Optical fibres as an object for standardization

Electrical equipment is increasingly being introduced into production processes both in large factories and in small and medium-sized enterprises. Innovative development forces us to increase the number of applied technologies, and also expands the range of equipment used. Since the exchange of technology between countries is active, very often one whole system consists of two parts, produced in different countries. It is necessary to create a unified regulatory and legal system, which fixes the rules for the use and settings of the corresponding equipment. Today, one of these documents is international standards, which create recommendations and norms both at the local and global levels. In case you are using optical fibers, the following list of standards will be useful for the development of your enterprise.

Optical fibres - Part 1-34: Measurement methods and test procedures - Fibre curl

EN IEC 60793-1-34:2021

Measuring devices, as well as methods of their application, exist in completely different categories of human activity. It is this stage that is responsible for the formation of a scientific and technological base, as well as prescriptions for the further use of certain equipment. One such international standard is EN IEC 60793-1-34: 2021.

IEC 60793-1-34:2021 is available as IEC 60793-1-34:2021 RLV which contains the International Standard and its Redline version, showing all changes of the technical content compared to the previous edition.IEC 60793-1-34:2021 establishes uniform requirements for the mechanical characteristic: fibre curl or latent curvature in uncoated optical fibres, i.e. a specified length of the fibre has been stripped from coating. Fibre curl has been identified as an important parameter for minimizing the splice loss of optical fibres when using passive alignment fusion splicers or active alignment mass fusion splicers.

Two methods are recognized for the measurement of fibre curl, in uncoated optical fibres:

• method A: side view microscopy;

• method B: laser beam scattering.

Both methods measure the radius of curvature of an uncoated fibre by determining the amount of deflection that occurs as an unsupported fibre end is rotated about the fibre's axis. Method A uses visual or digital video methods to determine the deflection of the fibre while method B uses a line sensor to measure the maximum deflection of one laser beam relative to a reference laser beam. By measuring the deflection behaviour of the fibre as it is rotated about its axis and understanding the geometry of the measuring device, the fibre's radius of curvature can be calculated from simple circular models, the derivation of which are given in Annex C. Both methods are applicable to type B optical fibres as described in IEC 60793 (all parts). Method A is the reference test method, used to resolve disputes. This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2006. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:

• modification of several derivation equations for laser scattering;

• change of angular increment from 10° to 30° to 10° to 45°;

• change of Annex B from informative to normative.

This document has a large number of detailed technical characteristics in the annotation, which allows you to clearly understand whether it is possible to implement it into the existing system of your organization, or whether there are certain differences, which in turn requires the selection of a more suitable document in order to avoid the mistake of incorrectly changing existing processes.

Optical fibres - Part 2-40: Product specifications - Sectional specification for category A4 multimode fibres

EN IEC 60793-2-40:2021

Each product created, especially when it comes to electronics-related technologies, has a specific specification as well as recommendations prescribed for different sectors. One notable example of technology international standards in this category is EN IEC 60793-2-40: 2021.

IEC 60793-2-40:2021 is available as IEC 60793-2-40:2021 RLV which contains the International Standard and its Redline version, showing all changes of the technical content compared to the previous edition.IEC 60793-2-40:2021 is applicable to category A4 optical multimode fibres and the related subcategories A4a, A4b, A4c, A4d, A4e, A4g, A4h and A4i.

These fibres have a plastic core and plastic cladding and may have step-index, multi-step index or graded-index profiles. The fibres are used in information transmission equipment and other applications employing similar light transmitting techniques, and in fibre optic cables. Table 1 summarizes some of the salient characteristics and applications of these fibres. This fifth edition cancels and replaces the fourth edition published in 2015. This edition constitutes a technical revision.

This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:

• revision of NA range of A4a.2;

• addition of a new subcategory A4i;

• deletion of the subcategory A4f and of Annex F.

International standardization of electrical equipment, as well as its corresponding parts, is a rather complex broad category, which is why self-selection of documents can have small negative consequences. After all, it is very important to check the scientific and technological base of your enterprise, recommendations and basic parameters of international standards. That is why we strongly recommend that you seek help from specialists in order to avoid mistakes.

Optical fibre cables - Part 4-30: Aerial optical cables along electrical power lines - Family specification for optical phase conductor (OPPC) optical cables

EN IEC 60794-4-30:2021

Wireless technologies are developing every day more and more actively, but today they are mainly used in the IT field. When it comes to manufacturing processes, one of the most frequently demanded elements for electrical conduction are cables, which in turn are actively regulated by international standards such as EN IEC 60794-4-30: 2021.

This part of IEC 60794, which is a family specification, specifies the optical fibre, cable elements, cable construction requirements, main requirements for installation and operating conditions, cable design characteristics and test for OPPC (optical phase conductor), used for carrying current as well as communication and data transmission.

The corresponding environmental declaration can be built according to IEC TR 62839-1. The OPPC is a substitute for a conventional phase bare conductor containing optical fibres. Usually, the fibres are embedded loosely in protective buffer tubes. To fulfil mechanical and electrical requirements, an armouring of one or more layers with aluminium, aluminium alloy, and aluminium clad steel, galvanized steel or a mixture of them is helically stranded.

This international document belongs to a specific category and is not global. That is why, before purchasing it, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with all the technical characteristics by clicking on the link to the site.

Optical fibre cables - Part 3-70: Outdoor cables - Family specification for outdoor optical fibre cables for rapid/multiple deployment

EN IEC 60794-3-70:2021

Detailed standardization of technical details can be created not only for industrial scale, but also for everyday use in human lives. One of the striking examples is such an international standard as EN IEC 60794-3-70: 2021.

IEC 60794-3-70:2021 is available as IEC 60794-3-70:2021 RLV which contains the International Standard and its Redline version, showing all changes of the technical content compared to the previous edition.IEC 60794-3-70:2021 covers outdoor optical fibre cables intended for rugged terrestrial rapid/multiple deployment.

These cables, with enhanced mechanical, environmental and ingress performance can be used wherever a rapid or multiple deployment is relevant (e.g. mobile broadcast units, emergency rescue services, tactical ground-forces, outdoor motion-robotics, mining machinery, temporary repair cables for damaged links, etc.). This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2016. It constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:

• incorporation of the new classification system for optical fibre categories, sub-categories in IEC 60793-2-10;

• incorporation of the new classification system for optical fibre categories, sub-categories and models in IEC 60793-2-50;

• updating of cabled fibre performance categories in alignment with ISO/IEC 11801-1;

• updating of bibliographical references.

This international document is more global for the technique of use in everyday life and can be applied to certain categories of cables. Nevertheless, in the event that your activity comes into contact partially or directly with the above-mentioned equipment parts, this document will allow you to use the mentioned technologies in the most productive way.

Parameter classification - help in the selection of documents

In each of the above documents, a certain classification of parameters is carried out, according to which you can determine the possibility of its application in your enterprise or organization. If you have certain misconceptions or want to acquire several standards that will be complementary, you can always contact the team of specialists. Our team has many years of experience working with standards, as well as implementing them into existing business structures with subsequent successful final results.