oSIST prEN IEC 60794-1-113:2026

Optični kabli - 1-113. del: Splošne specifikacije - Osnovni preskusni postopki za optične kable - Mehanske preskusne metode - Odpornost proti šibrenici, metoda E13

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 30-Jun-2026
• ICS: 19.060 - Mechanical testing
• ICS: 33.180.10 - Fibres and cables
• Technical Committee: MOC - Mobile Communications
• Current Stage: 4020 - Public enquire (PE) (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 15-Apr-2026
• Due Date: 02-Sep-2026
• Ref Project: prEN IEC 60794-1-113:2026 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-113: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test procedures - Mechanical tests methods - Shotgun resistance, Method E13

Relations

• Splited From: SIST EN 60794-1-21:2015/A1:2020 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-21: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test procedures - Mechanical tests methods (IEC 60794-1-21:2015/A1:2020)
• Effective Date: 09-Sep-2025
• Splited From: SIST EN 60794-1-21:2015 - Optical fibre cables -- Part 1-21: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test procedures - Mechanical tests methods (IEC 60794-1-21:2015)
• Effective Date: 09-Sep-2025

Overview

oSIST prEN IEC 60794-1-113:2026 is an international standard developed under IEC and CENELEC for evaluating the shotgun resistance (Method E13) of optical fibre cables. This document establishes standardized mechanical test procedures to assess how well optical fibre cables can withstand impact by shotgun pellets, which is particularly relevant for aerial optical cables exposed to environments where such incidents may occur. The standard outlines two specific mechanical testing methods-one involving direct shotgun fire (Method E13A), and the other simulating pellet impact via a mechanical drop weight setup (Method E13B).

Key Topics

• Scope and Application:
  The standard applies to optical fibre cables used for telecommunications and similar devices, including cables with both optical fibres and electrical conductors, especially aerial cable types such as ADSS and Figure-8 constructions.

• Mechanical Testing Methods:

  • Method E13A: Realistic assessment by firing a shotgun at a suspended cable sample under controlled conditions.
  • Method E13B: Laboratory simulation of shotgun impacts using a drop weight apparatus, providing repeatable conditions for product evaluation.

• Uniform Test Procedures:

  • Installation and preparation of test samples
  • Detailed description of apparatus and apparatus configuration
  • Procedural steps for mounting, firing or dropping, and post-test inspection
  • Optical continuity monitoring and visual inspection of fibre and cable elements

• Acceptance Criteria:
  Assessment parameters focus on the integrity of cable core elements (absence of cracks/breaks and fibre damage) and the preservation of optical continuity after the test.

• Reporting and Specification:
  Guidance is provided on specifying test variables (shot size, firing distance, monitored fibres, etc.) and on the content of detailed test reports to ensure result traceability and consistency.

Applications

• Cable Selection for Harsh Environments:
  The standard is primarily intended for manufacturers and users of aerial optical fibre cables deployed in locations at risk of mechanical damage from firearms, such as along public infrastructure, railways, or power lines in rural or remote regions.

• Quality Assurance and Product Qualification:
  Adhering to this shotgun resistance test enables cable manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with mechanical durability criteria, providing confidence in product performance for utility companies, telecom providers, and infrastructure planners.

• R&D and Comparative Testing:
  The dual-test approach (E13A and E13B) supports research into advanced protective cable constructions and materials by offering reproducible mechanical impact scenarios for material and design optimization.

Related Standards

• IEC 60794-1-1: General specification for optical fibre cables, including terminology and definitions referenced throughout prEN IEC 60794-1-113.
• IEC 60794-1-2: Basic optical cable test procedures and general guidance, providing a foundation for mechanical and environmental test protocols.
• IEC 60793-1-46: Measurement methods for monitoring changes in attenuation, essential for optical continuity assessment.
• IEC 60794-3 and IEC 60794-4: Sectional specifications for outdoor optical cables and aerial cables along electrical power lines, supporting the broader context of mechanical cable testing.

