Stress in high-speed optical cables
While the glass fibers inside are fragile, modern fiber cables are engineered to withstand crushing forces, extreme temperatures, and even rodent attacks—making them vital for harsh environments. Mechanical reliability of silica-based optical fibers in an optical communication sys-tem is limited by the fatigue effect. Flaws in glass subjected to tensile stress in the presence of moisture grow subcritically prior to failure. VIAVI OTDRs allow technicians all over the world to characterize optical cables by measuring the optical length, the global loss and, the common events such as splices, connectors and slopes that affect cable performance and signal transmission. Strength members used in cable constructions are materials such as extruded Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCP) and aramid yarn.
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