FISO - Damaging a fiber-optic cable by subjecting the fiber to a short bend radius

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fabiola
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The ST connector has been pulled off this CFO to show the VFL's light exiting the 3 mm cable. The optical cable is subjected to a short bend radius 2~3mm for 7~8 seconds but does not initially break. The optical fiber would have been severely damaged by the first stress (cracks formed) and so it would just be a matter of time, temperature cycling, or other stress before the fiber would break fully. In this case we stress the cable further with another tight bend and the fiber inside breaks quickly afterward.

This video is an extreme case of abuse by subjecting to a small bend radius, however subjecting an optical fiber to lower stresses exceeding the mechanical specifications for even a short period of time will also likely result in a future break. Time, temperature cycling, or a further stress will allow the introduced micro-cracks to propagate and then a bulk failure will occur eventually.

62.5um MM core fiber is far more tolerant to small bend radius than 200um core MM fiber alternatives and will result in statistically higher survive rates for fiber-optic cables which are handled roughly. Although this example is for the external fiber extension, this concept applies to the fiber used in the sensor cables as well.
Category
Cables and Connectors
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