Optical Fiber Cable Flexing Testing Machine

The sample shall be terminated at each end in a connector, or in a manner such that the fibres, sheaths and any strain members are clamped together in a representative manner. It shall be of a length sufficient to carry out the specified test.

Apparatus

The pulleys shall have a semicircular shaped groove for circular cables and a flat groove for flat cables. The restraining clamps D shall be fixed so that the pull is always applied by the weight from which the carriage is moving away. An equivalent apparatus may be used, for example that shown in IEC 60227-2.

Procedure

Unless otherwise specified, the conditions for testing shall be in accordance with standard atmospheric conditions.

The sample shall be stretched over the pulleys, each end being loaded with a weight.

The mass of these weights and the diameters of pulleys A and B shall be as specified in the detail specification.

The sample shall be flexed for the number of cycles specified in the detail specification. A cycle is defined as the movement of the carriage away from its starting position to one end of the traverse, followed by movement in the opposite direction to the other end and then back to the starting position.