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COMPREHENSION OF FIRE RATING AND OPTICAL FIBER CABLE JACKET:

gbic-shop.de
2020-06-01 / Deutsch

Optical fiber cable construction is from the inner core, coating, and cladding, making the member strong to the outer cable jacket. Because the bare fiber can easily break, we need an optical fiber cable jacket to protect the conductors and shielding inside the cable. The cable jacket is the front line of moisture, flame, mechanical and chemical protection for an optical fiber cable.

 

MATERIAL OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE JACKET:

The construction of optical fiber cable jackets is because of several elements. It is significant to think about the type of jacket while choosing the adaptability with the implementations environment and connectors. The table below consists of the main types of material of optical fiber cable jacket utilized both inside and outside cables:

MATERIAL OF JACKET TYPES AND ADVANTAGES:

Polyethylene (PE)

PE has magnificent weather resistance, moisture, and outstanding electrical qualities above a different temperature range. It is resistant to abrasion too. Therefore, PE is the most reliable jacket material for external optical fiber cables.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC):

PVC is typically cost-effective, reasonably rugged, flexible, and resistant to flame material. Therefore, we can formulate it to work in different conditions and implementations. That is to say, and we can use it as the materials of jacket for both inner and outside cables.

Polyvinyl Di-fluoride (PVDF):

We use PVDF for plenum cables as it has superb fire-retardant qualities compared to PE and generates less smoke.

More miniature Smoke Zero Halogen (LSZH):

LSZH does not produce halogenated elements that might change into corrosive and toxic materials during combustion. However, it is a very costly material for the jacket. We use materials of LSZH to create a specific cable named LSZH cable, which is an excellent choice for internal installations.

COLOR CODE OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE JACKET:

In consonance with EIA/TIA-598, the color code of optical fiber cable describes the color codes of jackets for various types of fiber (MMF or SMF). The jacket color for SMF is usually yellow. At the same time, the color of the jacket for MMF is aqua for OM3 cable, purple for the OM4 line, and orange for OM2 and OM1 cable. The jacket color for outdoor plant cables is black.

FIRE RATING OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE:

Usually, for fire resistance, we have eight levels for both conductive and non-conductive cables, described by National Electric Code (NEC). We should identify and install all-optical fiber cables correctly for their desired usage: risers, plenums, and general-purpose zones.

 

NOTE:

  1. A plenum zone is a building space utilized for the air distribution process and airflow.
  2. A riser zone is a floor opening, duct, or shaft that moves vertically via one or different floors.
  3. A general-purpose zone is the rest of the area that is not riser or plenum and on a similar floor.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN OFNP AND OFNR:

As discussed earlier, OFNR and OFNP are two kinds of optical fiber cables that we use in buildings. OFNP cables possess less smoke production and fire-resistance qualities. OFNP is the maximum fire rating optical fiber cable, and we cannot use any different types of cables as alternatives. Therefore, we install these cables primarily in plenum areas. While on the contrary, the less smoke and self-resistance of OFNR are not good enough as OFNP cables. We can use OFNP plenum cables as substitutes for cables of OPNR. Through a study of OFNP versus OFNR, it is notable that we cannot use OFNR optical fiber cable in the plenum zone in the place of OFNP cables. But, we can use OFNP cables in the riser zone. We can use OFNR and OFNP together in the general-purpose site.

 

CONCLUSION:

In short, we generally implement riser-rated and plenum-rated cables inside the buildings. Selecting the best-rated wires can credibly decrease loss while the wires are burning. If your cabling implementation needs fire-resistant or flexible materials with rigid security standards, it would be so good if you chose plenum-rated cables.


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