Cicada-proof butterfly-shaped optical cable

Abstract

The invention discloses a cicada-proof butterfly-shaped optical cable, which is characterized in that the cicada-proof butterfly-shaped optical cable comprises a butterfly-shaped sheath, the center of the butterfly-shaped sheath is provided with an optical unit, and two sides of the optical unit in the butterfly-shaped sheath are respectively provided with a reinforcing member; the butterfly-shaped sheath is made of a polymer composite material doped with quartz particles; wherein the volume ratio of the quartz particles in the sheath is 40%-90%. According to the butterfly-shaped optical cable provided by the invention, the quartz particles with certain grading are doped in the sheath to form a three-dimensional structure in which the quartz particles are tightly arranged and mutually lapped, so that the puncture resistance, compression resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance and durability of the sheath are improved, and meanwhile, the easy construction performance of the sheath during tearing operation is also maintained.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of optical communication, and more specifically, relates to an anti-cicada butterfly optical cable and a manufacturing method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Fiber to the Home (FTTH) refers to an access method that uses optical fiber from the backbone network to the access network between community users to achieve voice, data and various intelligent system functions. With the rapid development of optical fiber and cable application technology, communication lines are frequently damaged by biological organisms, including cicadas.

[0003] Cicadas damage optical cables mainly because they look for a suitable surface when laying eggs, and the black outer sheath of the optical cable may be mistaken by cicadas as a withered tree trunk, so they pierce the ovipositor on the optical cable to lay eggs. The ovipositor of the cicada is very sharp and can pierce the outer sheath of the optical cable, causing damage to the internal optical fiber, thus affecting the transmission performance of the optical cable. In addition, when cicada insects move on optical cables laid in urban, suburban and rural areas with dense trees, they will directly attach to the outer surface of the optical cable, corrode the optical cable and lay eggs, causing damage to the optical cable. This behavior of cicadas not only causes physical damage to the optical cable, but may also cause further damage to the cable, because the cicada eggs may continue to corrode the cable material after hatching.

[0004] There are a large number of existing technologies that involve the problem of preventing cicadas from damaging optical cables. The solutions can be divided into three categories according to the technical route. The first is the most common method of adding a protective sheet inside the optical cable sheath to physically block the cicada's oviposition tube from puncturing the optical unit of the optical cable. This type of protective sheet often uses a high-hardness metal sheet, which is the most direct method. The defect of this method is that the addition of metal sheets will increase the weight of the optical cable accordingly, increase the difficulty of laying the overhead optical cable, and increase the material cost; in terms of manufacturing process, the mold requirements are higher, the molding process becomes more complicated, and the difficulty of process control is increased; during the tearing operation, it becomes more complicated to remove the optical unit, and the protective sheet is easy to scratch the operator's hand. The second type of solution is to use high-strength materials to increase the crystallinity of the optical cable sheath material, thereby increasing the strength of the sheath and reducing the possibility of damage by cicadas. The defect of this technical route is that increasing the crystallinity of the sheath material will increase the difficulty of process control, and when tearing the butterfly-shaped lead-in optical cable, the operator's construction becomes difficult, the sheath is difficult to tear and does not meet the butterfly cable standard, or the tearing is uneven and even damages the optical unit. The third solution is to set a special-shaped tear to guide the cicada to avoid the optical unit when piercing the optical cable. This solution is often used in combination with the first two solutions. This special-shaped tear makes the optical cable molding mold extremely complicated, reducing the yield rate of product manufacturing. In addition, the special-shaped tear reduces the overall tensile and compressive strength of the optical cable, making the optical fiber more easily damaged or causing additional loss. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a FTTH anti-cicada butterfly optical cable that is both puncture-proof and easy to tear and a manufacturing method thereof. The present invention improves the anti-puncture performance of the optical cable by using an optical cable sheath composite material and compounding quartz particles into a polyethylene matrix according to grading. In order to facilitate the removal of the optical unit during the termination and splicing of the optical cable, a tearing hole is set on the butterfly optical cable, and the tearing force meets the requirements of the operating standards.

[0006] To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an anti-cicada butterfly optical cable, comprising a butterfly sheath, an optical unit is provided at the central position of the butterfly sheath, and a reinforcing member is provided on each side of the optical unit in the butterfly sheath;

[0007] The butterfly sheath is a polymer composite material doped with quartz particles; wherein,

[0008] The volume of the quartz particles in the sheath accounts for 40% to 90%.

