High Strength splicing with Ericsson

High Strength splicing with Ericsson

The High Strength Concept Fusion splicing technique has developed to such a degree that low loss splices have become the rule. However, the same cannot be said of high strength splices. Traditional fiber handling leads to significant decreases in the mechanical strength of your fiber. This is where Ericsson can help. Ericsson s High Strength Concept is to take the ease of fusion splicing as you know it and wed it with fiber handling procedures which protect your fiber against strength reducing strain. The following outlines the main aspects of high strength splicing with Ericsson. The Why s and How s of High Strength Splicing High strength splicing comes into play whenever it is impossible to stress-relieve the splice by conventional practices or the consequences of a broken fiber are particularly grave. In the first case, we are talking about applications where a heatshrink protection sleeve is not an option, such as in component manufacture or in-line splicing. The latter concerns applications such as submarine cable manufacture for which large crimp sleeves are impractical, and the dangers asociated with fiber-breakage are serious and costly. The main sources of reduced tensile strength are material flaws that arise during the splicing process. Even seemingly harmless contact with bare silica fiber can cause microcracks and dislocations that weaken it. For this reason complex splicing procedures such as acid stripping have been developed. However, in spite of its impressive 25N splice strenghts, acid stripping is only an option for those with the budget and facilities to deal with the hazardous chemicals and toxic disposal required. As a cost-effective alternative, Ericsson has developed a highstrength splicing technique, offering splice strengths of 20 N, based on the Ericsson FSU 15 FA fusion splicer. At the heart of Ericsson s High Strength Concept are fiber handling procedures that eliminate contact with the bare fiber. The following pages outline the equipment and special precautions involved in this efficient and user-friendly means to high strength splices. High Strength splicing with Ericsson 1

Fiber Holders Fiber holders High strength fiber handling begins when you place the fiber into fiber holders. As the main goal is to avoid any nicks or cuts, no matter how microscopic, to either the primary coating or the fiber itself, Ericsson offers holders that are designed to exert the lowest clamping force possible on your fiber. Additionally, with the fibers in the fiber holders from the outset, it is significantly easier and certainly more feasible to be able to go through the whole sequence of preparation and splicing without having any contact with the fibers. Stripping Stripping is the most critical step in the high strength process since it is here that fiber damage is most likely to occur. To guard against this risk, and still ensure a cleanly stripped fiber, Ericsson has developed the EFS-10 stripper. What makes the EFS-10 unique are its specially designed stripping blades and automatic pulling that takes the hazard out of the stripping process. This feature makes the EFS-10 an user-friendly device offering repeatability and clean, crack-free stripped fiber. EFS-10 Stripping device 2 High Strength splicing with Ericsson

Cleaning A major component of successful high strength splicing is touching the fibers as infrequently as possible. Even cotton swabs are culprits in the case of micro-damage, so Ericsson offers the EUC 12 ultrasonic cleaner. All you have to do is to set the fiber holder in the ethanol or propanol bath and push a button. Ten seconds later you have clean, crack-free fibers. The EUC 12 even comes with a mechanical adaptor that ensures that the same length of fiber is dipped into the solvent every time. EUC 12 Ultrasonic cleaner Cleaving The next step is to move the fibers from the cleaner to the cleaver. In order that you can continue to avert any contact with the bare fibers throughout these steps, the Ericsson EFC 11 cleaver is specifically designed so that the fiber holders fit comfortably into the correct position perpendicular to the diamond blade. In addition, the EFC 11 functions by an ultrasonic action that cleaves the fiber without the compressive stress typical of conventional cleavers. EFC 11 Fiber cleaver High Strength splicing with Ericsson 3

Splicing The actual splicing is performed with the Ericsson FSU 15 FA. To give you the splicing power and convenience you need, the FSU 15 FA comes with features like Cold Core alignment and Ericsson s unique hot image estimation technique. The FSU 15 FA is the first splicer to combine those two features to achieve extremely low losses every time. The splicer comes prepared for fiber holders and can handle very short strip lengths. FSU 15 FA Splicer Recoating Finally, to permanently protect the splice, you can restore the the primary recoating with Ericsson s recoater, the EFR 4050. It offers you the ability to select diameters of 250, 400 and 900 µm, as well as the length of the recoated portion of the fiber and you get pull testing functionality, as well as, the security of the Ericsson name. EFR 4050 Recoater 4 High Strength splicing with Ericsson

Summary As conventional splicing leads to significantly reduced splice strength and acid stripping seriousdrawbacks, Ericsson has developed its High Strength Concept to meet your need for versatile high strength splicing without any cost in terms of installation time or convenience. Our idea is to combine specialized fiber handling techniques, which protect fiber from the microdamage that leads to lower strength splices, with the ease of splicing with the FSU family of Ericsson fusion splicers. Technical Data Failure (%) 90% Conventional splicing High Strength Splicing 50% 10% 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 2 4 Tensile Strength (GPa) Comparison of conventional and Ericsson High Strength splicing in terms of tensile strength FSU 15 FA Ease of use, as well as, Ericsson s hot image estimation technique Fiber Holders Available for single fiber, 160-250 µm EFS-10 Stripper EUC 12 Cleaner EFC 11 Cleaver EFR 4050 Recoater Equipped with the convenience of automatic stripping for consistent results For single and ribbon (up to 12) fiber Cleans with sonic frequency of 51-55 khz For all sorts of fiber. Cleaves with diamond blade with life of of greater than 18,000-20,000 cleaves Features pull testing, as well as, full computer control and interface 55

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