BS EN 60793-1-50:2015

BSI Standards Publication

Optical fibres
Part 1-50: Measurement methods —
Damp heat (steady state) tests
BS EN 60793-1-50:2015 BRITISH STANDARD

National foreword
This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 60793-1-50:2015. It is
identical to IEC 60793-1-50:2014. It supersedes BS EN 60793-1-50:2002
which is withdrawn.
The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted by Technical Com-
mittee GEL/86, Fibre optics, to Subcommittee GEL/86/1, Optical fibres and
cables.
A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on
request to its secretary.
This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of
a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.
© The British Standards Institution 2015.
Published by BSI Standards Limited 2015

ISBN 978 0 580 82207 0

ICS 33.180.10

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from

legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the

Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 January 2015.

Amendments/corrigenda issued since publication

Date Text affected

 BS EN 60793-1-50:2015

EUROPEAN STANDARD EN 60793-1-50

NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM January 2015

ICS 33.180.10 Supersedes EN 60793-1-50:2002

English Version

Optical fibres - Part 1-50: Measurement methods - Damp heat

(steady state) tests
(IEC 60793-1-50:2014)

Fibres optiques - Partie 1-50: Méthodes de mesure - Essais Lichtwellenleiter - Teil 1-50: Messmethoden und
de chaleur humide (état continu) Prüfverfahren - Feuchte Wärme (konstant)
(IEC 60793-1-50:2014) (IEC 60793-1-50:2014)

This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2014-10-14. CENELEC members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC
Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC
Management Centre or to any CENELEC member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation
under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the
same status as the official versions.

CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization

Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels

© 2015 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.

Ref. No. EN 60793-1-50:2015 E

BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
EN 60793-1-50:2015 -2-

Foreword
The text of document 86A/1526/CDV, future edition 2 of IEC 60793-1-50, prepared by SC 86A "Fibres
and cables" of IEC/TC 86 "Fibre optics" was submitted to the IEC-CENELEC parallel vote and
approved by CENELEC as EN 60793-1-50:2015.

The following dates are fixed:

• latest date by which the document has to be (dop) 2015-07-14

implemented at national level by
publication of an identical national
standard or by endorsement
• latest date by which the national (dow) 2017-10-14
standards conflicting with the
document have to be withdrawn

This document supersedes EN 60793-1-50:2002.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC [and/or CEN] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such
patent rights.

Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 60793-1-50:2014 was approved by CENELEC as a
European Standard without any modification.
 BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
-3- EN 60793-1-50:2015

Annex ZA
(normative)
Normative references to international publications
with their corresponding European publications
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
NOTE 1 When an International Publication has been modified by common modifications, indicated by (mod), the relevant
EN/HD applies.

NOTE 2 Up-to-date information on the latest versions of the European Standards listed in this annex is available here:
www.cenelec.eu.
Publication Year Title EN/HD Year
IEC 60068-2-78 - Environmental testing -- Part 2-78: Tests - EN 60068-2-78 -
Test Cab: Damp heat, steady state
IEC 60793-1-31 - Optical fibres -- Part 1-31: Measurement EN 60793-1-31 -
methods and test procedures - Tensile
strength
IEC 60793-1-32 - Optical fibres -- Part 1-32: Measurement EN 60793-1-32 -
methods and test procedures - Coating
strippability
IEC 60793-1-33 - Optical fibres -- Part 1-33: Measurement EN 60793-1-33 -
methods and test procedures - Stress
corrosion susceptibility
IEC 60793-1-40 2001 Optical fibres -- Part 1-40: Measurement EN 60793-1-40 2003
(mod) methods and test procedures - Attenuation
+AA
IEC 60793-2-10 - Optical fibres -- Part 2-10: Product EN 60793-2-10 -
specifications - Sectional specification for
category A1 multimode fibres
IEC 60793-2-50 - Optical fibres -- Part 2-50: Product EN 60793-2-50 -
specifications - Sectional specification for
class B single-mode fibres
IEC 60793-2-60 - Optical fibres -- Part 2-60: Product EN 60793-2-60 -
specifications - Sectional specification for
category C single-mode intraconnection
fibres
 BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
–2– IEC 60793-1-50:2014  IEC 2014

