Patent Application
20240345350
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of optical cables, and in particular to a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable and a manufacturing process.
Micro-bundle optical cables are generally used in urban backbone networks, and are usually laid in outdoor pipelines or overhead. Therefore, there are special requirements for tensile properties of optical cables. The stress on the tensile elements in optical cables is very important, and thus the stranding mode of the reinforcing element and the micro-bundle tube within optical cables is studied. The main structure of the micro-bundle optical cable includes a micro-bundle tube, a reinforcing element (a fiber rod or other metal reinforcing element including not only those contained in the sheath, but also those embedded in the sheath), and an outer sheath, where the micro-bundle tube contains at least one optical fiber, and the sheath is embedded with at least one reinforcing element; and a yarn-like reinforcing element is arranged between the micro-bundle tube and the sheath. In general, the water-blocking material inside the micro-bundle tube is filled with an ointment and a water-blocking yarn, and the ointment contains at least one kind of liquid and one kind of thickening agent, where the liquid is silicone oil, fluorinated oil or a mixture thereof, the thickening agent is silica, bentonite, polytetrafluoroethylene or a mixture thereof, and the water-blocking yarn is of cotton yarn type.
The existing strand of the reinforcing elements and the optical units has the following problems.
In view of the above, the present disclosure is proposed.
One of objects of the present disclosure is to provide a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable to alleviate at least one of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art.
In order to solve the technical problems described above, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions.
A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable, which includes micro-bundle tubes, a reinforcing layer, a water-blocking tape and an outer sheath;
Further, a material of the reinforcing layer is at least one of aramid, fiberglass yarn, polyester yarn and water-blocking yarn.
Further, a material of the outer sheath is a polyolefin material.
The polyolefin material includes a polyethylene material and/or a low smoke zero halogen flame-retardant polyolefin material.
Further, the micro-bundle tubes include an optical fiber, a second water-blocking yarn and a micro-bundle tube sheath.
The number of the optical fiber is ≥1, and the optical fiber adopts an S-Z stranding.
A dimension of the optical fiber includes a nominal diameter of 250 μm, a nominal diameter of 200 μm, or a nominal diameter of 180 μm.
Further, the second water-blocking yarn has a yarn density of ≥20000 m/kg, a tensile strength of ≥15N, an elongation at break of ≥15%, a thermal shrinkage rate of ≤2.5%, an expansion velocity of ≥30 ml/g/min, an expansion rate of ≥40 ml/g, and a moisture content of ≤5%.
Further, the micro-bundle tubes include an optical fiber, a water-blocking fiber ointment and a micro-bundle tube sheath.
The water-blocking fiber ointment has a density of ≤0.88 g/cm3, an oxidative induction time of ≥20 min, a dropping point of ≥200° C., water resistance of not disintegrating for 7 days, a moisture content of ≤3%, and a hydrogen evolution amount of ≤0.03 μl/g.
Further, the micro-bundle tube sheath has a wall thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.
A material of the micro-bundle tube sheath is LSZH (low smoke zero halogen), TPEE (thermoplastic polyester elastomer) or a polyolefin material.
The micro-bundle tube sheath has a density of 1.05 g/cm3-1.55 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 12 MPa-18 MPa, and an elongation at break of 120%-550%.
A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a manufacturing process of the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable, including: paying off the micro-bundle tubes first with a pay-off tension of 0.8N-1.2N where an angle of the micro-bundle tubes into a mouth of a stranding die is set in a range of 20°-30°; then paying off the reinforcing layer with a pay-off tension of 4N-5N, where an angle of the reinforcing layer into the mouth of the stranding die is set in a range of 20°-30°; and finally extruding, cooling and winding up to obtain the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable.
Further, a temperature of the mouth for the extruding is 180° C., and a temperature of other part of the stranding die is 170° C.-190° C.
Further, the cooling includes a first cooling and a second cooling.
The first cooling has a temperature of 40° C.-50° C., and the second cooling has a temperature of 20° C.-30°° C.
A tension of the winding up is 30N-50N.
Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure at least has the following beneficial effects.
