An Article Submitted to

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF
CHEMICAL REACTOR ENGINEERING
Asymptotic analysis of ow processes at
drawing of single optical microbres
Giovanni Luzi

Philipp Epple

Michael Scharrer

Ken Fujimoto

Cornelia Rauh

Antonio Delgado

LSTM (Lehrstuhl f ur Str omungsmechanik), Giovanni.Luzi@lstm.uni-erlangen.de

LSTM (Lehrstuhl f ur Str omungsmechanik), Philipp.Epple@lstm.uni-erlangen.de

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and Institute of Optics, University of Erlan-
gen/Nuremberg, Michael.Scharrer@mpl.mpg.de

LSTM (Lehrstuhl f ur Str omungsmechanik), Ken.Fujimoto@lstm.uni-erlangen.de

LSTM (Lehrstuhl f ur Str omungsmechanik), Cornelia.Rauh@lstm.uni-erlangen.de

LSTM (Lehrstuhl f ur Str omungsmechanik), antonio.delgado@lstm.uni-erlangen.de

ISSN 1542-6580
Copyright c 2011 The Berkeley Electronic Press. All rights reserved.
Asymptotic analysis of ow processes at drawing
of single optical microbres
Giovanni Luzi Mr, Philipp Epple Dr, Michael Scharrer Dr, Ken Fujimoto Mr,
Cornelia Rauh Dr, and Antonio Delgado Prof
Abstract
Microstructured optical bres (i.e. bres that contain holes) have assumed a
high prole in recent years, and given rise to many novel optical devices. The
problem of manufacturing such bres by heating and then drawing a preform is
considered for both the cases of annular microbres and annular capillaries. A
uid-mechanics model suggested in literature that uses asymptotic analysis based
on the small aspect ratio of capillaries, is analysed and revised. The leading-order
equations are examined in some asymptotic limits, many of which give valuable
practical information about the control parameters that inuence the drawing pro-
cess. Additionally, the solution obtained for a single capillary provides a suitable
basis for describing more complicated bre structures.
KEYWORDS: Asymptotic analysis, Holey bres, Microstructured optical bres
(MOFs), Photonic crystal bres, Numerical methods


Asymptotic analysis of flow processes at
drawing of single optical microfibres

Giovanni Luzi, Philipp Epple, Michael Scharrer, Ken Fujimoto, Cornelia Rauh,
Antonio Delgado

Abstract

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 both the cases of annular microfibres and annular capillaries. A fluid-
mechanics model suggested in literature that uses asymptotic analysis based on
the small aspect ratio of capillaries, is analysed and revised. The leading-order
equations are examined in some asymptotic limits, many of which give valuable
practical information about the control parameters that influence the drawing
process. Additionally, the solution obtained for a single capillary provides a
suitable basis for describing more complicated fibre structures.

Keywords: Asymptotic analysis, Holey fibres, Microstructured optical fibres
(MOFs), Photonic crystal fibres, Numerical methods

Introduction

THE recent years have seen the emergence of an important new class of optical
fibres, the so called photonic crystal fibres (PCF) or microstructured optical fibres
which contain an array of air holes which run along the fibre length. These fibres
can guide light due to the effective refractive index difference between the solid
core and the microstructured cladding, which is laced with air holes, or by
formation of a photonic band gap in the cladding. Often they are made from a
single material like pure silica, but also doped materials which contain impurities
can be used to manufacture fibres. When the scale of the structure is small, this is
seen to lead to highly unusual optical properties. For instance, PCF can be
endlessly single mode, regardless of the wavelength. The mode area can be
controlled and modified by the presence of air holes, a fact that leads to a new
range of potential applications. Small mode areas lead to highly non linear fibres
for novel devices while large mode area fibres are used for high-power delivery.
1 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


