Water-blocked optical cable with water swellable yarn and process for the production thereof

摘要

Optical cable 100 for communication comprising: a retaining element 2, at least two individual optical fibers 3 housed within said retaining element 2, and a water swellable yam 4 housed within said retaining element 2, and arranged together and in contact with said at least two individual optical fiber 3, wherein the water swellable yam 4 is selected according to the following equation: Vw = k + R VTF Vt in which Vw is the volume of the water swellable yam 4 after swelling upon contact with water, VTF is the total free volume in the retaining element 2, k is a constant > 180 mm3/m, R is a constant > 1.4, and Vt is the free volume per each transmission element 3.