Factors That Influence The Installation 

Performance Of Blown Cables & Fibres

Ralph Sutehall – Principal Installation & Applications Engineer.
Prysmian Group
Thursday 8th December, 17.25 – 18.25pm
Cable/Fibre Unit Designs

(4 fibre version shown)

(96 fibre version shown)

(144 fibre version shown)

Blown Fibre Mini‐cables Conventional Blown Cables

Fibre Count 1 – 12f 24 – 218f 24 – 288f
Diameter  1.0 – 1.4mm 5.7 – 8.8mm 12.8 – 15.1mm
Range
Tube/Duct Size 3.5/5.0mm 8/10mm, 10/12mm 20/25mm
12/16mm
 Duct Designs

Blown Fibre Mini‐cables ACTION

Max. Tube Count Up to 24 Up to 7 1

Max. Fibre Count Up to 288f Up to 1008f 288f

Diameter Range 11 – 34mm 12 – 45mm 25mm

Typical Blowing  800 – 1000mts 1000 – 2500mts Up to 3000mts

Distance

Typical blowing distances are governed by route difficulty
Fill Factors & Flow Rates

Blown Fibre Mini‐Cables ACTION

Fill Factor 8 – 16% 8mm Bore ‐ 52 – 66% 41 – 56%

10mm Bore – 42 – 77%
Air‐flow Rate 18 l/min 8mm Bore ‐ 160 l/min ~1500 l/min
@ 10 bar 10mm Bore ‐ 280 l/min
Typical Blowing  800 – 1000mts 1000 – 2500mts Up to 3000mts
Distance
‘Free Space’ 37mm2 250 ‐ 290mm2 1077 ‐ 1128mm2
Influences

– Cable Design

– Mini‐Duct Design

– Route Design

– Quality Of Mini‐duct Installation

– Installation Equipment  
Crash Test.

In order for the findings in this presentation to be valid we must assume
that prior to any installation commencing the installer has undertaken
a ‘Crash Test’ with the cable/fibre and duct.
This will determine the maximum level of push force that can be safely
applied to the cable/fibre by the blowing head.

This will ensure that the cable/fibre will be installed in a manner that
Will not damage it.
Route Configuration – For Theoretical Calculations

25 m

15 m

Start
110 m
180 m
Route Configurations – For Practical Evaluations

Multiple
Ducts

1m

100 m

Total route length – 1100 m

As recommended by IEC 60794-1-2 Ed 3.0 draft

 Cable/Fibre Unit Design Mini-duct Design

Route Design

Installation Of
Installation Equipment Mini-duct &
Cable/Fibre
Cable  Design
Cable Design
Factors

– Coefficient Of Friction Of Cable Sheath Material

– Diameter

– Stiffness

– Weight
Cable Diameter – Fill Factor

90
80
70
F ill facto r (% )

8.0mm Bore
60
50
10.0mm Bore
40
30
20
10
0
5 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.8 6 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7
Cable Diameter (mm)
Cable Diameter Cable – Reduction In Air Flow During 
Installation Of A 6.5mm Dia Cable
450
400
350
Air Flow (l/min)

300
250
200
150 14 bar/10mm bore

100 10 bar/10mm bore

50 14 bar/8mm bore
10 bar/8mm bore
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance (m)
Air flow Installation performance for the cable
Cable Diameter – Affect of Push Force

1600
1400
1200
Distance (m)

300N
1000 225N
800
150N
600
400
200
0
0.1 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16
Coefficient of Friction
Push force Installation performance of the cable
Cable Sheath Finish

Smooth Reflective Highly

Reflective
Smooth - Air flow
Highly Reflective - Viscous Drag of Air
Cable Diameter – Affect of Push Force 
CoF 0.1 – Pitch 20m

1600
6.5/10mm-300N
1400
1200
Distance (m)

1000 5.7/8mm-200N

800
600
400
200
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)

Cable diameter Maximum push force Blowing performance

Weight

1600
1400
33 kgs/km
1200
Distance (m)

1000
42 kgs/km
800
600
400
200
0
0.1 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16
Coefficient of Friction
Weight Blowing performance
Mini‐Duct  Design
 Factors

– Coefficient Of Friction Of Inner Bore

– Diameter

– Mini‐duct Configuration
Affect Of Coefficient Of Friction

1600
5.7mm Diameter Cable
1400
1200
Distance (m)

1000
6.5mm Diameter Cable
800
600
400
200
0
0.1 0.11 0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 0.16
Coefficient of Friction
Coefficient of friction Blowing performance
Affect Of Mini‐duct Bore Size – 6.5mm Dia Cable
Push Force Required To Keep Installation Speed At 60m/min

5
Push Force (bar)

4 8mm Bore

3
10mm Bore
2

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Distance (m)

