What Is The Difference between Indoor/outdoor Fiber Optic Cable?

What is the difference between indoor fiber optic cable, outdoor fiber optic cable, and indoor/outdoor fiber optic cable? Can outdoor fiber optic cables be used indoors?

According to the usage scenario, there are Several categories of fiber optic cables, what is the difference between these categories of fiber optic cables?

1 Outdoor Optical Cable

The most contact in the communication project is usually outdoor fiber optic cable, such as common GYTA, GYTS cable. The model of outdoor fiber optic cable starts with GY.

In order to adapt to the needs of the outdoor environment, outdoor fiber optic cables generally have better mechanical properties, and are commonly used in moisture-proof and water-blocking structure. In order to enhance the mechanical properties of optical cables, outdoor optical cables usually use metal components, such as: metal center reinforcement, metal armor layer. Plastic-coated aluminum tape or plastic-coated steel tape sheath outside the cable core have good moisture barrier performance. The waterproofing of fiber optic cable is mainly realized by adding fillers such as oil paste or water-blocking yarn in the cable core.

Outdoor fiber optic cable sheath is generally used polyethylene. Polyethylene sheath has: excellent physical properties, corrosion resistance, long life, good toughness and other advantages, but not flame retardant. Sheath is also generally added to carbon black and other additives to enhance the sheath's UV resistance, so we see the outdoor fiber optic cable is often black.

2 Indoor Optical Cable

The majority of indoor fiber optic cables have non-metallic structures, and aramid is typically utilized for reinforcement, which also makes the cable more flexible. Indoor fiber optic cable models start with GJ.

The mechanical properties of indoor fiber optic cables are lower than those of outdoor cables, for example, the mechanical properties of indoor fiber optic cables are better for vertical cabling than those of outdoor fiber optic cables, which are weaker for pipelines and non-self-supporting aerial cables.

Indoor fiber optic cables generally do not need to consider moisture, water, UV protection, so the structure of indoor fiber optic cables is much simpler than outdoor fiber optic cables.The color of the indoor cable sheath varies significantly and typically reflects the type of cable fiber.

Relative to outdoor cables, indoor fiber optic cable segment length is shorter, the two ends of the cable often need to be terminated, so indoor fiber optic cables more in the form of jumpers, as shown in Figure 3, the middle of the jumpers is the indoor fiber optic cable. The core of an indoor cable is often made of securely jacketed fiber with a diameter of 900μm to ease termination; outdoor cables typically have a diameter of 250μm or 200μm coloration fiber.

inside fiber optic cables must have a specific level of flame retardancy due to the inside environment.The cable sheath matches the use of various flame-retardant materials, such as flame-retardant polyethylene, PVC, low-smoke halogen-free flame-retardant polyolefin, and so forth, in accordance with the various levels of flame retardant.

3 Indoor and outdoor fiber optic cable

Many people may still be the first time to hear the term "indoor and outdoor fiber optic cable". You don't need to question if a class of fiber optic cables known as indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables actually exists because the pertinent industry standards also state that they do.

Also referred to as indoor/outdoor dual-purpose fiber optic cable, indoor and outdoor general-purpose fiber optic cable is a type of fiber optic cable that is introduced from the outside to the inside and can be utilized for both indoor and outdoor applications. The model number of indoor and outdoor fiber optic cable starts with GJY, for example, the self-supporting butterfly fiber optic cable with the model number GJYXFCH is an indoor/outdoor fiber optic cable.

Both indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables must have flame retardant and electrical non-connectivity qualities in addition to the outdoor cable's wetness, water resistance, strong mechanical qualities, UV protection, and other benefits. Indoor and outdoor fiber optic cable on the basis of outdoor fiber optic cable mainly made the following improvements:

(1) The sheath is made of flame retardant material;

(2) The structure does not contain metal components or the use of easy to electrically disconnect the metal reinforcing components (such as self-supporting cable suspension);

(3) The use of dry water-blocking measures to prevent dripping of oil paste when the fiber optic cable is vertically deployed.

In addition to FTTH home cables, interior and outdoor fiber optic cables are infrequently utilized in conventional communications engineering.However, because fiber optic cables are often used to connect outdoor spaces to indoor ones, the employment of both indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables is increasingly typical in integrated cabling projects. The figure shows two commonly used indoor and outdoor fiber optic cable structures in the integrated cabling project, in which the fiber optic cable in the left figure is a loose casing structure, and the fiber optic cable in the right figure adopts a tight set of fibers.

4 outdoor fiber optic cable can be used indoors

In the conventional communications engineering, due to the vast majority of fiber optic cable deployment in the outdoors, the indoor part is often only a few dozen to dozens of meters, outdoor cables do not change the type of direct access to the indoor deployment is very common, and even some of the core room into the Bureau of the fiber optic cable, the core room on different floors of the room's communication cables are also used in the outdoor fiber optic cables, to the building's fire safety poses a great potential problem. Existing engineering specifications, involving the selection of indoor fiber optic cable, none of the specifications allow the direct use of outdoor fiber optic cable indoors.

5 Recommendations for the selection of fiber optic cables in the building

The national standard for indoor fiber optic cable flame retardant requirements are very clear, non-flame retardant outdoor fiber optic cable shall not be used indoors.Domestic and foreign fire accidents caused by improper cable selection have occurred repeatedly, the power cables and integrated cabling cables in the building are flame retardant cables, so it is recommended that:

(1) The fiber optic cable segments that need to be placed both outdoors and indoors should be used for indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables, such as the incoming fiber optic cables and the introduction of fiber optic cables to the building;

(2) Indoor fiber optic cables or indoor-outdoor fiber optic cables should be used for fiber optic cable segments that are all deployed indoors.

(3) Indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables and indoor fiber optic cables of corresponding flame retardant grade shall be adopted according to GB 51348.