What is armored fiber optic cable?

What is armored fiber optic cable?

Armored fiber optic cable, as its name, is a kind of fiber optic cable wrapped with a layer of protective "armor". Its armor is mainly used to protect the fiber optic cable from animal bites, moisture erosion or other damage.

1) Why use armored fiber optic cable?

In the past, outdoor optical cables were usually laid in solid pipes to prevent the cables from being damaged by external forces. However, this fiber optic cable laying method is very complicated and takes a lot of time and labor costs. Therefore, some people design to add a layer of metal armor to protect the core of the optical cable, which is also known as armored optical cable. Armored optical cable has the functions of strong compression and tensile resistance, which can effectively adapt to harsh outdoor environments, and the wiring is much more flexible than pipe wiring. Now, armored optical cables have been widely used in the field of optical communication.

2) Armor Type

Armored optical cables can be divided into indoor armored optical cables and outdoor armored optical cables according to the application of optical cables. In addition, armored optical cables can also be divided into interlocking armored optical cables and corrugated armored optical cables according to the type of metal armor.

1) Indoor armored optical cable:

Indoor armored optical cable includes single-layer armored and double-layered armored optical cable. Among them, the double-layer armored cable is used in the shallow sea near the shore, and the single-layer armored cable is used in other occasions outside these extreme conditions.

2) Outdoor armored cable: 

Outdoor armored cable can be divided into light armored cable and heavy armored cable. Usually heavy armored cables are used on the bottom of rivers and submarines, so the price of light armored cables is cheaper than that of heavy armored cables.

3) Interlocking Armored Optical Cable: 

The interlocking armor is a twisted optical cable with aluminum armor, which is often used in indoor and outdoor general environments, with high durability and high pressure resistance.

4) Corrugated Armored Optical Cable: 

Corrugated armor is formed by wrapping the longitudinal folds of the optical cable with steel tape. It is often used in outdoor environments. It has super mechanical properties and provides protection against rodent bites.

The outer sheath available in riser or LSZH type.

In the field of modern optical fiber communication, any optical fiber failure may cause significant loss of financial and material resources, so protecting the optical fiber is the top priority in the installation process of the optical fiber communication system. The armored optical fiber cable, which is wrapped with a layer of protective "armor" on the outside of the optical fiber, meets the requirements of people's anti-rat bite, anti-moisture, and anti-stretching.