Fill factor Installation speed Blowing performance

Mini‐duct Configuration

Cable Type

Stiffness (Nm2) 2 12 49 153

Trench Floor
The ability of the duct cable to follow undulations, horizontal or vertical, has a
significant affect on the blowing performance.
Route  Design
 Factors

–– Length
Length

–– Quality Of Design
Quality Of Design
Affect Of Route Distance – 10/8mm Mini‐duct

10 bar
12 bar
14 bar
500
450
400
Air F lo w (l/m in )

350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
200 400 600 800 1000
Route Length (m)
Route length Air flow
Quality Of Mini‐duct 
Installation
 Factors

– Undulations
Lack Of Understanding?
Affect Of Installation – 6.5mm Cable Into 8mm Bore 
Mini‐duct
1600
20 m Pitch 20 m Pitch
1400 0.16 CoF 0.1 CoF

1200
Distance (m)

1000
800
600 5 m Pitch
0.1 CoF
400
200 5 m Pitch
0.16 CoF
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)
Quality of installation of mini-duct Blowing performance .
Affect Of Installation – 6.5mm Cable Into 10mm Bore 
Mini‐duct

1600
1400 20 m Pitch 20 m Pitch
0.16 CoF 0.1 CoF
1200
Distance (m)

1000
800
600 5 m Pitch
0.1 CoF
400
5 m Pitch
200 0.16 CoF

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)
An approximate 10% improvement in blowing performance over
that of an 8mm bore mini-duct.
Installation Equipment
 Factors

– Blowing Head

– Cable Pay‐off

– Compressor

– Lubricant
Affect Of Push Force – 0.1 CoF ‐ 5.7mm & 6.5mm Cable 
Into A 10mm Bore Mini‐duct. 300N Push Force

1600
5.7/20m Pitch
1400 6.5/20m Pitch

1200
Distance (m)

1000
800
600 5.7/5m Pitch
6.5/5m Pitch
400
200
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)
Assuming that the maximum push force can be applied to each cable
then the installation performance of the reduced diameter
cable will be the best.
Affect Of Push Force – 0.1 CoF ‐ 5.7mm Cable Into A 8mm  
Bore Mini‐duct

1600 300N/20m Pitch

1400 200N/20m Pitch
1200
D istance (m )

1000
800
300N/5m Pitch
600
400 200N/5m Pitch
200
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Amplitude (m)
In order to gain the benefits from a reduction in cable diameter the maximum
push force that can be applied to the cable must remain
at a high level.
Compressor

• As has been seen from the previous graphs it is 
important to maximise the air flow through the 
route. In order to achieve this the compressor must 
be able to deliver air at typically 14 bar minimum.
• This air should be clean and dry and should be 
delivered to the blowing head/mini‐duct via an 
aftercooler.
• If using pneumatically driven blowing heads then 
consideration just be given to the level of air that is 
being consumed by the air motor.
Affect Of Aftercooler
8

7
100% RH, No A/c

6
Water Flow Rate (l/hr)

4
50% RH, No A/c

1 Aftercooler

0
-20 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Ambient Temperature (C)

Use aftercooler: Moisture Level in Compressed Air

Cable Drums

3kms Of Cable Old vs New

Must be lightweight but strong enough to protect the cable.

Material must be smooth so that the cable sheath is not damaged if it
comes into contact with the flange.
Cable Pay‐off

Spindle Roller Bearing Axle Collar

These are important as you must be able to provide an even low tension
during the installation of the cable.
Lubricant

• It has been shown that the coefficent of friction between 
the cable and the mini‐duct bore is crucial. It is therefore 
recommended that additional wet lubricant is added to 
the duct prior to installing the cable or lubricating the 
cable during the installation process. This can improve the 
installation performance of the cable by as much as 20%.
• This wet lubricant must be specifically designed for the 
installation of mini‐cables. Using lubricant designed for 
winched cables is not recommended.
• The use of wet lubricant is not recommended for use with 
blown fibre.
In‐line Lubricators

Suitable for mini-duct sizes up to 16mm.

Suitable for cable sizes up to 9mm
%age Affect Of Lubrication Method

100
Maximum Blowing Distance

90
80
70
60

Sponge Application
50
40
30
20
10
0
HDPE Mini-duct Only Low Friction Liner Low Friction Liner
Mini-duct Mini-duct plus Field
Lubrication

No Lubricator Lubricator
Summary

Route Design
Conclusions

• The installation of mini‐cables/fibres into mini‐
ducts is an interactive system.
– Primary factors:
• the quality of the installation of the mini‐duct cable.
• the coefficient of friction, between the mini‐cable and 
mini‐duct bore.
• Setting up the installation equipment correctly 
by undertaking a ‘crash test’