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Next Generation High Performance ADSS Cable Designs with High Modulus
Reinforcement Materials

Conference Paper · November 2001

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 NEXT GENERATION HIGH PERFORMANCE ADSS CABLE DESIGNS WITH
HIGH MODULUS REINFORCEMENT MATERIALS
Swati Neogi, Jeff Auton, Brian G. Risch**, and Dean Rattazzi
Alcatel Fiber Optic Cable R&D, Claremont, NC

**To whom correspondence should be addressed.

ABSTRACT Table 1a: Comparison of Physical Properties of Various

New ADSS designs are presented that contain PBO fibers Cable Reinforcing Materials.
with a modulus 220% that of para-aramid. The use of Material: Young's Density Specific
higher modulus PBO materials allows substantial Modulus Modulus
improvements over traditional para-aramid reinforcement [Gpa(cc/g)]
in terms of cable MRCL, maximum fiber count, PBO Yarn 280 GPa 1.56 g/cc 180
maximum span length, and cable manufacturing lengths. Carbon Fiber 255 GPa 1.77g/cc 144
p-Aramid 95-120 GPa 1.44 g/cc 66 - 83
A study of dynamic fatigue lifetime for PBO fiber is also
E-Glass 73GPa 2.60 g/cc 28
presented that shows that high performance cable designs Steel 200 GPa 7.8 g/cc 25
containing PBO fibers can withstand over 1 000 000 GRP 50 GPa 2.40 g/cc 21
loading and unloading cycles. Although the cost of the Polyester 18 GPa 1.38 g/cc 13
PBO material is high relative to aramid, this study shows Table 1b: Comparison of Strength of Cable Reinforcing
that this new material is well suited for specialty high load Materials.
ADSS applications. Material: Strength (GPa) Elongation(%)
PBO Yarn 5.6 2%
KEYWORDS: ADSS; Aramid; Fatigue; Lifetime; PBO; Carbon Fiber 3.8 1.7%
Reinforcement; Reliability p-Aramid 3.0 2.5%
E-Glass 3.5 4.8%
GRP 1.5 3%
INTRODUCTION Steel 4.0 2%
All Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) fiber optic cable
offers a rapid and economical solution for utility and Table 2: Comparison of Electrical Resistivity of Various
telecommunication companies to deploy optical fiber Cable Reinforcing Materials.1
cables along existing electric and telephone utility pole Material: Ω-cm)
Resistivity (Ω
rights of way assets. ADSS cables offer an alternative
PBO Yarn 7E6
solution over other aerial application cables such as lashed Carbon Fiber 1.5 E –3
or Figure-8 cables. All dielectric solutions are preferred p-Aramid 7E6
and sometimes mandatory for installation in or near electric E-Glass 5E9
power lines on utility structures where cables containing Steel 10 E –6
metallic elements are not advised.
Table 3: Comparison of Coefficient of Thermal Expansion
High modulus reinforcement elements are used in aerial of Cable Reinforcing Materials.1
cable reinforcement to minimize cable diameter and Material: CTE @ R.T. (per °C)
weight for a given MRCL and fiber count. Traditionally PBO Yarn -6.0 E –6
para-armid fiber has been used due to its excellent Carbon Fiber 0.6 E –6
combination of high modulus, low density, and high p-Aramid -4.2 E –6
E-Glass 2.8 E –6
electrical resistivity. Poly(p-phenylene-2,6 benzobisoxa- GRP 6 E –6
zole) (PBO) fiber offers a superior modulus to weight Steel 6.7 E –6
ratio even when compared to para-aramid. Unlike steel
and carbon fiber, which also have a high modulus, PBO Besides properties such as modulus, tensile strength,
also has high electrical resistivity making it an interesting density, and coefficient of thermal expansion, the
candidate material for ADSS cables. resistance to fatigue under continuous and varying
A comparison of properties of cable reinforcing materials loading conditions is critical for ADSS cable
is shown in Tables 1,2, &3 . reinforcement materials. If ADSS cable reinforcement
materials do not posses adequate fatigue resistance, the
cables can fail under relatively low loads after extended references 3 and 4 that also includes data collected in the
service life. current study in black.