Different cladding systems may allow dispersion compensation or dispersion
flattening for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). PCF are usually
manufactured by heating a macroscopic structured preform of typically few
centimetres in diameter, and drawing it down to the required dimensions,
typically few hundreds m, in a conventional fibre-drawing tower.
A typical preform, i.e. the starting glass tube from which a fibre is drawn, can
contain more than 100 capillaries inside, which run over the whole length of the
final fibre. The geometry of the latter can be modified by controlling the
parameters used in the drawing process, i.e., the temperature of the furnace, the
speed at which the preform is fed and the draw speed. For instance, when high
temperatures and/or low feed speeds are used the size of the air holes is reduced
and they may also shrink completely because of the surface tension effects. The
competition between viscosity and surface tension effects normally alter the size
and the shape of the holes during the drawing process. Sometimes hole collapse is
desirable to get the final required shape or even the complete hole collapse may
be sometimes reached. Application of internal overpressure can prevent this
collapse or even lead to hole expansion. It is also known that the fabrication of
structured preforms is one of the most labor intensive parts of the manufacturing
process, so it may be desirable to produce a number of different profiles from a
single preform, simply by altering the conditions under which the fibre is drawn.
Theoretical models which can predict effects such hole closure and hole changes,
are urgently required to understand the influence of the parameters in the final
fibre cross section.
The present contribution focuses on the simple case of drawing of single
capillaries or hollow fibres.
In the literature one can find different fibre-drawing models obtained by
perturbation techniques of steady unidirectional extensional flows [1-7]. In this
study the model proposed by [8] has been re-examined, focussing on the physical
insight the simplified equations of motion provide, according to different cases.
This work concerns the interplay of internal applied pressure and surface tension
effects either when they both are considered in the equations or when they
separately appear in them. The thermal effects concerning the heat transfer during
the drawing process, which have been analysed in [9-13], are not yet analysed in
this study. Instead, the main aim of this work is to provide an analytical
description of the fluid flow during the process of the hollow fibre drawing,
highlighting the role of surface tension and internal hole pressure during the
process. Since the optical properties of a microstructured fibre critically depend
upon the size and location of the holes in the cladding, it is important to predict
how the fabrication parameters influence the final fibre cross section. In the
model proposed here only the long thin geometry of the draw region is exploited,
an assumption which is in accordance with many practical circumstances. The
2


theoretical framework developed here represents an adequate basic model for
more complex structures which will be analyzed using finite element methods in
future works.

Problem formulation


Figure 1: Typical experimental setup for fibre drawing
The present contribution aims at studying the motion of fibres during the
manufacturing process. Figure 1 schematically represents the problem studied for
hollow microfibres. The drawing process leads to lengthening and, at the same
time, to local contraction of the fibre. Thus, the radius h at the local distance x of
the fibre depends on the time t and on the drawing rate.
Here we consider as an example a common practical case in which the preform
has an outer radius h
20
of 10 mm and an inner radius h
10
of 4 mm.
The material most commonly used is glass silica of various grades. Some
common properties of the glass can be found in [8]; the surface tension is 0.3
[N/m], the density is 2800 [kg/m
3
], and the dynamic viscosity of the molten glass
is 3.7*10
4
[Kg/(m*sec)]. There is no doubt that the temperature has the most
significant impact on the material parameters. On the other hand, since the
characteristic thermal time of the molten glass lies substantially above than that of
the momentum transport, it is a reasonable approximation to solve first the
momentum equations independently from the energy balance, and the correcting
them afterwards.
The problem can be treated adequately by starting from the continuum equations
of motion of fluid mechanics for steady, homogeneous, incompressible,
newtonian fluids. The corresponding continuity and Navier Stokes equations in
cylindrical coordinates [8] read

3 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011



( )
1
0
x
r
u rw
r
+ =

(1)
( ) ( ) ( ) g rw
r
u ru
r
p wu uu u
x x x r r x r x t
+ + + + = + +
1
) 2 (
1

