Zero Halogen, Fire Retardant Fiber Optic Shipboard Cable,

A fiber optic cable has been developed which meets a proposed shipboard cable specification. The proposed specification, PMS-400-XYZ-1, outlines the cable constructions to be two, four, and eight fiber designs. The specification also calls for a low halogen, low smoke, solvent resistant fiber optic cable that passes the IEEE-383 flame propagation test and NES 711 smoke emission standards. For traditional copper cable these performance criteria are usually achieved by crosslinking cable jacket materials. This process has been tried for fiber optic cables with limited success due to the microbend sensitivity of the fibers. A cable, using a new thermoplastic material has been designed, manufactured, and tested. The cable design also meets other requirements of the specification. These include dry water-blocking, fluid immersions, storage temperature cycling and operating temperature cycling that surpasses the specified range. Author