JPS63279509A - Superconductive optical submarine cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an optical submarine cable small-sized and lightweight by substituting part of a center tensile wire or a stored optical fiber core with a superconductive wire. CONSTITUTION:The conductive section of a power transmission line for submarine relay is formed with a superconductive wire 9 longitudinally arranged at part of an optical fiber unit 3, particularly the superconductive wire 9 arranged longitudinally is arranged at the position concurrently serving as the center tensile wire 2 of the optical fiber unit or stranded and arranged around the center tensile wire 2 like an optical fiber core wire 1. The conductive metal layer for feeding a submarine relay is thereby not required, a cable main body can be made small-sized and lightweight, the process is simplified, and the cost can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an optical submarine cable, and particularly to the structure of a superconducting optical submarine cable in which a superconducting wire is applied as a power transmission line for a submarine repeater.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional structural diagram of an example of a conventional optical submarine cable. 1 is an optical fiber core, 2 is a central tensile line of the optical fiber unit, 3 is an optical fiber unit, 4 is a conductive metal layer, 5 is a twisted tensile line, 6 is a metal pressure layer, and 7 is a low-density polyethylene. 8 is an outer jacket made of high-density polyethylene. The conductive metal layer 4 is a conductive part used as a power transmission line for sending power to a submarine repeater.
The metal pressure-resistant layer 6 has a function of protecting the internal optical fiber unit 3 from water pressure.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventional optical submarine cables of this type have a conductive metal layer 4 as a conductive part that is used as a power transmission line to send power to submarine repeaters.
It is equipped with Since the cross-sectional area of the conductive metal layer 4 depends on the amount of power transmitted to the submarine repeater, it cannot be made smaller than a certain value, which prevents the reduction in diameter and weight that are particularly required for optical submarine cables. There is a problem that is the biggest factor.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the conventional problems, the present invention provides an optical fiber unit that includes at least a conductive part as a power transmission line for a submarine repeater, and that has a plurality of optical fiber cores twisted and arranged around the outer periphery of a central tensile strength wire. , a plurality of tensile strength wires twisted in the longitudinal direction around the outer periphery of the optical 7 eye unit, and a metal pressure-resistant layer, an insulating layer, and an outer sheath metal layer that are sequentially laminated on the outer periphery of the plurality of twisted tensile strength wires. In the submarine cable, the conductive part serving as the power transmission line for the submarine repeater is characterized by comprising a superconducting wire arranged in the longitudinal direction in a part of the optical fiber unit, and in particular, the superconducting wire arranged in the longitudinal direction is It is characterized by having a structure that includes an aspect in which the optical fiber unit is arranged at a position that also serves as the central tensile strength line of the optical fiber unit, or an aspect in which it is arranged in a twisted manner similar to the optical fiber core wire around the outer periphery of the central tensile strength line.

[Effect]

In the superconducting optical submarine cable of the present invention, a part of the optical fiber unit, for example, a central tensile strength wire or a part of the optical fiber core to be housed, is formed by using a superconducting wire having a power transmission function equivalent to or higher than that of a conventional conductive metal layer. Since it is configured to be used as a power transmission line for submarine repeaters with multiple replacements, there is no need for the conductive metal layer provided in conventional structures, and the optical submarine cable can be made smaller in diameter and lighter in weight. Examples will be described below based on the drawings.

〔Example〕

Figure 1 shows Example 1 of a superconducting optical submarine cable according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an optical fiber core wire, 9 is a superconducting wire forming the central tensile strength line of the optical fiber unit, 3 is an optical fiber unit, 5 is a twisted tensile strength wire, 6 is a metal pressure layer, 7 is an insulating layer, and 8 is an outer layer. It is covered.

The superconducting wire 9 is an example of a conductive part disposed in the longitudinal direction in a part of the optical fiber unit 3, and is used as a power transmission line for a submarine repeater that also serves as a central tensile strength line, replacing the conventional conductive metal layer. It is something that

Figure 2 shows Example 2 of the superconducting optical submarine cable according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is an optical fiber core, 10 is a superconducting core wire twisted around the outer periphery of the central tensile strength wire 2 of the optical fiber unit in the same way as the optical fiber core 1, 3 is an optical fiber unit, and 5 is a twisted tensile strength wire. , 6 is a metal voltage-resistant layer, 7 is an insulating layer, and 8 is an outer cover.