In the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable provided in the present disclosure, the micro-bundle tubes are unidirectionally stranded, which ensures a consistent forced direction of the optical fiber inside the micro-bundle tubes and at the same time reduces excessive consumption of the excess length in the micro-bundle tube so as to effectively control the excess length of the optical fiber inside the micro-bundle tubes to be 0.2‰ to 0.8‰ and to ensure the existence of effective positive excess length inside the tube. Furthermore, the reinforcing layer is unidirectionally stranded, which ensures that after the optical cable is stressed, the reinforcing layer is first subjected to force, ensuring that the optical fiber is not prioritized to be subjected to force. At the same time, the unidirectional stranding of the reinforcing layer can better cover the micro-bundle tubes and avoid affecting the attenuation due to adhesion between the micro-bundle tubes and the outer sheath. Both the micro-bundle tubes and the reinforcing layer adopt unidirectional stranding and their stranding directions are opposite to each other, which ensures that the micro-bundle tubes are fully wrapped by the reinforcing layer and are rounded, ensuring the roundness of the optical cable as a whole.
In the manufacturing process provided by the present disclosure, the pay-off tension is controlled in a range of 0.8N-1.2N since the micro-bundle tubes have a small outer diameter and are soft in material; the angle of the micro-bundle tubes into a mouth of a stranding die is set in the range of 20°-30°, which ensures that a scraping force between the micro-bundle tubes and the stranding die is minimized when the micro-bundle tubes enter the stranding die, so as to ensure that the optical fibers inside the tubes are not subjected to a squeezing force; the pay-off tension of the reinforcing layer is in a range of 4N-5N, which ensures that the reinforcing layer is first subjected to force; and the reinforcing layer is evenly arranged on a stranding cage of the reinforcing layer, which ensures that the reinforcing layer is evenly wrapped on the micro-bundle tubes. The angle of the reinforcing layer into the mouth of the stranding die is kept in a range of 20°-30°, which avoids abrasion between the reinforcing layer and the stranding die, reduces the strength of the reinforcing layer, and ensures that the cable core is well-shaped after exiting the mouth without looseness phenomenon. In addition, a stranding cage of the micro-bundle tubes and the stranding cage of the reinforcing layer should be set to have opposite stranding directions so as to avoid the phenomenon of die blockage and uneven stranding when entering the stranding die of the reinforcing layer.
In order to provide a clearer explanation of specific embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, a brief introduction will be given below to the drawings required in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art. It is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present disclosure. For a person skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative labor.
Reference signs: 10—micro-bundle tube; 101—optical fiber; 102—second water-blocking yarn; 103—micro-bundle tube sheath; 104—water-blocking fiber ointment; 11—first water-blocking yarn; 20—reinforcing layer; 30—water-blocking tape; 31—tearing rope; 40—outer sheath; 41—reinforcing member.
In order to make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the following will provide a clear and complete description of the technical solutions of the present disclosure with reference to the embodiments of the present disclosure. It is evident that the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of them. The components of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be arranged and designed in various different configurations.
It should be noted that relational terms herein such as first and second are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order existing between these entities or operations. In addition, the term “include”, “contain” or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions such that a process, method, object, or device comprising a set of elements includes not only these elements, but also includes other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to the process, method, object or device.
A first aspect of the present disclosure provides a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable, which includes micro-bundle tubes, a reinforcing layer, a water-blocking tape and an outer sheath;
The water-blocking principle of the first water-blocking yarn is that when the fiber body of the first water-blocking yarn encounters water, it may expand rapidly to form a gelatinous substance with a large volume, the gelatinous substance has a strong water retention capacity, which can effectively prevent the growth of water body and thus prevent water from continuing to penetrate and diffuse, thereby achieving the purpose of blocking water.
Tearing rope is also called PP tying rope and PP tearing film. The material of the tearing rope generally is a polypropylene drawing-grade resin due to its good plasticity, strong tensile strength at break and excellent tensile impact performance. The tearing film is formed by polypropylene via blowing and stretching, and has strong tensile strength, soft texture, non-toxic, odorless, pollution-free, beautiful appearance and bright color. The tearing rope in the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable has an anti-pulling effect, and is also able to absorb the heat emitted by the cable during use, and may prevent the cable rubber sheath from adhering to each other.
