Experimental verification of the proposed IEEE performance and testing standard for ADSS fiber optic cable for use on electric utility power lines

All Dielectric Self Supporting (ADSS) fiber-optic cable jackets aer subject to dry band arcing associated with wet, conductive pollution, quantified electrically by ohms per meter, in conjunction with the location of the ADSS in relation to conductor placement on high-voltage transmission structures. In order to determine the suitability of a particular ADSS jacket material to resist dry band arc damage in various levels of pollution as well as for incipient voltage levels, an electrical test, employing equivalency to the dry band environment, has been proposed. A set of desirable hypothetical results are briefly discussed. The tests results described herein, for common polyethylene jacketed ADSS, support the nature of the hypothetical data. It is noted that this is not 'pass-fail' but a test that stablishes performance criteria. It has been submitted to the fiber optics standards working group. Index Terms--ADSS, aging, dry-band arcing, failure, fiber-optic cable, transmission line.