Aramid has been used in load bearing applications such as The variation between static fatigue lifetimes of
ADSS cables, composites, ropes, and drive belts for years, individual aramid filaments and cyclic fatigue lifetimes of
and a substantial body of research has been compiled on aramid yarns is likely due to a combination of: uneven
the long term reliability of various Aramid fibers. load distribution between individual filaments in yarns,
However, less data is available for PBO yarn. For redistribution of load between yarn filaments during
continuous load applications various approaches have testing, and abrasion damage that can occur when
been used to predict the lifetime of reinforcing fibers individual filaments rub together during cyclic fatigue
depending on the application. For static loading a two testing. Due to the fact that ADSS cables experience
parameter Weibull distribution has been used to model variability in loading due to vibration as well as changes
both strength and creep rupture of individual aramid in wind and ice loading, a cyclic fatigue evaluation has
fibers.2,3,4 The Weibull approach to modeling fiber been selected to establish fatigue lifetimes in this study.
strength is already commonly used to model optical fiber Additionally, the effects of varying static and dynamic
strength and fatigue lifetime. components of load on fatigue lifetime are evaluated
which allows an insight on how variations of cable
In ADSS cable applications loading conditions are seldom loading conditions can alter fatigue lifetime. The use of
constant due to ice and wind load variability. Variable actual yarns vs. individual filaments in the testing allows
loading components from wind and ice are superimposed a proper consideration of load distribution and abrasion
on a static component contribution from cable weight. during fatigue testing. Evaluation of lifetime based on
For cyclic fatigue alternative lifetime models have been yarn cyclic fatigue testing prevents the risk of
developed. A logarithmic relationship has been underestimating fatigue life that could be possible in static
established between median fatigue lifetime and applied fatigue testing of single filaments.
stress amplitude in cyclic fatigue testing.5 These cyclic
fatigue tests have also produced substantially lower Figure 1 illustrates that most of the experimental data
filament lifetimes at equivalent stress levels when from this study falls between the two curves obtained in
compared to static fatigue tests on single aramid earlier studies. The variation between earlier results and
filaments. For example, median Weibull fatigue lifetime those obtained in the current study can be attributed to
for single aramid filaments at 70% of break stress (σB) variation in loading conditions. The logarithmic slope for
under constant loading is 4 orders of magnitude longer the two data sets, however, did not vary substantially
than that observed for median cyclic loading lifetime at from the values obtained in earlier studies.
5hz. Figure 1 is a comparison of literature data from

Figure 1: Comparison of Fatigue Life Testing Methods for Aramid

1
Static Fatigue Data on Individual Aramid Filaments
0.9
Strain/ Max. Strain Ratio

y = -0.0165Ln(x) + 1.0215
0.8 2
R = 0.975

0.7
0.6
Cyclic Fatigue Data on Multi-filament Yarns
0.5 y = -0.026Ln(x) + 0.999
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06 1.E+08 1.E+10

Time to Failure (s)