(2)
( ) ( ) ( )
r r r x x x
r
r r r x t
w u w rw
r
p ww uw w 2
1
+ + + |

\
|
+ = + +

(3)
Herein, the derivatives are denoted by subscripts, and r represents the radial
coordinate, see also Fig. 1. The flow under consideration is assumed to be axis-
symmetric, therefore independent on the azimuthal angle . Furthermore, no
velocity in the latter direction occurs. Thus, the velocity q of the molten glass
is
r x
we ue q + = , where
x
e and
r
e are unit vectors in the x and r direction,
respectively. The other symbols , , , , p g denote the pressure, gravity, density,
dynamic viscosity and surface tension, respectively.
The exact dependence of the other material properties, such as density and surface
tension, on the temperature is not known, especially in the high temperature range
of interest. In practice, however, only the viscosity of the glass varies by several
orders of magnitude over a relative modest temperature range, while the other
parameters are only a weak function of the temperature, for more details see [13].
The molten glass can be treated as an incompressible fluid, so its behaviour can
be described by means of the Navier Stokes equations. Denoting the inner and the
outer radius of the capillary by ) , (
1
t x h r = and ) , (
2
t x h r = , the equations (1)-(3)
thus apply in this region. In order to solve them in a closed form, suitable
boundary and initial conditions must be provided. We consider the feed and the
draw speeds, respectively denoted by U
f
and U
d
, the ambient pressure by
a
p and
the pressure in the hole by
H
p .

Problem solution

The solution of the problem consists of three basic steps. The equations of motion
(1)-(3) are first transformed into a set of non-dimensional equations by applying a
suitable scaling and then the unknowns, i.e. velocities and pressure, are expanded
in power series of the so called slenderness parameter L h/ = . Herein h
denotes a typical drawn capillary size and L denotes the length of a typical hot
zone, as it will be specified later on.
The second step makes use of the small value of in order to simplify the
equations of motions. The third step deals with the solution of the latter for some
particular asymptotic cases. The problem is fully closed by specifying kinematic
and dynamic boundary conditions on the free boundaries.
4


For brevity, the first two steps will not be discussed here, since one can find them
described in details in [8]. The simplified equation of motion will be examined in
some asymptotic limits of interest.
The novel class of equations of motion found by Fitt & Alii in [8] is in the final
dimensional form
( ) ( )
( )
( )
2 2
0 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 2
1 1 0
2 2
2 1
( ( ))
t x
p h h h h h h
h h u
T x h h

+
+ =

(4)
( ) ( )
( )
( )
2 2
0 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 2
2 2 0
2 2
2 1
( ( ))
t x
p h h h h h h
h h u
T x h h

+
+ =

(5)
( )| |
( ) ( )
2 2
2 1 0 0 0
2 2
2 1 0 1 2
3 ( ( ))
t x
x
x
h h u u u g
T x h h u h h

+ =
(
+ +


(6)
where
a H
p p p =
0
.
Equation (6) represents an equation for the leading order velocity of the glass,
while equations (4) and (5) represent evolution equation for the radii
1
h and
2
h .
Appropriate initial and boundary conditions will be now specified.
1
h ,
2
h and
0
u
are all assumed known function of at the time 0 t = and the draw speed is
prescribed (
0
u at x L = ). Therefore we can write
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
1 10, 2 20, 0 0
0 0 0 , ,
f d
h h h h u U u L U = = = =
(7)
These conditions hold for the specific leading order model but not for the full set
of the Navier-Stokes equations described by (1)-(3).
In comparison to the general equation of motion they offer the possibility to
reduce the enormous mathematical and numerical efforts often required for
solving the general equation model (1)(3). Additionally, basic physical features
of the flow become better accessible. In this context, studying asymptotic cases
offers unique possibilities for optimizing the control of the drawing process.

Some asymptotic solutions

Starting with the simplest possible scenario, considering the steady case when
internal hole pressure, surface tension, inertial and gravity effects are neglected
and the viscosity is assumed constant with the temperature, one obtains from (4)
(5) and (6) after introducing the initial and the final conditions (7)



5 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


0
10 1
u
U
h h
f
= (8)
0
20 2
u
U
h h
f
= (9)
(

\
|
=
L
x
U u
f
exp
0

(10)
where ) / log(
f d
U U = , for more details see [8].
In Fig. 2 the behaviour of a preform is shown, when the above assumptions apply

Figure 2: Evolution of the internal and external radius of a preform for the simplest case, when
internal hole pressure, surface tension, inertial and gravity effects are neglected and the viscosity
is assumed constant with the temperature
Taking into account the viscosity dependence on the temperature, one obtains a
slightly different equation for the axial velocity, i.e.
(
(
(
(

L
x
d
T
d
T
d
U u
0
0
0
)) ( (
)) ( (
exp




(11)
while the evolution equations for the radii
1
h and
2
h are the same as (8) and (9),
for more details, see [8].
6



Figure 3: Evolution of the internal and external radius of a preform for the simplest case, when
the viscosity dependence on the temperature (and therefore on the position) is considered.
The shape of the two radii is determined by the viscosity profile, see Fig.3, where
the viscosity profile used here is given in [2]. The absence of surface tension and
internal hole pressurization means that the initial fibre geometry is always
preserved throughout the pull. This is a consequence of the fact that no force act
in the plane of the fibre cross section.