The micro-bundle tube adopts a spiral stranding with a stranding mode of unidirectional stranding and a stranding pitch of 800 mm to 900 mm. The stranding pitch of the micro-bundle tube is greater than an excess length for the unidirectional stranding, and such pitch ensures that the excess length inside the tube is not consumed, ensuring that the tube instead of optical fiber is first subjected to force after the optical cable is stressed. The unidirectional stranding ensures that a forced direction of the optical fiber inside the tube is consistent and reduces the attenuation of the optical fiber. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the stranding pitch of the micro-bundle tube is typically but not limited to 800 mm, 820 mm, 840 mm, 860 mm, 880 mm or 900 mm.
The excess length for the unidirectional stranding is calculated by the formula:
The reinforcing layer adopts a spiral stranding with a stranding mode of unidirectional stranding and a stranding pitch of 600 mm to 800 mm. Under this stranding pitch, the stress on the reinforcing layer is the largest. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the stranding pitch of the reinforcing layer is typically but not limited to 600 mm, 620 mm, 640 mm, 660 mm, 680 mm, 700 mm, 720 mm, 740 mm, 760 mm, 780 mm or 800 mm.
The stranding direction of the micro-bundle tube is opposite to the stranding direction of the reinforcing layer, so as to avoid die blockage and uneven stranding when tightening the stranding die of the reinforcing layer. The stranding pitch of the micro-bundle tube and the stranding pitch of the reinforcing layer mentioned above are uniform.
In the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable provided in the present disclosure, the micro-bundle tubes is unidirectionally stranded to ensure that a forced direction of the optical fiber inside the micro-bundle tube is consistent and to reduce excessive consumption of the excess length in the micro-bundle tube at the same time, with an effective control of the excess length of the optical fiber inside the micro-bundle tube at 0.2‰ to 0.8‰, ensuring the existence of effective positive excess length inside the tube. The reinforcing layer is also unidirectionally stranded to ensure that after the optical cable is stressed, the reinforcing layer is first subjected to force, ensuring that the optical fiber is not prioritized to be subjected to force. At the same time, the unidirectional stranding of the reinforcing layer can better cover the micro-bundle tube, and avoid attenuation due to adhesion between the micro-bundle tube and the outer sheath. Both the micro-bundle tube and the reinforcing layer adopt unidirectional stranding and have opposite stranding directions, which may ensure that the micro-bundle tubes are fully wrapped by the reinforcing layer and are rounded, ensuring the roundness of the optical cable as a whole.
Further, a material of the reinforcing layer is at least one of aramid, fiberglass yarn, polyester yarn and water-blocking yarn.
Further, a material of the outer sheath is a polyolefin material.
The polyolefin material includes a polyethylene material and/or a low smoke zero halogen flame-retardant polyolefin material.
Further, the micro-bundle tube includes an optical fiber, a second water-blocking yarn and a micro-bundle tube sheath.
The number of the optical fiber is ≥1, and the optical fiber adopts an S-Z stranding.
A dimension of the optical fiber includes a nominal diameter of 250 μm, a nominal diameter of 200 μm, or a nominal diameter of 180 μm.
A dimension of the micro-bundle tube includes a nominal diameter of 0.9 mm, a nominal diameter of 0.95 mm, a nominal diameter of 1.1 mm or a nominal diameter of 1.35 mm.
Further, the second water-blocking yarn has a yarn density of ≥20000 m/kg, a tensile strength of ≥15N, an elongation at break of ≥15%, a thermal shrinkage rate of ≤2.5%, an expansion velocity of ≥30 ml/g/min, an expansion rate of ≥40 ml/g, and a moisture content of ≤5%.
Further, the micro-bundle tube includes an optical fiber, a water-blocking fiber ointment and a micro-bundle tube sheath.
The water-blocking fiber ointment has a density of <0.88 g/cm3, an oxidative induction time of ≥20 min, a dropping point of ≥200° C., water resistance of not disintegrating for 7 days, a moisture content of ≤3%, and a hydrogen evolution amount of ≤0.03 μl/g.
Further, the micro-bundle tube sheath has a wall thickness of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the wall thickness of the micro-bundle tube sheath is typically, but not limited to 0.1 mm, 0.11 mm, 0.12 mm, 0.13 mm, 0.14 mm, 0.15 mm, 0.16 mm, 0.17 mm, 0.18 mm, 0.19 mm or 0.2 mm.
A material of the micro-bundle tube sheath is LSZH (low smoke zero halogen), TPEE (thermoplastic polyester elastomer) or polyolefin material.