Practical Value

Adopting oSIST prEN IEC 60794-1-113:2026 helps ensure international consistency and repeatability in shotgun resistance testing, improving product reliability and lifecycle performance assessments for optical fibre cables in challenging operating environments. This facilitates informed decision-making in procurement, installation, and maintenance while supporting innovation in damage-resistant cable technologies.

Keywords: optical fibre cables, shotgun resistance, mechanical test methods, IEC 60794-1-113, aerial cables, cable durability, standardization, CLC, telecommunications infrastructure, optical continuity, drop weight test, impact simulation, mechanical testing standards.

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-junij-2026
Optični kabli - 1-113. del: Splošne specifikacije - Osnovni preskusni postopki za
optične kable - Mehanske preskusne metode - Odpornost proti šibrenici, metoda
E13
Optical fibre cables - Part 1-113: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test
procedures - Mechanical tests methods - Shotgun resistance, Method E13
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: prEN IEC 60794-1-113:2026
ICS:
19.060 Mehansko preskušanje Mechanical testing
33.180.10 (Optična) vlakna in kabli Fibres and cables
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

86A/2681/CDV
COMMITTEE DRAFT FOR VOTE (CDV)
PROJECT NUMBER:
IEC 60794-1-113 ED1
DATE OF CIRCULATION: CLOSING DATE FOR VOTING:
2026-04-10 2026-07-03
SUPERSEDES DOCUMENTS:
86A/2487/CD, 86A/2677/CC
IEC SC 86A : FIBRES AND CABLES
SECRETARIAT: SECRETARY:
France Mr Laurent Gasca
OF INTEREST TO THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES: HORIZONTAL FUNCTION(S):

ASPECTS CONCERNED:
SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING NOT SUBMITTED FOR CENELEC PARALLEL VOTING
Attention IEC-CENELEC parallel voting
The attention of IEC National Committees, members of
CENELEC, is drawn to the fact that this Committee Draft
for Vote (CDV) is submitted for parallel voting.
The CENELEC members are invited to vote through the
CENELEC online voting system.
This document is still under study and subject to change. It should not be used for reference purposes.
Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of
which they are aware and to provide supporting documentation.
Recipients of this document are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant “In Some Countries”
clauses to be included should this proposal proceed. Recipients are reminded that the CDV stage is the final stage for
submitting ISC clauses. (SEE AC/22/2007 OR NEW GUIDANCE DOC).

TITLE:
Optical fibre cables - Part 1-113: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test procedures -
Mechanical tests methods – Shotgun resistance, Method E13

PROPOSED STABILITY DATE: 2029
NOTE FROM TC/SC OFFICERS:
this electronic file, to make a copy and to print out the content for the sole purpose of preparing National Committee
positions. You may not copy or "mirror" the file or printed version of the document, o r any part of it, for any other
p urpose without permission in writing from IEC.

IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
1 CONTENTS
2 FOREWORD . 2
3 1 Scope . 5
4 2 Normative references . 5
5 3 Terms and definitions . 5
6 4 General requirements . 5
7 5 Method E13: Shotgun resistance . 6
8 5.1 General . 6
9 5.2 Method E13A: Shotgun test . 6
10 5.2.1 Object . 6
11 5.2.2 Sample . 6
12 5.2.3 Apparatus . 6
13 5.2.4 Procedure . 7
14 5.2.5 Requirements . 7
15 5.2.6 Details that shall be specified . 8
16 5.2.7 Details that shall be reported . 8
17 5.3 Method E13B: Shotgun simulation . 8
18 5.3.1 Object . 8
19 5.3.2 Sample . 9
20 5.3.3 Apparatus . 9
21 5.3.4 Procedure . 11
22 5.3.5 Requirements . 12
23 5.3.6 Details that shall be specified . 12
24 5.3.7 Details that shall be reported . 12
25 Annex A (informative) Illustration of typical shotgun damages . 13
26 Annex B (informative) Calculation of the mass of the drop weight and height for
27 method E13B . 14
29 Figure 1 – Method E13A – Apparatus for shotgun damage test . 7
30 Figure 2 – Method E13B test set-up . 10
31 Figure 3 – Drop weight incorporating shot pellet support pin . 10
32 Figure 4 – Alternative drop weight and shot pellet support pin . 11
33 Figure A.1 – Examples of damages after shotgun resistance test. . 13
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
38 INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
39 ____________
41 OPTICAL FIBRES CABLES –
43 Part 1-113: Generic specification – Base optical cable test procedures –
44 Mechanical test methods – Shotgun resistance, Method E13
46 FOREWORD
47 1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
48 all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote international
49 co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To this end and
50 in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications, Technical Reports,
51 Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC Publication(s)”). Their
52 preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested in the subject dealt with
53 may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-governmental organizations liaising
54 with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely with the International Organization for
55 Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by agreement between the two organizations.
56 2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
57 consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
58 interested IEC National Committees.
59 3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
60 Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
61 Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
62 misinterpretation by any end user.
63 4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
64 transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence between
65 any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in the latter.
66 5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
67 assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
68 services carried out by independent certification bodies.
69 6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
70 7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
71 members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
72 other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
73 expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
74 Publications.
75 8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
76 indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
77 9) IEC draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a)
78 patent(s). IEC takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in
79 respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s), which
80 may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent
81 the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at https://patents.iec.ch. IEC
82 shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
83 IEC 60794-1-119 has been prepared by subcommittee 86A: Fibres and cables, of IEC technical
84 committee 86: Fibre Optics. It is an International Standard.
85 This first edition of IEC 60794-1-119 cancels and replaces the Method E13: Shotgun damage
86 from the first edition of IEC 60794-1-21 published in 2015 and Amendment 1 in 2020. This
87 edition constitutes a technical revision.
88 This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
89 edition:
90 a) Define more precisely the installation of the cable under test for Method E13A;
91 b) Add an optical monitoring to assess the optical continuity of the fibre(s) after the test for
92 both test methods E13A and E13B;
93 c) Add a visual inspection of each element of the cable after the completion of the test for both
94 test methods E13A and E13B, together with acceptance criteria;
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
95 d) Add parts 5.2.7 Details to be reported, and 5.3.7 Details to be reported for both test methods
96 E13A and E13B.
97 e) Add two annexes to exemplify the damages for shotgun resistance tests (Annex A,
98 informative), and the computation of the mass and drop height of the drop weight for Method
99 E13B (Annex B informative).
101 The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
XX/XX/FDIS XX/XX/RVD
103 Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
104 the above table.
105 The language used for the development of this International Standard is.
106 This document was drafted in accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2, and developed in
107 accordance with ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 and ISO/IEC Directives, IEC Supplement, available
108 at www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs. The main document types developed by IEC are
109 described in greater detail at www.iec.ch/publications.
110 The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
111 stability date indicated on the IEC website under webstore.iec.ch in the data related to the
112 specific document. At this date, the document will be
113 • reconfirmed,
114 • withdrawn, or
115 • revised.