Surface tension effects

One can easily notice that in the asymptotic limit considered in the previous
section the initial shape of the radius is preserved. In contrast to that, it will be
shown here how the effects of surface tension can lead to dramatic changes in the
shape of the radius, when fibres are drawn. Considering the steady isothermal
case, taking into account only the surface tension effects and neglecting gravity,
inertia and internal pressure the following equations are obtained
( ) ( )
2 2
2 1 0 1 2
3 0
x
x
h h u h h
(
+ + =


(12)
( )
( )
( )
1 2 1 2 2
1 0
2 2
2 1
x
h h h h
h u
h h

+
=

(13)
( )
( )
( )
1 2 1 2 2
2 0
2 2
2 1
x
h h h h
h u
h h

+
=

(14)
Integrating the first equation and rearranging, one obtains
( )
( )
1 2
0
2 2
2 1
3
x
C h h
u
h h

+
=

(15)
7 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


where C is an arbitrary constant which arise from the integration. The
quantity
( )
2 2
2 1 0
h h u , which can be regarded as the mass flux of the draw, can be
obtained subtracting (14) from (13), and when the boundary conditions (7) apply
( )
2 2
20 10
2 2
2 1
0
f
h h U
h h
u

= (16)
Inserting it in the expression for the derivative of the velocity, i.e. (15), one gets
( )
( ) ( )
1 2
0 0 0
2 2 2 2
20 10 20 10
3 3
x
f f
h h C
u u u
h h U h h U

+
= +


(17)
Expanding the derivatives in the equation for the radii (13) and (14) one obtains
( )
( )
2 1 2 0 1
1
2 2
0 20 10
2 2
x
x
f
h h h u h
h
u h h U

+ | |
=
|

\

(18)
( )
( )
1 1 2 0 2
2
2 2
0 20 10
2 2
x
x
f
h h h u h
h
u h h U

+ | |
=
|

\

(19)
where an expression for
0
0
x
u
u
can be obtained by (17).
The evolution equations for the internal and the external radii therefore read
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
2 1 2 1 2 1
1
2 2 2 2 2 2
20 10 20 10 20 10
2 2 3 3
x
f f f
h h h h h h C
h
h h U h h U h h U


| |
+ +
| = +
|

\
(20)
( )
( )
( )
( ) ( )
1 1 2 1 2 2
2
2 2 2 2 2 2
20 10 20 10 20 10
2 2 3 3
x
f f f
h h h h h h C
h
h h U h h U h h U


| |
+ +
| = +
|

\
(21)
Now, a system of three equations in three unknowns has been obtained, which can
be easily solved numerically, but first the value of the constant C arising in the
equations has to be fixed. The solution strategy used in order to solve the problem
is to guess a velocity profile in the following form
0
exp
f
u U x
L

| |
=
|
\
(22)
where is the ratio log
d f
U U and is a convergence parameter,. The derivative
of (22) reads
0
exp
x f
u U x
L L


| |
=
|
\
(23)
Now an expression for the constant C can be obtained, when the equation (17) is
evaluated at x=0,
8


( ) ( )
20 10
2
10
2
20
3 h h
L
U h h C
f
+ + |

\
|
=

(24)
Inserting now (24) in (17) a compete system of equations for the asymptotic
velocity and the radii can be obtained,
( )
( )
0 0 2
10
2
20
2 1
0
3
u
L
u
U h h
h h
u
f
x

+
=
(25)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
(

+
=
L U h h
h h h
U h h
h h h
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 1
2
10
2
20
2 1 2
1
3 2 2
(26)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
(

