Instructions for Burying Fiber Optic Cable - Report Example

Instructions for burying Fiber Optic Cable Installation of the buried kinds of the primary and secondary cables should be done in the footway that is at a distance from the carriageway. This should be the ultimate goal unless the underground space beneath the footway is already crowded with underground services and utilities. 2. Special care must be taken in order to avoid damage to any existing cables, pipes and such other facilities that may have been previously installed underground, while excavating the land for making the trenches. 3. It is extremely important to study the drawings of the area that show patterns and routes of the underground facilities. In cases when a congestion of the underground facilities or cables is noticed or suspected in an area, pilot excavation must be carried out before the actual excavation. 4. Cable trenches are excavated along the side walk of the main street to bury the fiber optic cable. According to (96 cable, n.d.), the depth and width of excavation for making the trench for the fiber optic cable should be according to the following specifications unless otherwise directed by the regional authority: Width of the cable trench on the top …… about 40 cm Width of the cable trench on the bottom …….. about 30 cm Depth of the cable trench below the surface of soil for OAN …….. minimum 110 cm Depth of the cable trench below the surface of soil to allow for Metro and Regional Junction …… minimum 130 cm 5. The base of the trench should be made as smooth and leveled off as possible. Existence of stones with sharp corners and such other obstacles can totally damage the fiber optic cable. In order to achieve a well leveled surface at the trench’s bottom, fine sand should be used and should be compacted sufficiently. In order to gain a strong and smooth bed of sand, enough sand should be poured to pile up into a well compacted layer of 5 cm by minimum. 6. For burying the fiber optic cables, PVC pipes should be installed for protection, The inside diameter of the PVC pipes should not be lesser than 100 mm. The PVC pipes should be thick and strong enough to protect the fiber optic cable. A minimum thickness of 5.5 mm sufficiently serves the purpose. While choosing the diameter of the pipe, possibility of cable replacement or installation in the future should be taken into consideration and allowed room for. 7. The PVC pipe’s covering depth for OAN at the carriageway’s crossing should be no less than 120 cm starting from the ground surface to the pipe’s top unless otherwise directed by the regional authority. 8. The protective PVC pipe should be carefully covered and sealed on both the sides with the help of a sack cloth or some other material similar in strength to it. 9. In order to direct the buried kinds of secondary cables from the side of cross connection cabinet to the subscriber’s end, they should be put on the bed. 10. The Partner installing the protective PVC pipes should specify the maximum pull and the speed with which the buried cable can be pulled inside the trench according to the standard practices of installation. 11. Once the cables have been put in place, the trench should be backfilled using fine sand or some other medium that is equally soft. After slight backfilling of the trench, the sand layer should be tamped quite well. While tamping it, the layer should also be watered sufficiently so that the sand at the top of the cable becomes well compacted. The minimum thickness of sand at the top of the cable should be 10 cm. 12. The space above the 10 cm of sand layer should be backfilled with sand or soil that is able to pass through the 38 mm sieve. The sand should be backfilled in layers with a maximum thickness of 20 cm. Each of the several 20 cm layers that are made should be well watered prior to the placement of the next layer. Backfilling trenches that are on the paved footway or the asphalt carriageway should be done after due consultation with the regional authorities. 13. After burying the fiber cable, the trench should be brought up back to the level of original grade as decide by the regional authority. 14. At a distance of about 10 cm from the buried cable upwards, a protective plate made in concrete should be placed all along the cable trench. Specifications for that are as follows: Length of the capstone ….. about 25 cm Width of the capstone …… about 10 cm Thickness of the capstone ….. about 2.5 cm 15. As soon as the fiber cables have been put in place, splicing should be conducted. If that is not achievable, then ends of the fiber cable should be adequately sealed with proper caps. 16. Digging of the pit in order to splice the buried fiber cables should conform to the following specifications: Length of pit …… about 1.5 m Width of pit ……. about 1 m Depth of pit for OAN …….. about 1.2 m Depth of pit for the Regional and Metro Junction …….. about 1.3 m. 17. It is important for the metallic shields of the cables to be continuous electrically in the point of splicing throughout the rout of the fiber cable. 