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
117 INTRODUCTION
119 This document contains test methods E13 of IEC 60794-1-21:2015 and IEC 60794-1-
120 21:2015/AMD1:2020, which will be withdrawn. The system for optical fibre test methods have
121 been restructured and renumbered. The mechanical tests contained in IEC 60794-1-21 will now
122 be individually numbered in the IEC 60794-1-1xx series. Each test method is now considered
123 to be an individual document rather than part of a multi-test method compendium. Full cross-
124 reference details are given in IEC 60794-1-2.
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
128 OPTICAL FIBRES CABLES –
130 Part 1-113: Generic specification – Base optical cable test procedures –
131 Mechanical test methods – Shotgun resistance, Method E13
133 1 Scope
134 This part of IEC 60794 describes test procedures used to establish uniform requirements for
135 optical fibre cables on their mechanical properties— Shotgun resistance.
136 This document applies to optical fibre cables for use with telecommunication equipment and
137 devices employing similar techniques, and to cables having a combination of both optical fibres
138 and electrical conductors.
139 This document defines test procedures to be used in establishing uniform requirements for
140 mechanical requirement performance by describing two test procedures to determine the ability
141 of optical cables to withstand damages caused by shotgun.
142 This document generically applies to aerial optical cables that are suitably designed for shotgun
143 protection and addresses cables constructions such as all-dielectric self-supporting cables
144 (ADSS), optical attached cables (OPAC) as described in [1], or Figure-8 aerial optical cables
145 as described in [2].
146 NOTE Most cables may not be subjected to this test. Due to the wide range of possible variations in this test, this
147 test is considered as a specialty test for very specific applications. Damage to cables caused by shotguns or other
148 firearms is an occasional occurrence.
149 2 Normative references
150 The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
151 constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies.
152 For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
153 amendments) applies.
154 IEC 60794-1-1, Optical fibre cables – Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
155 IEC 60794-1-2, Optical fibre cables – Part 1-2: Generic specification - Basic optical cable test
156 procedures - General guidance
157 IEC 60793-1-46, Optical fibres – Part 1-46: Measurement methods and test procedures -
158 Monitoring of changes in attenuation
159 IEC 60793-2-50, Optical fibres - Part 2-50: Product specifications - Sectional specification for
160 class B single-mode fibres
161 3 Terms and definitions
162 For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 60794-1-1 apply.
163 ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following
164 addresses:
165 • IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
166 • ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp
167 4 General requirements
168 IEC 60794-1-2 defines general requirements and shall be used as reference guide on test
169 methods.
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
170 5 Method E13: Shotgun resistance
171 5.1 General
172 Two test methods are described:
173 a) method E13A, in which a shotgun is fired at a cable sample mounted on a frame;
174 b) method E13B, in which a suitable test apparatus is used to simulate the impact from a
175 shotgun pellet.
176 5.2 Method E13A: Shotgun test
177 5.2.1 Object
178 The purpose of this test Method E13A is to determine the ability of aerial optical cables to
179 withstand shotgun damage by firing a shotgun at a cable sample mounted on a frame from a
180 given distance.
181 The capacity of the cable to endure shotgun damage is assessed both visually and optically by
182 ensuring that the optical continuity is maintained.
183 Due to the large number of variable and parameters that are involved in this test and in the
184 case the relevant specifications do not include all parameters, it is recommended to mutually
185 agree between the end-user and the supplier upon testing conditions such as shooting
186 equipment, cartridge, shot materials, firing distance, number of impacts.
187 5.2.2 Sample
188 The optical cable shall be sufficiently long to accommodate the installation as described in 5.2.3.
189 Otherwise differently specified, the length of the suspended section of the cable shall be 10 m
190 minimum.
191 5.2.3 Apparatus
192 The apparatus set-up is shown in Figure 1 and consists of:
193 c) a supporting structure such as a frame, poles or walls for holding the cable sample using
194 anchoring accessories.
195 d) An equipment to fire gunshot, as specified in the relevant specifications or mutually agreed
196 between the customer and the cable manufacturer. This equipment comprises:
197 1) a shotgun;
198 2) a shot pellet described by its type and its size. Typically, lead, steel, or composite
199 materials are used. Lead shot deforms on impact and is less damaging than steel shot;
200 3) a cartridge type.
201 NOTE The type of gun, shot types, shot sizes and cartridge are likely to vary from country to country.
202 e) An optical test equipment needed to measure the changes in optical performance as
203 required in the relevant specifications and specified in Method A (Transmitted power) of IEC
204 60793-1-46. Monitored optical wavelength(s) may be agreed between the customer and the
205 supplier. For fibres categories defined in IEC 60793-2-50, a typical optical wavelength is
206 1550 nm.
IEC CDV 60794-1-113 © IEC 2026
211 Key
212 1 Cable sample to be tested.
213 2 Supporting structure (pylon, wall, frame…).
214 3 Anchoring element.
215 4 Splice box for looped fibre circuit.
216 Figure 1 – Method E13A – Test set-up for shotgun damage test
217 5.2.4 Procedure
218 Unless otherwise spec
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