[0009] Preferably, in the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable, no less than 70% of the quartz particles have a particle size distribution between 0.1 and 0.5 mm.

[0010] Preferably, the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable satisfies the following gradation distribution calculated by volume: quartz particles with a particle size of 0.01-0.2 mm in the sheath account for 30%-40% of all quartz particles in the sheath, and quartz particles with a particle size of 0.2-0.5 mm in the sheath account for 60%-70% of all quartz particles in the sheath.

[0011] Preferably, the surface of the quartz particles of the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable is modified by a silane coupling agent.

[0012] Preferably, the butterfly-shaped sheath of the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable has a polymer matrix, and its Shore D hardness is between 40 and 80.

[0013] Preferably, the butterfly sheath of the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable is made of high-density polyethylene.

[0014] Preferably, the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable has tearing openings symmetrically arranged on two long sides of the outer side of the butterfly sheath and at positions corresponding to the optical units, and the tearing force for separating the butterfly sheath from the tearing opening of the optical cable is between 5N and 15N.

[0015] Preferably, the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable is further provided with a suspension wire unit on one side of the short side of the butterfly sheath, and the suspension wire unit has a suspension wire rod and a sheath layer covering the suspension wire rod, and optionally also includes a reinforcement layer connected to the suspension wire unit, which surrounds the suspension wire rod to increase the toughness and tensile strength of the entire suspension wire unit.

[0016] Preferably, in the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable, the sheath layer of the suspension wire unit is made of the same material as the butterfly sheath and is integrally formed.

[0017] Preferably, the suspension rod of the anti-cicada butterfly optical cable is a reinforcing rod made of GFRP, KFRP, carbon fiber, UHMWPE fiber, PBO fiber, silicon carbide fiber, graphite fiber, PVA fiber, or PEN fiber, or a steel wire; and / or

[0018] The reinforcing layer is a tough fiber sleeve made of glass fiber yarn, aramid, UHMWPE fiber, or carbon fiber with an elastic modulus of ≥80 GPa.

[0019] In general, the above technical solutions conceived by the present invention can achieve the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0020] The butterfly optical cable provided by the present invention forms a three-dimensional structure in which the quartz particles are closely arranged and overlapped with each other by doping quartz particles of a certain grade in the sheath, thereby increasing the puncture resistance, compression resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance and durability of the sheath, while retaining the easy construction performance of the sheath during the tearing operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an anti-cicada butterfly optical cable provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements or structures, wherein: 1 is a light unit, 2 is a butterfly sheath, 3 is a reinforcement member, 4 is a tearing hole, 5 is a suspension rod, 6 is a reinforcement layer, and 7 is a sheath layer of the suspension unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In order to make the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0024] The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable provided by the present invention comprises a butterfly sheath, a light unit is arranged at the central position of the butterfly sheath, and a reinforcing member is arranged on each side of the light unit in the butterfly sheath;

[0025] The butterfly sheath is a polymer composite material doped with quartz particles; wherein the volume of the quartz particles in the sheath accounts for 40% to 90%, and no less than 70% of the quartz particles have a particle size distribution between 0.1 and 0.5 mm, so as to provide effective anti-puncture performance. In a preferred embodiment, the quartz particles form a graded distribution, and the following graded distribution is satisfied by volume: quartz particles with a particle size of 0.01 to 0.2 mm account for 30% to 40% of all quartz particles, and quartz particles with a particle size of 0.2 to 0.5 mm account for 60% to 70%.

[0026] According to a preferred embodiment, in order to improve the interface bonding strength between the quartz particles and the polymer matrix of the butterfly sheath material, the quartz particles are modified by a silane coupling agent.

[0027] By doping quartz particles, the integrity of the butterfly sheath is improved, thereby providing good anti-puncture performance, and providing good protection for the light unit even at the tearing mouth to avoid being punctured and damaged by creatures such as cicadas.

[0028] The butterfly sheath has a polymer matrix with a Shore D hardness between 40 and 80, preferably high-density polyethylene.