Low smoke zero halogen, abbreviated as LSZH, refers to a material that does not contain halogen (F, Cl, Br, I and At) or environmental substance such as lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, etc., and is a material classification for wire sheath in the wire and cable industry. Low smoke zero halogen wire sheath is formed by a thermoplastic or thermosetting material that has low smoke emission when being heated and contain no halogen itself.
Thermoplastic polyester elastomer, abbreviated as TPEE, is a linear block copolymer containing PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) polyester hard segment and aliphatic polyester or polyether soft segment. TPEE has both excellent elasticity of rubber and easy processing of thermoplastics, and may be used for adjustment of hardness of the micro-bundle tube sheath and giving freedom of design.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an outer diameter of 1-2-core micro-bundle tube is 0.9±0.05 mm, the outer diameter of 4-core micro-bundle tube is 0.95±0.05 mm, the outer diameter of 6-core micro-bundle tube is 1.1±0.05 mm, and the outer diameter of 12-core micro-bundle tube is 1.35±0.1 mm. An inner diameter of the micro-bundle tube sheath is determined according to the outer diameters of the above-mentioned micro-bundle tubes.
The micro-bundle tube sheath has a density of 1.05 g/cm3-1.55 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 12 MPa-18 MPa, and an elongation at break of 120%-550%.
A second aspect of the present disclosure provides a manufacturing process of a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable, including: firstly paying off micro-bundle tubes with a pay-off tension of 0.8N-1.2N, where an angle of the micro-bundle tubes into a mouth of a stranding die is set in a range of 20°-30°; then paying off a reinforcing layer with a pay-off tension of 4N-5N, where an angle of the reinforcing layer into the mouth of the stranding die is set in a range of 20°-30°; and finally, extruding, cooling and winding up to obtain the unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable.
In the manufacturing process provided by the present disclosure, since the micro-bundle tubes have a small outer diameter and are soft in material, the pay-off tension is controlled in a range of 0.8N to 1.2N; the angle of the micro-bundle tubes into the mouth of the stranding die is set between 20° and 30°, which ensures that a scraping force between the micro-bundle tubes and the stranding die is minimized when the micro-bundle tubes enter the stranding die, so as to ensure that the optical fibers inside the tubes are not subjected to a squeezing force. The pay-off tension of the reinforcing layer is between 4N and 5N, which ensures that the reinforcing layer is first subjected to force. The reinforcing layer is evenly arranged on a stranding cage of the reinforcing layer, which ensures that the reinforcing layer is evenly wrapped on the micro-bundle tubes. The angle of the reinforcing layer into the mouth of the stranding die is kept between 20° and 30°, which avoids abrasion between the reinforcing layer and the stranding die, reduces the strength of the reinforcing layer, and ensures that the cable core is well-shaped after exiting the mouth of the die without looseness phenomenon. In addition, a stranding cage of the micro-bundle tubes and the stranding cage of the reinforcing layer should be set to have opposite stranding directions so as to avoid die blockage and uneven stranding when tightening the stranding die of the reinforcing layer.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a unidirectional stranding die for the optical unit into the mouth of the stranding die adopts an exit of the die which is 0.3 mm to 0.4 mm larger than the size of the cable core.
In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the reinforcing layer enters the mouth of the stranding die, the size of the mouth of the stranding die is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm larger than the size of the entire cable, so as to ensure that the cable core is well-shaped after exiting the mouth, without looseness phenomenon.
Further, a temperature of the mouth for the extruding is 180° C., and a temperature of other part of the stranding die is 170° C.-190° C.
Further, the cooling includes a first cooling and a second cooling.
The first cooling has a temperature of 40° C.-50° C., and the second cooling has a temperature of 20° C.-30° C.
A tension of the winding up is 30N-50N.
Some implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to embodiments. The following embodiments and the features in the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict. The raw materials in the embodiments and comparative embodiments are commercially available unless otherwise specified.
The present embodiment provides a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable, whose structure is shown in
In one implementation of the present embodiment, a material of the reinforcing layer 20 is at least one of aramid, fiberglass yarn, polyester yarn and water-blocking yarn.
In some implementations of the present embodiment, a material of the outer sheath 40 is a polyolefin material, for example, the material of the outer sheath 40 is a polyethylene material or a low smoke zero halogen flame-retardant polyolefin material.