+
=
L U h h
h h h
U h h
h h h
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 2
2
10
2
20
2 1 1
2
3 2 2
(27)
In order to solve numerically the system of equations (25)-(27) a fourth order
Runge-Kutta Merson method is recommended. Choosing a good initial guess of
the parameter and a sufficient fine grid size, the numerical integration is
performed and the mass conservation equation
in out
m m = & & is checked; if the latter is
not satisfied, then is increased by a certain small amount and the integration is
repeated. The process repeats until the condition
11
10
in out
m m

< & & is satisfied. A
results for such a case, only when surface tension is considered is presented below

Figure 4: Evolution of the internal and external radius of a preform, when only the effects of
surface tension are taken into account and the viscosity is assumed constant with the temperature
As expected, the diameters undergo a contraction, since the effects of surface
tension tend to close the internal hole. In some cases the surface tension can
lead to hole collapse and this must be prevented.
In order to provide a better insight into the surface tension effects, some examples
regarding the evolution of the internal radius of preforms is presented, when
9 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


different ratios
10 20
/
a
r h h = are tested.
20
20 h = cm will be kept constant and
10
h will be varied.
In the figures below, the value of surface tension is varied between 0.01 [N/m]
and 0.3 [N/m]. The first of the two values has practically no influence on the
diameter, while the situation changes dramatically if the latter one is used. The
value of 0.3 [N/m] almost produces the collapses of the structure, in particular for
very small values of r
a
(i.e. r
a
=0.2 mm).


Figure 5: Influence of different values of surface tension on the internal diameter for different r
a
:
a) r
a
=0.2, b) r
a
=0.3, c) r
a
=0.4, d)= r
a
=0.6
The case with non constant viscosity is also considered. Following the same
strategy, one begins to assume an expression for the velocity as in (22), now
taking into account that the viscosity is not anymore a constant parameter.
Performing the necessary derivations and substituting it into (17) one gets a new
expression for the constant C, that is
( ) ( )( ) ( )
20 10
2
10
2
20
0 3 h h
L
U h h T C
f
+ + |

\
|
=

(28)
The equation for the velocity become
10


( )
( )
0 0 2
10
2
20
2 1
0
3
u
L
D u
U h h
h h
u
f
x

+
=
(29)
where D is
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) x T
T
D

0
=
(30)
The evolution equations (18)-(19) for the two radii remain the same, but now the
expression for
0 0
/ u u
x
has to be calculated from (29).
In Fig. 6 the effects of the variable viscosity are shown when a preform is drawn,
where the viscosity profile used here is again given in [2].

Figure 6: Evolution of the internal and external radius of a preform for the case taking into
account only the effects of
surface tension. In this case the viscosity varies with the temperature

Influence of the internal pressure

During the process of capillary drawing, the closure of a capillary can often be
avoided by the introduction of a pressure difference between the air inside and
outside the capillary. As suggested by Fitt and Alii [8] the steady isothermal draw
from the equations (4), (5) and (6) is considered, ignoring the effects of inertia,
gravity and surface tension. This leads to the following problem







11 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


( )
2 2
2 1 0
3 0
x
x
h h u
(
=


(31)
( )
( )
2 2
2 0 1 2
1 0
2 2
2 1
x
p h h
h u
h h
=

(32)
( )
( )
2 2
2 0 1 2
2 0
2 2
2 1
x
p h h
h u
h h
=

(33)
The system of equation (31)-(33) can be solved analytically by applying the initial
and the final conditions (7)
0
exp
f
u U x
L
| |
=
|
\
(34)
( )
( )
1
2
2 2 2
10 20 10
1
2 2
20 10
exp 1
x L
x L o
f
h h h e
h
p L
h e h
U

| |
|

|
=
|
(
|

(
|
(
\

(35)
( )
( )
1
2
2 2 2
20 20 10
2
2 2
10 20
exp 1
x L
x L o
f
h h h e
h
p L
h e h
U

| |
|

|
=
|
(
|
+ +
(
|
(
\

(36)
for more details see [8]. The shape of the two radii, in case of increasing applied
pressure, is shown below if Fig. 7





12




Figure 7: Evolution of the initial preform as different values of internal pressure are applied.
Here the surface tension effects are not taken into account: a) p
o
=60 [Pa], b) p
o
=80 [Pa], c)
p
o
=100 [Pa] and d) p
o
=137[Pa]
Dividing now
1
h by
2
h

( )
2 2
20 1
2 2
2 10
exp 1
x L o
f
h p L h
e
h h U

(
=
(
(


(37)
The higher the pressure, the more the ratio
1 2
h h increases till certain point at
which the fiber may finally explode and the expression above became unbounded.
To clarify this, consider the mass conservation of the fluid flow taken between
two different points A and B i.e.

