Curable polymeric compositions for cable filling
View Patent ↗A curable polymeric composition is herein disclosed. According to one embodiment, a curable polymeric composition comprises a thermoplastic block copolymer containing at least two polymer blocks A separated by at least one polymer block B. Each polymer block A is primarily a poly(monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon) block, and polymer block B includes hydrogenated conjugated didne. The solid curable polymeric composition further comprises a curable functional compound compatible with polymer block A. The solid curable polymeric composition optionally comprises an initiator, a plasticizer, an antioxidant; a tackifyer and an aromatic resin.
1. A fiber optic cable comprising a curable polymeric composition, the curable polymeric composition comprising:
(i) a thermoplastic block copolymer containing at least two polymer blocks A separated by at least one polymer block B, wherein each polymer block A is primarily a poly(monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon) block, and polymer block B is a hydrocarbon polymer block comprising a hydrogenated conjugated diene wherein prior to hydrogenation the block B is comprised of at least 90% by weight of the conjugated diene,
or the polymer block B is a controlled distribution copolymer block comprising conjugated diene and monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon wherein (1) terminal regions adjacent to each A block are rich in conjugated diene units and (2) one or more regions not adjacent to the A blocks are rich in monovinyl aromatic units, wherein at least 90% of the conjugated dienes are hydrogenated;
(ii) a curable functional compound compatible with polymer block A; and
(iii) optionally an initiator,
wherein the at least two polymer blocks A have a true molecular weight of 9,000 or less,
and wherein compatibility of the curable compound with polymer block A is defined as a function of a solubility parameter of the curable compound in a range of 8.72 to 12 (cal/cm 3 ) 1/2 .
2. The curable polymeric composition of claim 1 , wherein the curable functional compound is an aliphatic polyol acrylate or methacrylate.
3. The curable polymeric composition of claim 1 further comprising 50% or more by weight of a plasticizer.
4. The curable polymeric composition of claim 1 wherein the initiator is a photo-initiator.
5. The curable polymeric composition of claim 1 wherein the block copolymer has the structure A-B-A or (A-B)nX, wherein X is the residue of a coupling agent, n is greater than or equal to 2.
6. A cable comprising a filling material, said filling material comprising a polymer composition comprising:
(i) a thermoplastic block copolymer containing at least two polymer blocks A separated by at least one polymer block B, wherein each polymer block A is primarily a poly(monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon) block, and polymer block B is a hydrocarbon polymer block comprising a hydrogenated conjugated diene wherein prior to hydrogenation the block B is comprised of at least 90% by weight of the conjugated diene,
or the polymer block B is a controlled distribution copolymer block comprising conjugated diene and monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon wherein (1) terminal regions adjacent to each A block are rich in conjugated diene units and (2) one or more regions not adjacent to the A blocks are rich in monovinyl aromatic units, wherein at least 90% of the conjugated dienes are hydrogenated;
(ii) a curable functional compatible with polymer block A,
(iii) a paraffinic or naphthenic extending oil, and
(iii) optionally an initiator,
wherein the at least two polymer blocks A have a true molecular weight of 9,000 or less,
and wherein compatibility of the curable compound with polymer block A is defined as a function of a solubility parameter of the curable compound in a range of 8.72 to 12 (cal/cm 3 ) 1/22 .
7. The cable of claim 6 , wherein the cable comprises optical fibers.
8. The cable of claim 6 , wherein said polymeric composition has been cured.
9. The cable of claim 6 , wherein the curable functional compound is an aliphatic polyol acrylate or methacrylate.
10. A method of filling a fiber optic cable comprising:
pumping a filling material into a cable, said filling material comprising a polymeric composition comprising:
(i) a thermoplastic block copolymer containing at least two polymer blocks A separated by at least one polymer block B, wherein each polymer block A is primarily a poly(monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon) block, and polymer block B is a hydrocarbon polymer block comprising a hydrogenated conjugated diene wherein prior to hydrogenation the block B is comprised of at least 90% by weight of the conjugated diene,
or the polymer block B is a controlled distribution copolymer block comprising conjugated diene and monovinyl aromatic hydrocarbon wherein (1) terminal regions adjacent to each A block are rich in conjugated diene units and (2) one or more regions not adjacent to the A blocks are rich in monovinyl aromatic units, wherein at least 90% of the conjugated dienes are hydrogenated;
(ii) a curable functional compound compatible with polymer block A,
(iii) a paraffinic or naphthenic extending oil, and
(iii) optionally an initiator,
and curing said polymeric composition,
wherein the at least two polymer blocks A have a true molecular weight of 9,000 or less, and wherein compatibility of the curable compound with polymer block A is defined as a function of a solubility parameter of the curable compound in a range of 8.72 to 12 (cal/cm 3 ) 1/2 .
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the curable functional compound is an aliphatic polyol acrylate or methacrylate.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the cable comprises one or more optical fibers.
13. The curable polymeric composition of claim 6 further comprising 50% or more by weight of a plasticizer.
14. The curable polymeric composition of claim 6 wherein the initiator is a photo-initiator.
15. The curable polymeric composition of claim 1 wherein the block copolymer has the structure A-B-A or (A-B)nX, wherein X is the residue of a coupling agent, n is greater than or equal to 2.