Primary Rodent and Lightning Protective Sheath for Lightguide Cable

A new cable sheath system has been developed for fiber optic cables having strength elements in the sheath. This new primary sheath offers rodent, lightning, and mechanical protection in a configuration much smaller and lighter than previous designs using oversheaths. The sheath contains a corrugated stainless steel/copper composite armor layer bonded to an outer polythylene jacket that contains a layer of wire strength members. The design is compact, rugged and flexible and is small as an unarmored crossply sheath and only slightly heavier. This new sheath is suitable for a variety of fiber core constructions and outside plant applications. The design effort included investigations of rodent deterrence, lightning protection, mechanical performance, and optical transmission performance. The results and product applications are discussed.