The superconducting wire 10 is another example of a conductive part disposed longitudinally in a part of the optical fiber unit 3, and is used as a power transmission line for submarine repeaters, and is a substitute for the conventional conductive metal layer. ◇ Next, we will describe the results of comparing the structures and weights of a specific example of the superconducting optical submarine cable according to the present invention and a specific example of a conventional optical submarine cable.

First, the structure of the conventional optical submarine cable shown in FIG. 3 will be explained in detail. A conductive wire made of 0.5 mm thick copper is assembled with 6 optical fiber cores with a diameter of 0.25 mm in a high-density polyethylene spacer with a diameter of 4.9 mm, using a steel wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm as the central tensile strength wire. A high-strength metal layer is applied, tensile strength wires are twisted around the outer periphery, and a metal pressure-resistant layer, an insulating layer,
It has a structure in which outer jackets are laminated in sequence, the outer diameter of the cable body is 21.5mmφ, and the air weight is 900Kf/
Km% weight in water is 535 Ky/Km.

On the other hand, the details of a prototype superconducting optical submarine cable having the structure of the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 are as follows. Six core optical fibers with a diameter of 0.25 mmφ are assembled around a high-density polyethylene spacer with a diameter of 4.0 mmφ, with a superconducting wire with a diameter of 0.6 mmφ as the central tensile strength member, and tensile strength wires are twisted around the outer periphery, and then metal Equipped with a structure in which a pressure-resistant layer, an insulating layer, and an outer jacket are laminated in sequence, the outer diameter of the cable body is 20.0 mmφ, and the weight in air is 560 kg.
/ IGn 1 weight in water is 245Ky/Km.

As can be seen from the above-mentioned specific example, the conventional optical submarine cable can be used as a power transmission line for submarine repeaters.
．． having a conductive metal layer such as copper with a thickness of 5 mm;
This thickness is determined by the amount of power supplied and cannot be made thinner arbitrarily.

On the other hand, in the optical submarine cable according to the present invention, the central tensile strength line of the optical fiber unit is made of a superconducting wire with a diameter of 0.6 mm, which is used as a power transmission line for submarine repeaters, which is not necessary in the past. The conductive metal layer used for power supply is completely unnecessary, the outer diameter of the cable body can be reduced by approximately 10% compared to conventional optical submarine cables, and the underwater weight is approximately 5.
This was a significant reduction of 4%.

It should be noted that a superconducting optical submarine cable having the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention whose cross-sectional structure is shown in FIG. The outer diameter of the cable body of the prototype prototype constructed using this configuration was approximately 10% smaller than that of conventional optical submarine cables, and the underwater weight was also significantly reduced by approximately 1/4 inch.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the superconducting optical submarine cable of the present invention, since a part of the optical fiber unit is constructed of superconducting wires arranged in the longitudinal direction, the submarine relay required in the conventional optical submarine cable can be avoided. There is no need for a conductive metal layer for power supply, the cable body can be made smaller in diameter and lighter in weight, and the manufacturing process is simplified, which is effective in reducing costs. big.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a cross-sectional diagram of a conventional optical submarine cable. 1... Optical fiber core wire 2... Inside 1 of the original fiber unit tensile strength wire 3...
- Optical fiber unit 4... conductive metal layer 5-,... twisted tensile strength wire 6... metal pressure-resistant layer 7... insulating layer 8... jacket 9... superconducting wire 10...・Superconducting core patent applicant Sumitomo Electric Industries Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Gobe Tamamushi Cable cross-sectional structure diagram Figure 3 Optical fiber IL, inside the wire optical fiber unit, tensile strength wire optical fiber unit conductive/layer metal layer ' 1 and the tensile strength wire IAWr! I pressure fake IP! fake outer cover

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An optical fiber unit including at least a conductive part as a power transmission line for a submarine repeater, and having a plurality of twisted optical fibers arranged around a central tensile strength wire, and a longitudinal length extending from the outer periphery of the optical fiber unit. In an optical submarine cable having a structure comprising a plurality of tensile strength wires twisted in a direction, and a metal pressure-resistant layer, an insulating layer, and an outer sheath sequentially laminated around the outer periphery of the plurality of twisted tensile strength wires, the submarine relay A superconducting optical submarine cable, characterized in that a conductive portion serving as a flexible power transmission line is composed of a superconducting wire arranged in a longitudinal direction in a part of the optical fiber unit. (2) The superconducting optical submarine cable according to claim 1, wherein the superconducting wire has a central tensile strength line. (3) The superconducting optical submarine cable according to claim 1, wherein the superconducting wire is arranged in a twisted manner with the optical fiber core wire around the outer periphery of the central tensile strength wire.