Quality Evaluation of High-density Polyethylenes for Optical Cable Sheath

摘要

The optical cable sheath is one of the more important components in optical fiber cables. The sheath directly affects the optical cable's lifespan. The typical high-density polyethylene (HDPE) used in optical cables consists of polyethylene resin, antioxidants, carbon black and processing additives. Chemical components, branched polymer chains and the polymer molecular-weight distribution directly affect the process stability and the jacket's quality. For example, an HDPE could meet all the standards requirements yet if it contained an inorganic component then the extruder screw could wear out and the lifespan of the jacket may be compromised. In this paper, Fourier infrared spectrometer (FTIR) is adopted to analyze the chemical components and molecular branched chains, and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is adopted to analyze the molecular-weight distribution. The thermal aging performance and processing properties of the HDPE will be evaluated based on the testing results. This paper will present quality analysis methods used for HDPE with FTIR and DSC.