A Radically New Approach to the Installation of Optical Fibre Using the Viscous Flow of Air,
Abstract
The small size and weight of optical fibers makes it possible to install them into cable bores using compressed air. Units consisting of several fibers in a small package are drawn into the bores by the viscous flow of the air. These units can be routed through various sizes of pre-installed empty cable without need for fiber joints, as and when they needed. The distributed nature of the drag force along the fiber length avoids the large end stress associated with traditional cable drawing, particularly on tortuous routes. The empty cable can be made cheaply and installed without due care and the fiber unit would be a standard item to be used in any size of cable. A fiber unit 2.5 mm in diameter containing 10 fibers and weighting 3g/m has been installed into a cable with seven 6 mm bores along a length of 325 m using 40 psi of air pressure. 50 psi was sufficient to install 140 m in an internal route including 16 right angles bends and 15 m of upward vertical length. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 17, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADP002560
Entities
People
- M. H. Reeve
- S. A. Cassidy