18. Adequately constructed rectangular sections in concrete should be provided at the splicing portions in order to protect them. Specifications of the rectangular sections are as follows: Length of the concrete rectangle ….. about 60 cm Width of the concrete rectangle ….. about 30 cm Thickness of the concrete rectangle ….. about 5 cm 19. Posts should be installed to mark important locations such as the point of splicing and the points of change of direction of the buried fiber cable. 20. The best way to make durable and long-life marking posts is to make them in concrete. Specifications of the marking posts are as follows: Height of the marking post ….. about 32.5 cm Top section of the marking post …… square (10 cm * 10 cm) Bottom section of the marking post …… square ( 25 cm * 25 cm) “TEL” should be written on the marking post and it should clearly show the direction of the fiber cable. 21. After completing the operation, the pile of leftover sand, excavated material and sections of PVC pipes and the cable should be taken and the site should be totally cleaned up. Precautionary measures while installing a fiber optic cable: Eye safety: The feature of human body that is exposed to maximum risks while installing a fiber optic cable is the eyes. Laser light coming from the fiber can damage the human eye. The following figure depicts how eyes can be damaged from encounter with light from a fiber optic cable: Light emerging from a fiber optic cable entering the eye (The Fiber Optic Association, 2010). In order to protect the eyes from the possible harms, they should be covered with goggles throughout the process of installation of the fiber optic cable. Material safety: Different types of adhesives and chemical cleaners are used in the splicing of fiber optics. The person handling the fiber optic cable should be well aware of the risk factors. In order to minimize the risks, the fiber optic cable should be worked with in open areas. Skin contact should be totally avoided. Gloves, masks and goggles provide adequate protection against the possible risks of chemical spills while installing a fiber optic cable (Simmons, 2010). Taking these precautions can significantly reduce the risks of the process of installation of a fiber optic cable. Important definitions: Fiber Optic Cable: A fiber optic cable is a cable that is essentially made up of “super-thin filaments of glass or other transparent materials that can carry beams of light” (Tech Terms Dictionary, 2011). Because of the light based property of the fiber optic cable, it allows the data to be sent with the light’s speed. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes: Polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipes are essentially thermoplastic polymers that are commonly used in sanitary fittings and underground installations. When hydrogens in ethenyls from the vinyl groups repeatedly get changed with a group of chloride, the result is a vinyl polymer. PVC pipes are commonly used for various purposes because of several advantages that they offer in comparison to other materials. They are quite cheap, strong, long lasting and easy to adjust, mould, modify and assemble. Test Instruments: To check the working of a fiber optic cable or to detect the technical faults in it, some of the tools that are most frequently employed are length testers, talk sets, fiber optic test kits, connector adapters, and power meters. Some of them are shown together in the figure below: Test Instruments for checking Fiber Optic Cable (LANshack.com, 2011). References: 96 cable. (n.d.). Installation Manual for Optical Cable System. Ver. 1. Retrieved from http://www.jsqbjt.com/web/pdf/Installation%20Manual%20-QB%20FO%20Cable.pdf. LANshack.com. (2011). Fiber Optic Test Instruments. Retrieved from http://www.lanshack.com/Fiber-Optic-Test-Instruments-C13.aspx. Simmons, L. (2010). Instructions for a Fiber Optic Concrete Countertop. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6130327_instructions-fiber-optic-concrete-countertop.html. Tech Terms Dictionary. (2011). Fiber-Optic Cable. Retrieved from http://www.techterms.com/definition/fiberopticcable. The Fiber Optic Association. (2010). Safety in Fiber Optic Installations. Retrieved from http://www.thefoa.org/tech/safety.htm. Read More