EXPERIMENTAL maximum and minimum values through a linear sawtooth
ADSS cables were designed with Polybutylene wave pattern. The tensile loading pattern used resulted in
Terapthalate (PBT) tubes containing optical fibers stranded a sawtooth load function being superimposed on a static
around a central strength member. Superabsorbent load. This method of setting limits was repeated for
waterblocking materials were used to make the interstices various RMax load levels with Rstress being kept constant at
between the tubes watertight.6 The inner core was 50%.
surrounded by an inner sheath made of Medium Density
Polyethylene (MDPE). Between the inner sheath and outer Tensile Testing and LASE Data:
sheath strength yarns were applied. The material of the LASE (Load At Specific Elongation) data as well as
outer sheath can be either HDPE or a track resistant filled tensile test data are obtained from the same test method
thermoplastic for applications where enhanced resistance to and typically from the same test. Mechanical testing was
electrical activity is desired.6, 7,8 A diagram of the cable performed using an Instron 5567 tensile tester. For this
construction is shown in Figure 2. test a 6700-pound load cell was used with Instron's "5kN"
pneumatic cord and yarn clamp. The gauge length was set
for 635mm.
Figure 2. Schematic Representation of the Cross Section
of Typical ADSS Cable. The test was performed in tensile extension control mode
at a rate of 320mm/min. A pretension load of 1-3 lbf was
applied by hand to the sample to reduce the amount of
Ripcords slack and toe observed during the test. LASE was
calculated using the gauge length above over the range of
PBT Tube
0.1 - 1.0 % elongation in 0.1% increments such that 0.125
Central Strength Member
inches of elongation is equal to 1% LASE.
Optical Fibers
Aramid Strength Yarns
Water Blocking Material
PE Jackets RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Effect of Load Variability on Fatigue Lifetime:

In the fatigue test method a variable load was
superimposed upon a static load. Since the mechanisms
Yarn Mechanical Testing: between cyclic and static fatigue may vary the effect of
varying the dynamic and static contribution was
Cyclic Fatigue Testing: investigated. Initial testing of all yarns was performed to
Mechanical testing was performed using an Instron 5567 determine maximum tensile stress, σB. In the lifetime
tensile tester. A 400-pound load cell was used with prediction model the ratio of maximum applied stress to
Instron's "5kN" pneumatic cord and yarn clamp. break stress (RMax=σMax/σB ) is the dependent variable.
The first segment of the test was performed in tensile Additionally, the loading applied during testing consists
extension control at a rate of 50mm/min. The second of a static load contribution and a dynamic load
segment, or cyclic portion of the test, was performed in contribution that is superimposed on the static load
the load control mode with the upper limit being set for a contribution in the form of a wave pattern. In this case
percentage of the load at rupture and the lower limit set to the wave pattern was a linear sawtooth pattern. The load,
half the value of the upper limit. Since the 5567 model is therefore, varies and a minimum and maximum load and
an electro-mechanical device the distance between the stress exists within the load profile.
two limits in the cyclic segment was kept large enough so
that there was no danger of burning out the motor or In addition to the maximum stress applied during testing,
having a large load overshoot. Typical cycle time was the ratio of the minimum to maximum load also has an
about 3.4 seconds, or 17.64 cycles per minute, which effect on cycles and time to break. As illustrated in the
corresponds to a frequency of 0.29Hz. earlier review of literature, completely static loads
produce the longest time to failure. As the dynamic
Limits for the cyclic portion of the test were based on the contribution of the load increases (i.e. Rstress=σmin/σMax
ultimate tensile strength of the various materials. The increases), time to failure decreases dramatically even
ratio of maximum load (or stress) to the break load (or though average load is reduced by a factor of
stress) of the yarn can be defined by RMax=σMax/σB. For a [(Rstress+1)/2]. This factor is always less than unity in
majority of the tests, the lower load was set to a value that cyclic load fatigue tests, and in the case where Rstress =1,
corresponded to one half of the maximum stress value in we have a simple static fatigue test that can be performed
the loading pattern, and the load was varied between the according to the same experimental procedure.
Some examples of the effect of varying Rstress while poor fatigue performance for continuous load
keeping RMax at 93% are illustrated in Table 4. applications. Combined with the obvious weight
disadvantage for glass reinforced aerial cables, it is
Table 4: Effect of varying Rstress on cycles to failure in apparent why materials such as aramid or PBO are
aramid cyclic fatigue testing preferred for ADSS.
with RMax= 0.93.
Rstress Cycles to Break
0.93 2600 Table 5: Slope of Maximum Stress Ratio to Log of
0.50 516 Cycle Time Curve for Cyclic Fatigue Testing.
0.10 263 Material: Log Slope
p-Aramid -.026
Carbon Fiber -.030
Fatigue Testing: GRP -.040
Cyclic fatigue test data was obtained on a p-aramid, PBO, PBO Yarn -.045
glass yarn, GRP rod, and carbon fiber; the results are E-Glass -.066

