Estimation of submarine optical-fiber cable elongation

The tensile strain on a submarine optical-fiber cable may reach a nonlinear elastic region when recovered from the sea floor. In this paper, a method is shown to characterize cable elongation up to the nonlinear plastic region by extending wire theory previously developed to evaluate cable strain in the elastic linear region. The results of applying this method to several optical-fiber cables agrees well with tensile test results of the cables when cable ends are prevented from twisting, as well as when they are free to rotate. Also, by evaluating the dependence of cable strain on cable materials, such as stranded-strength members and pressure-resistant conductor pipe, a practical submarine optical-fiber cable structure for deep-sea use is determined.