Abstract: Temperature cycling is a key component in fiber optic cable qualification. The combination of coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE), excess fiber length (EFL), and subunit free space determine the success of the qualification (and installed use) for dry loose tube type cables. This paper explores the use of finite element analysis (FEA) simulation to screen designs for material selection and dimensions.
The specific parameter under investigation in this paper is the FEA simulation with focus on the strain on the fibers and how it relates to attenuation. The simulation was within SolidWorks and a comparison was drawn between that and empirical temperature cycle attenuation measurements. EFL was introduced into the simulation based on empirically measured samples on the bench.
About the Presenter: Henry Rice is a Fiber Applications Engineer / Principal Product Engineer at Proterial Cable America. He holds a B.Sc degree in Industrial Technology from the University of Southern Maine and a Masters of Business Administration from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. He has 17 years of fiber optic cable design, development, and manufacturing experience in addition to 14 years of communication cable installation and maintenance experience with the U.S. Air Force.
