Fiber Optic Loose Tube Vs Tight Buffered

Fiber optic cables are constructed in two ways.

Fiber optic loose tube vs tight buffered.

The acrylate coating keeps moisture away from the cable as the gel filled sleeves do for loose tube cables. Each fiber is coated with a buffer coating usually with an outside diameter of 900m. However in tight buffered cables there are not so many cables as loose tube fibers. Loose buffer or loose tube cables mean that the fibers are placed loosely within a plastic tube whose inner diameter considerably larger than the fiber itself.

Each however is designed for very different environments. Loose tube fibers are designed for harsh environmental conditions in the outdoors. Instead of a gel layer or sleeve to protect the fiber core tight buffered cables use a two layer coating. The other is waterproof acrylate.

In loose tube cables the coated fiber floats within a rugged abrasion resistant oversized tube which is filled with optical gel. Loose tube and tight buffered. Loose tube fiber optic cable is typically used for outside plant installation in aerial duct and direct buried applications. Tight buffer fiber contains a thick coating of a plastic type material which is applied directly to the outside of each individual fiber.

Between them there are several common denominators like the fact that both have in their interior a strengthening member of sorts that can be made of stainless steel in the form of wire strands aramid yarn or gel filled sleeves. Tight buffer or tight tube cable designs are typically used for isp applications. Loose tube fiber contains multiple strands of fiber in a single jacket. Tight buffered and loose tube fiber are the two styles of constructions fiber optic cables offered.