In some implementations of the present embodiment, the micro-bundle tube 10 includes an optical fiber 101, a second water-blocking yarn 102 and a micro-bundle tube sheath 103, as shown in
In some implementations of the present embodiment, a dimension of the optical fiber 101 may be a nominal diameter of 250 μm, a nominal diameter of 200 μm, or a nominal diameter of 180 μm.
In some implementations of the present embodiment, the number of the optical fiber 101 within the micro-bundle tube 10 is greater than 1. The optical fibers 101 are distinguished by coloring, and the stranding mode of the optical fibers 101 in the micro-bundle tube 10 is unidirectional stranding. In some implementations of the present embodiment, the number of the second water-blocking yarn 102 is ≥1, and the second water-blocking yarn has a yarn density of ≥20000 m/kg, a tensile strength of ≥15N, an elongation at break of ≥15%, a thermal shrinkage rate of ≤2.5%, an expansion velocity of ≥30 ml/g/min, an expansion rate of ≥40 ml/g, and a moisture content of ≤5%.
In other implementations of the present embodiment, the micro-bundle tube 10 includes an optical fiber 101, a water-blocking fiber ointment 104 and a micro-bundle tube sheath 103, as shown in
In other implementations of the present embodiment, the water-blocking fiber ointment is used to replace the second water-blocking yarn 102. The water-blocking fiber ointment has a density of ≤0.88 g/cm3, an oxidative induction time of ≥20 min, a dropping point of ≥200° C., water resistance of not disintegrating for 7 days, a moisture content of ≤3%, and a hydrogen evolution amount of ≤0.03 μl/g.
In some implementations of the present embodiment, the micro-bundle tube sheath 103 has a wall thickness of 0.1 mm-0.2 mm. A material of the micro-bundle tube sheath 103 is LSZH, TPEE or other polyolefin materials. The micro-bundle tube sheath 103 has a density of 1.05 g/cm3-1.55 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 12 MPa-18 MPa, and an elongation at break of 120%-550%.
In some implementations of the present embodiment, the optical fiber 101 adopts an S-Z stranding.
The present embodiment provides a unidirectional stranded micro-bundle optical cable with 144 optical fiber cores, as shown in
There are 12 optical fibers in each micro-bundle tube 10, as shown in
The color of the optical fibers are blue, orange, green, brown, gray, white, red, black, yellow, purple, pink, and turquoise. The optical fibers are G.652D optical fibers. The colored optical fiber coatings have a diameter of 245 μm±15 μm. The optical fibers are in a stranded state inside the micro-bundle tube 10, and are S-Z stranded.
Each micro-bundle tube 10 includes one 200D water-blocking yarn and the water-blocking yarn has a density of 20000 m/kg.
The micro-bundle tube sheath 103 has a wall thickness of 0.15 mm, and the micro-bundle tube sheath is a TPEE material with a density of 1.1 g/cm3, a tensile strength of 15 MPa, and an elongation at break of 320%.
An outer diameter of the 12-core micro-bundle tube is 1.35±0.05 mm.
The micro-bundle tubes 10 adopt a spiral unidirectional stranding in an inner cavity of the sheath.
The colors of the micro-bundle tubes 10 are blue, orange, green, brown, gray, white, red, black, yellow, purple, pink, and turquoise.
A material of the reinforcing layer 20 is aramid and water-blocking yarn.
Two FRP reinforcing members are embedded in parallel into the outer sheath 40, and the reinforcing member is 1.6±0.1 mm in size.
A material of the outer sheath 40 is a high-density polyethylene material, and a wall thickness of the sheath is nominally 2.6 mm.
The outer diameter of the 144-core fully-dry micro-bundle optical cable as a whole is nominally 12.0 mm.
Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosure, but not to limit them; although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, persons skilled in the art should understand that: they may still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalently replace some or all of the technical features therein; while these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202310878616.8 | Jul 2023 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2023/127930, filed on Oct. 30, 2023, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310878616.8, entitled “UNIDIRECTIONAL STRANDED MICRO-BUNDLE OPTICAL CABLE AND MANUFACTURING PROCESS”, and filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on Jul. 18, 2023. The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2023/127930 | Oct 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18754210 | US |
