The mathematical modelling of capillary drawing for holey fibre manufacture

Journal article

Microstructured optical fibres (i.e. fibres that contain holes) have assumed a high profile in recent years, and given rise to many novel optical devices. The problem of manufacturing such fibres by heating and then drawing a preform is considered for the particularly simple case of annular capillaries. A fluid-mechanics model is constructed using asymptotic analysis based on the small aspect ratio of the capillary. The leading-order equations are then examined in a number of asymptotic limits, many of which give valuable practical information about the control parameters that influence the drawing process. Finally, some comparisons with experiment are performed. For a limited set of experiments where the internal hole is pressurised, the theoretical predictions give qualitatively accurate results. For a much more detailed set of experiments carried out with a high-grade silica glass where no hole pressurisation is used, the relevant asymptotic solution to the governing equations is shown to give predictions that agree remarkably well with experiment.

Authors: Fitt, A; Furusawa, K; Monro, T; Please, C; Richardson, D

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MATHEMATICS
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 2-4
• Pages: 201-227
• Publication date: 2002-08-01
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1020328606157
• ISSN: 0022-0833
• Language: English
• Keywords: slow viscous flow; holey fibres; asymptotic analysis; extensional flow; optical-fibre manufacture