DEVELOPMENT OF A DRY OUTSIDE PLANT RIBBON CABLE WITH ENHANCED RIBBON COUPLING

摘要

Filling gels are difficult to remove from the inside of buffer tubes and make fiber access and preparation time-consuming. The replacement of filling gels with cleaner dry technology continues to be a driving force in the fiber optic cable industry. Many of the functions of filling gel have been addressed in previous dry cable technical papers by Norris [1], Van Vickie [2], Taylor [3], and Dixon [4]. However, ribbon coupling, which is essential to network reliability, is one key function of filling gel that is often overlooked when considering dry technologies. Corning Cable Systems conducted extensive studies to understand ribbon coupling in traditional gel-filled designs and in designs incorporating dry solutions. The study was conducted with respect to four applications: a pulling installation, ice loading, cable "galloping," and cable dig-ups. The results were utilized to develop a completely dry outside plant ribbon cable with enhanced ribbon coupling. The design meets all industry standards, addresses ribbon coupling as it relates to network reliability, and does not require any special procedural coupling solutions. The novel dry design with enhanced ribbon coupling incorporates a dry insert to achieve ribbon coupling higher than even traditional gel-filled designs. The inventors have filed a patent application for the novel dry insert cable design.