Category Archives: Industry News

NASA and Astro Technology collaborate to Develop Offshore Fiber-Optic Tehnology

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It is recorded that the Houston-based Astro Technology Inc. and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has cooperated and developed a new fiber optic monitoring system this year on two oil platforms offshore West Africa.

The new system Tendon Tension Monitoring System (TTMS) utilizes a fiber optic strain gauge system and a series of sensor clamps to measure the tension on subsea risers and pipelines. It is installed in March on two platforms at the Okume complex for Hess Corporation’s subsidiary Hess-Equatorial Guinea.

According to Nasa, the system can sense any stresses along the platform’s four legs and streams the data in real time, allowing operators to make alterations required to maintain platform’s stability.

During the offshore research, the team attached 16 clamps to two separate drill platforms by commercial divers, using fiber optic cables to send real-time data streaming to a control room on each drill platform.

Astro Technology is specialized in instrumentation and monitoring technologies with a focus on real-time fiber optic sensory systems for oil and gas, has successfully used fiber optic monitoring systems at depths of up to 7,500 feet. This technology was developed as a result of a space Act Agreement, which permits NASA to partner with outside organizations to bring NASA expertise, assets or information to a wide community. Space Act Agreement, which date back to 1958, allows NASA to work with a broad spectrum of partners from all public and private sector discipline, according to NASA’s website.

Nasa chief technologist, Mason Peck, said: “What we learn from testing this technology on the oil platforms will benefit a broad range of terrestrial and space applications, and shows Nasa’s technology investments support America’s future in space and improve our lives here on Earth.”

Published by FiberStore, industry news – www.fs.com

Fluke Networks Introduced New Versiv Familiy Cable Certification

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Network test and monitoring solutions provider Fluke Network recently unveiled a new line of Versiv cable certification tester, which greatly improved the test time and accuracy as well as simplified the testing setup, planning, and reporting. This new line has an interchangeable module for copper, fibre and Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) testing with new software innovations.

The new Versiv family addresses the entire certification lifecycle and lower instances in which mistakes are made, thereby increasing the amount of installations that can be performed. The new ProjX management system provides the overall umbrella for the Versivfamily of capabilities. It enables team leaders to set up test parameters to work across multiple jobs and media, as well as accelerates the planning and setup of projects by enabling technicians to capture consistent test parameters across an entire job. Test can be also performed across the entire job or switching between jobs by checking the different projects stored within the Versiv tester.

Versiv system’s interface is designed for ease of use in global ISO Level V test compliance applications. The tester is interfaced with an intuitive touchscreen which will give the detailed project analysit. If technicians run into a problem that can’t be addressed immediately, they can create a to-do list so it can be assessed by a more experienced technician. The new Versiv Cabling Certification family lets installer perform:

  • One platform for copper certification, fibre loss and OTDR testing
  • Certifies to Level V accuracy requirements for Cat6, Cat6A or Class FA
  • Test fibres with fully-compliant Encircled Flux measurement and merged Tier 1 (Basic) and Tier 2 (Extended) results
  • Versiv’s ProjX management system makes managing complex jobs easy.
  • Certify copper to Cat6A or Class FA in just 10 seconds.
  • Certify two fibres at two wavelengths in both directions in just three seconds

“When doing cabling installation and certification, the difference between having a job be profitable versus a loss, is often times just a few percentage points,” said Jason Wilbur, vice president and general manager of the datacom cabling installation business unit at Fluke Networks, via a press release. “In 2004, we defined the certification market with the introduction of our industry leading tester, the DTX, which was focused on certification testing speed. But today’s challenges have changed and our customers must improve their agility and reduce errors when working across multiple mediums, codes, and projects. The Versiv family is razor focused on helping our contractors profitably manage the complexities that are now part of their new normal.”

This new Versiv Cabling Certification family will shortly be available at FS.COM.