What Is Duct Fiber Optic Cable?
Ducts protect fiber optic cables from harsh environments. Duct cables must be rigid enough to withstand external forces yet flexible enough for easy installation into duct systems. This article will help you better understand duct fiber optic cables. Duct cables provide a highly protective environment for optical fibers. Typically, ducts are buried underground, and the cables are then blown, jetted, pulled, or pushed into the ducts. After installation, the cables are well-protected by the ducts, offering high security, large bandwidth, light weight, flexibility, water resistance, temperature resistance, and electromagnetic interference resistance. Depending on the construction site requirements, duct cables can be non-armored, armored, or micro-blown cables.
Applications of Duct Optical Cable:
Duct cables are mainly installed inside conduits and are widely used in long-haul telecommunications, interoffice communication, metropolitan area networks (MAN), access networks, FTTH networks, and backbone networks.
Installation Methods of Duct Fiber Cable:
Pulling Method: The pulling method involves manually or mechanically pulling the optical cable into a pre-installed underground duct. In this method, a pre-installed rope inside the duct helps pull the cable through. For access networks where the distance between underground ducts does not exceed 200 to 300 meters, the pulling method is often preferred. At every available manhole or handhole (approximately every 200 to 300 meters), the optical cable must be coiled and stored. Therefore, the pulling method is most suitable for short-distance applications.
Air-Blowing Method: The air-blowing method uses a combination of high-speed airflow and mechanical thrust to install the cable. This includes high-speed blowing and push/pull (piston) blowing techniques. The basic principle is injecting compressed air into the duct, which flows at high speed and propels the optical cable through the duct. Central loose tube cables, slotted core cables, non-armored and armored cables, and microduct cables are all suitable for air-blowing installation. This method is ideal for continuous lengths exceeding 1000 meters.
Conclusion
Duct cables provide flexible, durable, and optimal protection for optical fibers and offer opportunities for future cable expansion. Moreover, duct cable systems contribute to a cleaner and more organized urban environment.
Post time: Apr-28-2025