CONTENTS
1 Scope .............................................................................................................................. 5
2 Normative references ...................................................................................................... 5
3 Apparatus ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.1 Chamber ................................................................................................................. 6
3.2 Humidifier ............................................................................................................... 6
3.3 Other apparatus ...................................................................................................... 6
4 Sampling and specimens ................................................................................................. 6
5 Procedure ........................................................................................................................ 6
5.1 General ................................................................................................................... 6
5.2 Optical measurements ............................................................................................ 6
5.3 Mechanical measurements ...................................................................................... 7
5.4 Preconditioning ....................................................................................................... 7
5.5 Conditioning ............................................................................................................ 7
5.6 Recovery ................................................................................................................ 7
6 Pass/fail criteria ............................................................................................................... 7
7 Results ............................................................................................................................ 7
7.1 Information to be provided with each test ................................................................ 7
7.2 Information to be available upon request ................................................................. 8
8 Specification information ................................................................................................. 8
BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
IEC 60793-1-50:2014  IEC 2014 –5–

OPTICAL FIBRES –

Part 1-50: Measurement methods and test procedures –

Damp heat (steady state) tests

1 Scope

This part of IEC 60793 provides a practical method for evaluating fibre performance in a
defined environment.

The purpose of this standard is to determine the suitability of optical fibre sub-category A1a to
A1d multimode fibres and class B and C single-mode fibres to withstand the environmental
condition of high humidity and high temperature which may occur in actual use, storage
and/or transport. The test is primarily intended to permit the observation of effects of high
humidity at constant temperature over a given period. This procedure is conducted in
accordance with IEC 60068-2-78, Test Cab.

NOTE The applicability of this test to other fibre categories is under study.

2 Normative references

The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and
are indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any
amendments) applies.

IEC 60068-2-78, Environmental testing – Part 2-78: Tests – Test Cab: Damp heat, steady
state

IEC 60793-1-31, Optical fibres – Part 1-31: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Tensile strength

IEC 60793-1-32, Optical fibres – Part 1-32: Measurement and test procedures – Coating
strippability

IEC 60793-1-33, Optical fibres – Part 1-33: Measurement methods and test procedures –
Stress corrosion susceptibility

IEC 60793-1-40:2001, Optical fibres – Part 1-40: Attenuation measurement methods

IEC 60793-2-10, Optical fibres – Part 2-10: Product specifications – Sectional specification for
category A1 multimode fibres

IEC 60793-2-50, Optical fibres – Part 2-50: Product specifications – Sectional specification for
class B single mode fibres

IEC 60793-2-60, Optical fibres – Part 2-60: Product specifications – Sectional specification for
class C single-mode intraconnection fibres
 BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
–6– IEC 60793-1-50:2014  IEC 2014

3 Apparatus

3.1 Chamber

The apparatus consists of an environmental chamber in accordance with IEC 60068-2-78,

Test Cab. The chamber shall be capable of housing the specimen and of allowing access for
measurement during conditioning. It shall also be capable of maintaining the specified
temperature and humidity within the specified tolerances. Forced air circulation may be used
to maintain homogeneous conditions. The chamber and accessories shall be constructed and
arranged in such a manner as to avoid condensation dripping on the specimen.

3.2 Humidifier

De-mineralized or de-ionized water is used to obtain the specified humidity. No rust or

corrosion contaminants shall be imposed on the specimen by the test facility. The water
added to the humidifier shall be controlled according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

3.3 Other apparatus

Additional apparatus may be necessary to perform the examinations and measurements (or
as specified in the detail specification).