Figure 3: Fatigue Life of Various Cable Reiforcing Materials

1 Literature Data for Aramid
Aramid Actual Data
0.9
Strain/ Max. Strain Ratio

PBO Yarn
0.8 Glass Yarn
0.7 GRP
Carbon Fiber
0.6
0.5
0.4
100 Years @ 1 hz
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06 1.E+08 1.E+10 1.E+12

Cycles to Failure
shown in Figure 3. A great deal of variability exists in the Figure 4 illustrates that, as with aramid fibers, the fatigue
fatigue lifetime of these materials. In order to properly life of PBO fibers is reduced when going from static to
interpret the data for an ADSS cable design, a relation to cyclic loading. As with the cyclic fatigue test results,
actual loading conditions is needed since both break stress static load fatigue test results are slightly poorer for PBO
and elongation to break for the materials also varies and relative to aramid yarns. As with the cyclic fatigue data, a
the RMax value is normalized according to break stress of logarithmic slope can be obtained to rank the fatigue
each material. An example of relating fatigue data to an lifetime of the materials under static loading conditions.
actual ADSS application is provided in the cable The logarithmic slopes for static load fatigue tests are
performance section of this paper. shown in table 6.

The fatigue lifetime of the materials can be ranked

according to the slope of the plot of stress ratio vs. Log of Table 6: Slope of Maximum Stress Ratio to Log of
cycles to failure. Slopes that are smaller in magnitude Cycle Time Curve for Static Fatigue Testing.
indicate better fatigue life and less deterioration of
properties with time. Table 5 is a comparison of the Material: Log Slope
slopes of the fatigue lifetime curves shown in Figure 3. p-Aramid -.0165
The fatigue lifetimes of both para-aramid and carbon fiber PBO Yarn -.0227
are superior to Zylon, but the performance of Zylon is
very close to that of GRP. GRP has been used in ADSS
cables as a central element with a long known
performance history in cable reinforcement. The types of
glass cable reinforcement yarns tested in this study show
Table 7: Comparison of Log Slopes of Static and Cyclic rating. Additionally, due to a reduction in cable weight per
Fatigue Curves for Aramid and PBO Yarns. unit length, an iterative effect on cable strength and weight
Material: Log Slope is seen due to the slightly lower cable tensile loading
Static Cyclic Difference required for the PBO cable.
p-Aramid -.0165 -.026 58%
Table 6: Comparison of PBO and p-Aramid Reinforced
PBO Yarn -.0227 -.045 98%
Cables.
120m span, NESC Medium loading.
Table 7 illustrates the relative effects of changing load Aramid PBO Improvement
conditions on fatigue life of PBO and aramid yarns. When
load conditions were changed from static to cyclic, aramid Cable OD 18.9mm 18.4mm 2.5%
Cable Weight 0.331KG/M 0.3418KG/M 3.8%
yarns showed a 58% decrease in the log slope of the fatigue Cable Modulus 15 KN/% 15 KN% -
curve whereas PBO yarn showed a 98% decrease. This 610m Span w. 51mm Ice Loading.
data indicates that PBO yarn fatigue life is slightly more Aramid PBO Improvement
sensitive to loading conditions than aramid yarns. Based Cable OD 33.8mm 24.5mm 27%
on this data, it is important to properly evaluate cable Cable Weight 0.755KG/M 0.424KG/M 43%
applications for PBO yarn and compare to fatigue data in Cable Modulus 324 KN/% 277 KN% -15%
order to ensure proper in-service reliability. Evaluation of Installation 2% 2% -
an actual service application is included in the following Sag
Installation 28 200 N 15 900 N 44%
section of this paper. Tension
Max. Loaded 210 000 N 180 000 N 14%
Cable Performance: Tension
Four 144f ADSS Cables were designed to compare Max. 0.65% 0.65% -
performance in ADSS cables of PBO and aramid. Two Elongation
cables were designed for NESC Medium loading at a span
length of approximately 120m (400ft.), and two cables Table 6 illustrates the benefit of using high modulus PBO
were designed for a cable span of 610m (2000ft.) with fibers on extremely long span ADSS cables and Figure 5
51mm of ice loading and a wind speed of 17.6 m/s. Data is shows a graphical comparison of cable cross section. A
presented for a 2% cable sag installation. significant reduction is seen on cable OD and cable
Almost no measurable benefit is seen with the replacement weight. The reduction in cable weight also leads to a
of Aramid with PBO for the lower tensile rated cables significant reduction in installation and maximum cable
although the number of yarn ends and volume of yarn was tension. Reduced cable weights and tensions are desired
reduced by approximately 50% in the cable. On the other to prevent excessive loading on suspension structures and
hand, a dramatic improvement is seen in the data for the hardware which are considerable concerns for such a long
long span ADSS cable. Due to the higher modulus of span cable design.
PBO, less PBO is needed to reach an equivalent cable load