( ) ( )
2
2 2 2 2 2 1
2 1 2 1 2 2
2
1
B
A A B B B
B
h
h h h h h
h
| |
= =
|
\
.
One easily sees that if
1
h approaches
2
h the mass is not conserved anymore. If one
considers
1 2
h h = in (37) then an expression for which (35) and (36) become
unbounded is worked out
13 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


10
20
2
log 1 log
f
o
U
h L
x
p L h

(
= +
(

(38)
Since the drawing takes place between 0<x<L one may claim that at x=L the fiber
structure has the weakest part and so it is there that the explosion begins to occur.
Setting x=L in (38) and solving for the pressure, one has
( )
10 20
max
2 log
1
f
o
U h h
p
L e

(39)
where
max 0
p is the maximum pressure the fibre can tolerate. For more details
about equations (37), (38) and (39) see [8].
If now the value of the internal pressure is increased till the fibre explodes, one
can see that the coordinate value along the furnace, at which the explosion occurs,
decreases as the pressure increases, see, as instance, Fig.8 below


Figure 8: Coordinate values at which the explosion occurs for different values of internal
pressure: a) p
o
=150 [Pa], b) p
o
=158 [Pa], c) p
o
=164 [Pa], d) p
o
=190 [Pa]
The value of the pressure necessary to decrease the x-coordinate at which the
explosion occurs does not increase linearly. This happens because the amount of
14


material to blow up increases as one moves toward the beginning of the hot
zone, and the thickness of the fibre does not decrease linearly along the furnace
as long as the draw takes place.

The interplay between internal pressure and surface tension

In the real case, during the drawing, one may have to take into account the
combined effects of internal pressure and surface tension. The internal pressure is
sometimes necessary in order to prevent hole collapse. Again, starting from
equations (4), (5) and (6) and considering both internal pressure and surface
tension, one gets
( ) ( )
2 2
2 1 0 2 1
3 0
x
x
h h u h h
(
+ + =


(40)
( )
( )
( )
2 2
1 2 1 2 1 2 2
1 0
2 2
2 1
o
x
p h h h h h h
h u
h h

+
=

(41)
( )
( )
( )
2 2
1 2 1 2 1 2 2
2 0
2 2
2 1
o
x
p h h h h h h
h u
h h

+
=

(42)
The equations (40)-(42) may now be manipulated as (12)-(14), arriving at the
following final system of equations for the steady isothermal case
( )
( )
0 0 2
10
2
20
2 1
0
3
u
L
u
U h h
h h
u
f
x

+
=
(43)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
(

+
=
L U h h
h h h
U h h
h h h h h p
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 1
2
10
2
20
2 1 2
2
2 1 0
1
3 2 2
(44)
( )
( )
( )
( )
(
(

+
=
L U h h
h h h
U h h
h h h h h p
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 2
2
10
2
20
2 1 1 2
2
1 0
2
3 2 2
(45)
Note that if the surface tension coefficient is set equal to zero in (43)-(45) one
immediately obtains (34)-(36) (N.B. when the boundary conditions (7) apply one
finds = ), while if the pressure term is set equal to zero in (44) and (45) one
readily obtains (25)-(27). This means that all the formulas derived are consistent
to each other. Another interesting point is that if the derivatives of the
diameters
x
h and that of the velocity
x
u tend to zero, which means that the
diameters
1
h and
2
h , and the velocity
0
u become constants.
One immediately notes the effects of the interplay between internal pressure and
surface tension, which leads to a higher value of the internal applied pressure
which can be tolerated by the fibre. While the internal pressure, roughly speaking,
tends to open the hole, the surface tension tries to close it, see as instance Fig. 9
15 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011