4 Sampling and specimens

For optical measurements, the length of the specimen shall be at least 1 000 m for fibre sub-
categories A1a to A1d, and at least 2 000 m for fibre class B and C, to allow the required
measurement repeatability. The amount of the specimen outside of the test chamber shall be
minimized, and if it exceeds 10 % of the overall specimen length, this should be reported.

The preparation of the specimen shall have no detrimental effect on the fibre whilst under test
conditions. Unless otherwise defined in the detail specification, it is recommended that the
fibre sample be loosely coiled and dusted with a material such as talcum powder, to allow the
coils to move freely against each other. The specimen may be coiled horizontally or vertically,
with a minimum bend diameter of 150 mm to avoid any macro-bend effects.

A length of the control specimen shall be removed prior to the test to enable the completion of
required mechanical measurements for comparison to measurements made after the test.
This specimen should not be dusted.

5 Procedure

5.1 General

Conduct the procedure in accordance with IEC 60068-2-78, Test Cab, with the temperature,
humidity and exposure time as given below:

Temperature Relative humidity Exposure time

+85 °C 85 % 30 days

5.2 Optical measurements

Attenuation measurement shall be carried out at the wavelength specified in the relevant
specification using either IEC 60793-1-40:2001, Annex B (insertion loss) or IEC 60793-1-
40:2001, Annex C (backscattering) before, during (once the specimen has stabilized at the
specified temperature and relative humidity) and after the test. Attenuation changes shall be
recorded.
BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
IEC 60793-1-50:2014  IEC 2014 –7–

Other optical measurements may be required if specified in the relevant product specification

5.3 Mechanical measurements

The fibre coating strip force shall be measured before and after the test, using the method
described in IEC 60793-1-32. The control specimen (see Clause 4) is used to evaluate the
change in strippability.

The tensile strength shall be measured on the aged specimens, according to IEC 60793-1-31.

The stress corrosion susceptibility parameter, dynamic n value (n d ), shall be measured on the
aged specimens as per IEC 60793-1-33. .

5.4 Preconditioning

If specified, the specimen shall be preconditioned, as required by the detail specification.

5.5 Conditioning

Stabilize the chamber and the specimen to standard atmospheric conditions prior to the
reference measurements being taken.

Adjust the chamber temperature and humidity to the specified severity. Allow the specimen to
reach temperature stability and maintain the temperature and humidity for the duration
specified.

At the completion of the test, allow the specimen to remain in the chamber while the
temperature is reduced to standard atmospheric conditions. The rate of change of
temperature shall not exceed 1 °C/min, averaged over a maximum period of 5 min. The detail
specification may call for measurements during conditioning. If required, the detail
specification shall specify the measurements to be taken and when to take them. Do not
remove the specimen(s) from the chamber whilst these measurements are being made.

5.6 Recovery

Unless otherwise required by the relevant specification, the specimen shall remain under
standard atmospheric condition for recovery for a period greater than 12 h but not more than
48 h. The detail specification may call for measurements during recovery. If required, the
detail specification shall specify the measurements to be taken and when to take them.

6 Pass/fail criteria

The applicable specification limits can be found in the relevant sectional specification of
IEC 60793-2-10 for A1 fibres, IEC 60793-2-50 for B fibres and IEC 60793-2-60 for C fibres.

7 Results

7.1 Information to be provided with each test

– date and title of test
– identification of specimen
– length of specimen
– nominal wavelength(s) at which the test was performed
– attenuation change
– coating strip force
 BS EN 60793-1-50:2015
–8– IEC 60793-1-50:2014  IEC 2014

th
– tensile strength results (median value and 15 percentile)
– dynamic n value (n d )

7.2 Information to be available upon request

Description of all key equipment.

8 Specification information

The detail specification shall specify the following information:

– pass/fail criteria;
– information to be reported;
– any deviations to the procedure that apply.

_____________
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