Cable jetting is a technique to install cables in ducts. It is commonly used to install cables with

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass ( silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair Hair is a protein filament that grows ...

s in underground

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including b ...

ducts and is an alternative to ''pulling''.

Pulling

Traditionally, fibre optic cables were pulled through cable ducts in the same way as other cables, via a winch line. Every time the fibre passes a bend or undulation in the duct, the pulling

force In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a ...

is multiplied by a

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of ...

-dependent factor (which can be reduced by using

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

). This means that the higher the local pulling force is, the more friction the cable will experience while being pulled against the internal duct wall. This "capstan effect" leads to an exponential force build-up with pull distance, producing generally high pulling forces.

Jetting

Cable jetting is the process of blowing a cable through a duct while simultaneously pushing the cable into the duct.

Compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, an ...

is injected at the duct inlet and flows through the duct and along the cable at high speed. (Preferably, no

suction Suction is the colloquial term to describe the air pressure differential between areas. Removing air from a space results in a pressure differential. Suction pressure is therefore limited by external air pressure. Even a perfect vacuum cannot ...

pig is used at the cable head.) The high speed air propels the cable due to drag forces and

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

drop. The friction of the cable against the duct is reduced by the distributed airflow, and large forces that would generate high friction are avoided. Because of the expanding airflow, the air propelling forces are relatively small at the cable inlet and large at the air exhaust end of the duct. To compensate for this, an additional pushing force is applied to the cable by the jetting equipment. The pushing force, acting mainly near the cable inlet, combined with the airflow propelling forces, increases the maximum jetting distance considerably. Special lubricants have been developed for cable jetting to further reduce friction.

Advantages of jetting compared to pulling

# Longer installation distances can be reached # Installation distance less dependent on bends and undulations in duct # Forces exerted on the cable are lower # Easier use jet in tandem operation # The step of installing a winch rope is avoided # Equipment is needed only at one end of the duct route

Practice

In the 21st century the cable jetting technique is used worldwide, from small optical telecom cables (1.8 mm diameter) in small

microducts Microducts are small ducts used for the installation of fibre optic cables. They have a typical size ranging from 3 to 16 mm and are installed as bundles within larger ducts. Description Microducts are typically small-diameter, flexible, or se ...

(3 mm internal diameter

up to large copper telecom cables (35 mm diameter) in large ducts (50 mm internal diameter). Jetting is done with a pressure of the compressed air in the order of 10 Bar (unit), bar. With the jetting technique distances per blow of 3.5 km have been reache

while spliceless links of 12 km have been reached by placing jetting equipment in tandem. It is possible to install 12 km in one day with one small crew. In mid 1990s the technique was also developed to install multiple smaller

, bundles, into a larger duct in one installation. This is called ''multi-ducting'', ''microduct cabling'', or ''bundle blowing''. Each can hold a cable. Another capability is to install a single cable or a bundle of small ducts into an occupied duct. The most expensive activity in installing a network is the need for civil works. Thus, re-using ducts occupied with one cable, leaving some space, is a tempting and often possible and cost-effective alternative.

History

The technique of installing flexible and lightweight

fibre optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

units using compressed air was developed during the 1980s by

British Telecom BT Group plc (trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, b ...

. This early version of jetting did not use additional pushing. True cable jetting was invented by Willem Griffioen of KPN Research in the late 1980s. The necessary equipment was developed in cooperation with Plumettaz, Switzerland.

Sources

*Griffioen, W., "A new installation method for fibre optic cables in conduits", Proc. 37th IWCS, November 1988, page 172 *Griffioen, W., "The installation of conventional fibre optic cables in conduits using the viscous flow of air", J. Lightwave Technol., Vol. 7, no. 2 (1989) 297 *Griffioen, W., "Installation of optical cables in ducts", Plumettaz, PTT Research 1993 ({{ISBN, 90-72125-37-1) *Griffioen, W., Plumettaz, G., "Current developments in cable-in-duct blowing techniques", Proc. 46th IWCS, November 1997, page 363-367 *Griffioen, W., Plumettaz, G., "Current development in cable-in-duct blowing techniques" Proc. ANCIT Workshop ( Eurescom), Torino, 30–31 March 1998 *Griffioen, W., Greven, W., Pothof, T. "A new fiber optic life for old ducts", Proc. 51st IWCS, November 2002, page 244-250 *Griffioen, W., Zandberg, S., Versteeg, P. M., Keijzer, M., "Blow Simulation Test to Measure coefficient of Friction between (Micro)Duct and cable", Proc. 54th IWCS, November 2005, page 413-420

Notes

BT Group KPN Telecommunications equipment Fiber optics