The Impact of Fiber Compression

The impact of optical fibers compression

When winding optical fibers, compression (excessive pressure) will absolutely damage the fiber and can easily cause signal attenuation or physical breakage. Excessive local pressure can cause microbending loss in the fiber, affecting optical transmission. If the compression exceeds the fiber's allowable strength, it can even directly cause the glass fiber to break.

Specific damage caused by fiber compression:

Physical damage

The core of an optical fiber is glass or plastic. Although the external protective coating provides some protection, severe indentation, bending, or prolonged local pressure can cause cracks or even breakage.

Signal loss

Compression alters the fiber's transmission path, creating microbending. Light energy leaks through the cladding in the form of radiation modes, resulting in significant transmission loss.

Reduced network speed

If the winding is too tight or subjected to compression, the refractive index boundaries inside the fiber will be disrupted, leading to incomplete reflection of the optical signal and a decrease in data transmission rate.