cables are plotted. An analysis of the obtained dependences performed out using the linear regression method has shown that these dependences are linear in natures. The regression coefficients have been determined, and straight linear dependences have been constructed from the obtained regression equations.