Figure 4: Comparison of Static Load Fatigue Life for Aramid and

PBO Fibers
1
0.9
Strain/ Max. Strain Ratio

Aramid Static Load Fatigue

0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4 PBO Static Load Fatigue Data
0.3 PBO Cyclic Fatigue Data
0.2
0.1
0
1.E+00 1.E+02 1.E+04 1.E+06 1.E+08 1.E+10
Time to Failure (s)
Figure 5: Comparison of PBO and p-Aramid Reinforced composite rod (GRP), and glass yarns. Fatigue resistance
Long-span, Heavy Ice Load Cables with Identical Load of PBO yarns was inferior to that of aramid but comparable
Ratings and 2% Sag. to GRP. Due to the fact that PBO and aramid do not have
identical fatigue resistance, projected cable loading
conditions and cable design specifications should be
checked against PBO fatigue data for specific applications.
High modulus PBO yarns can withstand approximately 1
000 000 loading and unloading cycles to the maximum
rated cable elongation for the long span design presented in
this study. When measured fatigue performance of PBO
PBO Cable Aramid Cable yarns is compared to actual loading conditions for the long
OD = 24.458 mm OD = 33.834 mm span designs presented, many years of reliable service life
Weight =423.79Kg/km Weight =755.34Kg/km are predicted.