[0029] Doping quartz particles can improve the puncture resistance of the butterfly sheath, but will not improve the tear resistance of the sheath. Therefore, the easy-tear performance of the butterfly optical cable can still be maintained. Generally, the two long sides of the outer side of the butterfly sheath are symmetrically arranged at the position corresponding to the optical unit. The butterfly optical cable provided by the present invention separates the butterfly sheath from the tearing hole of the optical cable with a tearing force between 5N and 15N.

[0030] As an anti-cicada butterfly optical cable, preferably, a suspension unit is also provided on one side of the short side of the butterfly sheath, and the suspension unit has a suspension rod and a sheath layer covering the suspension rod, and optionally also includes a reinforcement layer connected to the suspension unit, the reinforcement layer surrounds the suspension rod to increase the toughness and tensile strength of the entire suspension unit, and preferably the sheath layer of the suspension unit is made of the same material as the butterfly sheath and is integrally formed. The suspension rod is a reinforcement rod made of GFRP, KFRP, carbon fiber, UHMWPE fiber, PBO fiber, silicon carbide fiber, graphite fiber, PVA fiber, or PEN fiber, or a steel wire; the reinforcement layer is a tough fiber sleeve made of glass fiber yarn, aramid, UHMWPE fiber, or carbon fiber with an elastic modulus ≥ 80Gpa.

[0031] The polymer materials commonly used as cable sheaths are difficult to resist the puncture of the cicada's ovipositor. The depth of the cicada's ovipositor piercing the sheath is generally more than 0.6 mm and even reaches the optical unit. Moreover, the larvae leave holes after hatching, causing continuous damage to the optical cable. The hardness and compressive strength of quartz are much greater than polyethylene. Among polyethylene (PE) materials, the Shore D hardness of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) generally ranges from 40 to 70, while the Mohs hardness of quartz is 7. Although these two hardnesses cannot be directly converted, quartz can leave scratches on the surface of HDPE, but not vice versa, indicating that the hardness of quartz is significantly higher than that of HDPE. The compressive strength of quartz is generally between 100-250MPa, and the compressive strength of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) is between 18 and 25MPa. Adding quartz particles to the polyethylene sheath of the optical cable can greatly increase the puncture resistance and pressure resistance of the sheath.

[0032] The polymer matrix bonds the quartz particles into a composite material, which has better puncture resistance than polyethylene alone. Even when used on butterfly optical cables with limited sheath thickness, it can still provide good puncture resistance and avoid being stabbed by the cicada's ovipositor and shortening its service life.

[0033] However, quartz particles can only effectively prevent punctures when they are added in sufficient quantities to form a stacking structure. Otherwise, the quartz particles are dispersed in the sheath material matrix, the matrix is ​​cross-linked to form a network, and the puncture path avoids the quartz particles, which will still cause damage to the butterfly cable sheath. The particle size of quartz particles is also an important indicator affecting the puncture resistance performance. Finer quartz particles are difficult to resist the puncture of the cicada's ovipositor, and coarser quartz particles make the manufacturing process of the cable sheath unstable and thus destroy the surface structure of the sheath. Quartz particles with a particle size distribution between 0.1 and 0.5 mm can provide good puncture resistance while taking into account the stability of the manufacturing process.

[0034] At the same time, finer quartz particles at high doping levels will cause greater molding difficulties in the extrusion process of the optical cable sheath. If only coarser quartz sand particles are used, the sheath structure is unstable and prone to cracking. The preferred solution adopts a quartz particle grading distribution, where the quartz particles are closely arranged and overlap each other to form a three-dimensional structure, providing strong support for the sheath. The quartz particles are reasonably graded to make the filling rate between the particles as high as possible, thereby further improving the overall puncture resistance of the composite material, solving the molding problem, maintaining the stability of the sheath structure, and avoiding cracking. Even if the cicada's ovipositor can penetrate polyethylene, it is difficult to penetrate the polyethylene-quartz composite material densely packed with doped quartz particles.

[0035] When the optical cable is torn to remove the optical unit, the interface between the polymer and the quartz particles becomes a tearing channel. Therefore, although the puncture resistance and compressive strength of the composite material are increased, the tearing force can still be controlled within the standard requirements. This improvement in anti-tear performance and the consideration of operational performance are the core technical effects of the technical solution of this application.