Figure 9: Evolution of the initial preform as internal pressure and surface tension effects are
considered. The viscosity is here considered constant with the temperature: a) po=120 [Pa], b)
po=140 [Pa], c) po=160 [Pa], d) po=175 [Pa]
To improve the quality of the results one may use a finer grid space, but this does
not change the results. The non isothermal case, in which the viscosity is let to
vary with the temperature, has also been analyzed and it represents the real case
of fibre drawing. The system of the governing equations of the process reads
( )
( ) ( )( )
0 0 2
10
2
20
2 1
0
3
u
L
D u
U h h x T
h h
u
f
x

+
=
(46)
( )
( ) ( )( )
( )
( ) ( )( )
(
(

+
=
L
D
U h h x T
h h h
U h h x T
h h h h h p
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 1
2
10
2
20
2 1 2
2
2 1 0
1
3 2 2
(47)
( )
( ) ( )( )
( )
( ) ( )( )
(
(

+
=
L
D
U h h x T
h h h
U h h x T
h h h h h p
h
f f
x

2
10
2
20
2 1 2
2
10
2
20
2 1 1 2
2
1 0
2
3 2 2
(49)
where the constant D is given by (30). The shape of the two radii is thus modified
by the viscosity profile, which is again given in [2].

16




Figure 10: Evolution of the initial preform as internal pressure and surface tension effects are
considered. The viscosity is here considered non constant with the temperature, which reaches its
peak (1950 [C])at the center of the furnace: a) p
o
=0 [mbars], b) p
o
=10 [mbars], c) p
o
=20
[mbars], d) p
o
=25 [mbars]

Conclusion and Outlook

The present paper aims at optimizing and controlling drawing processes on the
basis of a suitable mathematical model, which provides a better access to the basic
feature of the flow process and greatly reduces the simulation time. The
mathematical model proposed in [8], which couples the effects of surface tension
and internal pressure in the process of fibre drawing, has been analysed and
revisited.
For very simple cases the solution can be treated completely on an analytical
manner, and it provides basic insights into the velocity profile and the fibre shape.
Successively, the effects of internal hole pressurization and surface tension have
been included in the model, first separately and then together. Even for these
more complex situations the simplified equations are solved with less numerical
cost.
17 Luzi et al.: Asymptotic analysis of fibre drawing process
Published by The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2011


The results obtained elucidate how the surface tension acts in such a way that the
radii undergo a contraction and in some cases, when the internal radius of a
preform is very small, it may lead to the complete collapse of the structure. On the
other hand, when internal pressure is applied, an enlargement of the internal hole
occurs. If the applied pressure exceeds certain values, it may lead to the explosion
of the structure. Finally, if both effects are considered, it can be seen how internal
pressure acts as a stabilizing mechanism, maintaining holes opened and vice-versa
how surface tension increases the value of the explosion pressure.
Comparisons of the results obtained here with experimental data shows very good
agreement, for more details see [6], where, for convenience, this topic is presented
and discussed in detail.



TABLE I
NOTATION


Symbol Definition
t
time
x distance along capillary axis
r
distance perpendicular to axis
q
velocity of the molten glass
0
u leading order axial fluid velocity
H
p hole pressure
g
acceleration due to gravity

density
0

dynamic viscosity

surface tension
L furnace length
1
h inner diameter
2
h outer diameter
a
p ambient pressure
o
p hole overpressure
U typical draw speed
20
h outer diameter preform
10
h inner diameter preform
18


h difference between the outer diameter preform and the inner diameter preform
f
U
feed velocity
d
U draw velocity
convergence parameter
log(Ud/Uf)
Re Reynolds Number
slenderness parameter
h difference between the outer diameter preform and the inner diameter preform
i
t

tangent unit vector

stress tensor
i
n normal unit vector
in
m& initial mass flow rate
out
m& final mass flow rate

REFERENCES

[1] Philip St.J. Russell, Photonic-crystal fibers, Journal of Lightwave
Technology, Vol. 24, No. 12, pp. 4729-4749 2006
[2] Christopher J. Voyce, Alistair D. Fitt, and Tanya M. Monro,
Mathematical Modeling as an Accurate Predictive Tool in Capillary
and Microstructured Fibre Manufacture: The Effects of Preform
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[3] I.M.Griffiths and P.D.Howell, Mathematical Modelling of Non-
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