A Novel Structure of All Dielectric Central Tube Ribbon Cable

摘要

Central tube ribbon cable designs are widely used in order to realize the higher fiber packing density and smallest optical fiber cable diameter. The paper will cover the development of a novel central tube ribbon cable structure using a flexible glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) tape wrap as the strength member. This GRP tape is wrapped around the cable's central core tube in the jacketing process. The central tube ribbon cable with GRP tape wrap has multiple advantages, including a simple construction, stable manufacturing process with precise excess ribbon length (ERL) control, flexible and light-weight design with no preferential bend, dielectric properties with no bonding or grounding requirements, and excellent mechanical properties. This paper will discuss the development of this cable, compliance to industry standard tests, and installation results.