[0036] Furthermore, the preferred scheme adjusts the bonding force between the quartz particles and the interface of the matrix polymer-quartz particles within a suitable range, and preferably the tearing force for separating the butterfly sheath from the tearing mouth of the optical cable is between 5N and 15N, so that the tear resistance of the butterfly sheath meets the standard requirements, providing good mechanical protection for the optical cable, while taking into account the easy tearing performance, making the optical cable easy to construct.

[0037] In order to adjust the bonding force between the quartz particles and the interface between the matrix polymer and the quartz particles, the quartz particles are preferably surface-modified using a silane coupling agent.

[0038] The optical unit is preferably a tight-fitting optical fiber to prevent quartz particles from scratching the optical fiber coating during production and use.

[0039] The following are examples:

[0040] The anti-cicada butterfly-shaped optical cable provided in the embodiment has an end face structure as follows Figure 1 As shown, it includes a butterfly sheath 2, wherein an optical unit 1 is provided at the central position of the butterfly sheath 2, and the optical unit 1 is a single-core tight-sleeved optical fiber. An FRP reinforcement 3 is provided on each side of the optical unit in the butterfly sheath 2, and tearing openings 4 are symmetrically provided on the two long sides of the outer side of the butterfly sheath 2 and at positions corresponding to the optical unit. A suspension unit is also provided on one side of the short side of the butterfly sheath 2, and the suspension unit has a suspension rod 5 and a sheath layer 7 covering the suspension rod. The sheath layer 7 of the suspension unit is made of the same material as the butterfly sheath 2 and is integrally formed. The suspension rod 5 is a steel wire, and the suspension rod 5 has a surrounding reinforcement layer 6, and the reinforcement layer 6 is glass fiber yarn. The sheath material parameters and puncture resistance test are shown in the following table:

[0041]

[0042] The puncture test of simulated ovipositor is referenced in "Experiment and Analysis of Cable Sheath Effect on "Cicada-Resistant" Performance"

[0043] It will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An anti-cicada butterfly optical cable, characterized in that: It comprises a butterfly-shaped sheath, wherein a light unit is arranged at the center of the butterfly-shaped sheath, and a reinforcing member is arranged on each side of the light unit in the butterfly-shaped sheath; The butterfly sheath is a polymer composite material doped with quartz particles; wherein, The volume of the quartz particles in the sheath accounts for 40% to 90%.

2. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The particle size of not less than 70% of the quartz particles is distributed between 0.1 and 0.5 mm.

3. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The following gradation distribution is satisfied by volume calculation: the quartz particles with a particle size of 0.01 to 0.2 mm in the jacket account for 30% to 40% of all the quartz particles in the jacket, and the quartz particles with a particle size of 0.2 to 0.5 mm in the jacket account for 60% to 70% of all the quartz particles in the jacket.

4. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the quartz particles is modified with a silane coupling agent.

5. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The butterfly sheath has a polymer matrix with a Shore D hardness between 40 and 80.

6. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The butterfly-shaped sheath is made of high-density polyethylene.

7. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: The two long sides of the outer side of the butterfly sheath are symmetrically provided with tearing openings at positions corresponding to the optical unit, and the tearing force for separating the butterfly sheath from the tearing openings of the optical cable is between 5N and 15N.

8. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 1, characterized in that: A suspension wire unit is also provided on one side of the short side of the butterfly-shaped sheath. The suspension wire unit has a suspension wire rod and a sheath layer covering the suspension wire rod, and optionally also includes a reinforcement layer connected to the suspension wire unit. The reinforcement layer surrounds the suspension wire rod to increase the toughness and tensile strength of the entire suspension wire unit.

9. The anti-cicada butterfly optical cable according to claim 8, characterized in that: The sheath layer of the suspension wire unit is made of the same material as the butterfly-shaped sheath and is integrally formed.

10. The outdoor butterfly optical cable according to claim 8, characterized in that: The suspension rod is a reinforcing rod made of GFRP, KFRP, carbon fiber, UHMWPE fiber, PBO fiber, silicon carbide fiber, graphite fiber, PVA fiber, or PEN fiber, or a steel wire; and / or The reinforcing layer is a tough fiber sleeve made of glass fiber yarn, aramid, UHMWPE fiber, or carbon fiber with an elastic modulus of ≥80 GPa.

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