REFERENCES
With the above design, the installation tension results in 1
only about 0.06% cable elongation, or an RMax value of Steel was used as a calibration standard for the high resolution
0.03. At maximum rated load, the cable elongation would DMA used for CTE measurements. Additionally data was
be 0.65%, with an RMax value of 0.325. Static fatigue checked against vendor product literature. Also see CRC
handbook of Chemistry and Physics 57th Edition, CRC Press,
testing on PBO fiber indicates that the cable would be 1976.
able to withstand many thousands of years of static
loading at the maximum rated cable load. Additionally, 2
Wagner, H.D., Schwartz, P., Phoenix S. L., “Lifetime studies
dynamic fatigue testing indicates that the cable for single Kevlar 49 filaments in creep-rupture”, Journal of
reinforcing material could withstand approximately 1 000 Materials Science 21 (1986) 1868-78.
000 loading and unloading cycles to this load level. Since
3
the conditions that would produce the severe ice loads Schwartz, P. “Statistics for the Short Term Strength and Creep
required to achieve the maximum rated load would occur Rupture of p-Aramid Fibers” in Polymer and Fiber Science:
seasonally, many years of cable life could be expected for Recent Advences (1992) VCH Publishers, New York, 77-82.
the proposed high modulus PBO reinforced long span 4
Wagner, H.D., Phoenix, S.L., and Schwartz, P., “A study of the
cable design. Due to variability between fatigue lifetime of aramid fibers under constant stress”, Proc. Of The
performance in PBO and Aramid cables, it is Fifth [Link] Composite Materials (1985) 245-76.
recommended to do a fatigue loading analysis to
correspond to loading conditions for each new cable 5
Qiao, Y. and Farris, R.J. “Lifetime and Property Changes of
design. Different loading conditions may have variable Kevlar Fiber Yarn under Cyclic Loading”, ACS Polymeric
contributions from static and dynamic components and Materials Science and Engineering Fall Meeting Conf. Proc. 79
therefore give less favorable lifetime estimations. (1998) 84-85.
6
Neogi, S, Risch, B.G., and Soltis, M., “Materials Reliability of
Flooded and Dry-Core ADSS Cable”, Proceedings of the 48th
CONCLUSIONS International Wire and Cable Symposium, November 1999, 795-
Materials test data, cable design data, and reliability data 806.
have been provided for use of high modulus PBO fiber in
ADSS applications. Because PBO has a modulus 7
Keller, D.A, D.J. Benzel, J.P. Bonicel, C. Bastide, F.
substantially higher than Aramid, cable weights and Davidson, “Continued Investigation of ADSS Designs and
diameters can be substantially reduced for long-span ADSS Reliability Considerations with respect to Field Voltage
cables through the use of high modulus PBO fibers. For a Tracking and Cable Installation Practices”, Proceedings of the
610M (2000ft.) high ice load ADSS design, the reduction 46th International Wire and Cable Symposium, November 1997.
in cable weight was 43% and the reduction in cable 8
DeWitt, W., Neogi, S., Risch, B.G., Coat, P., Ammons, D.,
diameter was 27%. Additionally the reduction in Karady, G. and Madrid, J., “High Voltage ADSS Reliability
installation tension and maximum service tension was Modeling: Environmental and Climatological Effects on
reduced by up to 44%. The reduction in cable tension has Advanced Jacket Material Selection”, Proceedings of the 49th
the added benefit of reducing loads on suspension hardware International Wire and Cable Symposium, November 2000, 337-
and structures. 346.

Reliability testing was performed on PBO yarns and

compared to aramid, carbon fiber, glass reinforced
 AUTHORS Brian G. RISCH

Alcatel
Dean Rattazzi Fiber Optic Cable R&D
Alcatel 2512 Penny Rd.
Fiber Optic Cable R&D P.O. Box 39
2512 Penny Rd. Claremont, NC 28610
P.O. Box 39
Claremont, NC 28610

Brian G. Risch is the Materials Technology Manager at

Dean Rattazzi is a Design Engineer at the Alcatel Fiber Alcatel Fiber Optic Cable R&D Center. He holds a B.A.
Optic Cable R&D Center in Claremont, North Carolina. degree in physics from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in
He holds a BA degree in Physics, and a BS degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia
Mechanical Engineering from Binghamton University, and Polytechnic Institute and State University. His Ph.D.
an MS degree in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia research was in the area of polymer crystallization and
Tech. His area of research includes the application of finite structure-property relationships in polymers. Directly
element modeling to the design and development of fiber after he finished his Ph.D. he worked for ORD
optic cables. laboratories in the area of optical polymers developing
new polyurethane and polythiourethanes for high
performance opthalmic lens applications. Since 1996
Swati NEOGI Brian has worked for Alcatel’s Optical Fiber Cable R&D
center specializing in cable materials.
Alcatel
Fiber Optic Cable R&D
2512 Penny Rd.
P.O. Box 39
Claremont, NC 28610

Swati Neogi is a Senior Material Scientist and Project Manager

at Alcatel’s Fiber Optic Cable R&D Center. She received her
Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from Ohio University. Before
joining Alcatel in 1996, she worked in commissioning a PET
plant.

Jeff AUTON

Alcatel
Fiber Optic Cable R&D
2512 Penny Rd.
P.O. Box 39
Claremont, NC 28610

Jeff Auton received his B.S in Biology from Lenoir-

Rhyne college in 1984. He worked as a QA Chemist in
other industries prior to joining Alcatel in 1989. He has
been with Alcatel for 12 years in materials development.
Currently Jeff is working at Alcatel’s Fiber Optic Cable
R&D Center as the Materials Testing Coordinator.

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