A general mathematical framework is presented for modelling the pulling of optical glass fibres in a draw tower. The only modelling assumption is that the fibres are slender; cross-sections along the fibre can have general shape, including the possibility of multiple holes or channels. A key result is to demonstrate how a so-called reduced time variable τ serves as a natural parameter in describing how an axial-stretching problem interacts with the evolution of a general surface-tension-driven transverse flow via a single important function of τ , herein denoted by H(τ ), derived from the total rescaled cross-plane perimeter. For any given preform geometry, this function H(τ ) may be used to calculate the tension required to produce a given fibre geometry, assuming only that the surface tension is known. Of principal practical interest in applications is the 'inverse problem' of determining the initial cross-sectional geometry, and experimental draw parameters, necessary to draw a desired final cross-section. Two case studies involving annular tubes are presented in detail: one involves a cross-section comprising an annular concatenation of sintering near-circular discs, the cross-section of the other is a concentric annulus. These two examples allow us to exemplify and explore two features of the general inverse problem. One is the question of the uniqueness of solutions for a given set of experimental parameters, the other concerns the inherent ill-posedness of the inverse problem. Based on these examples we also give an experimental validation of the general model and discuss some experimental matters, such as buckling and stability. The ramifications for modelling the drawing of fibres with more complicated geometries, and multiple channels, are discussed.

A mathematical model is presented describing the deformation, under the combined effects of surface tension and draw tension, of an array of channels in the drawing of a broad class of slender viscous fibres. The process is relevant to the fabrication of microstructured optical fibres, also known as MOFs or holey fibres, where the pattern of channels in the fibre plays a crucial role in guiding light along it. Our model makes use of two asymptotic approximations, that the fibre is slender and that the cross-section of the fibre is a circular disc with well-separated elliptical channels that are not too close to the outer boundary. The latter assumption allows us to make use of a suitably generalised 'elliptical pore model (EPM)' introduced previously by one of the authors (Crowdy, J. Fluid Mech., vol. 501, 2004, pp. 251-277) to quantify the axial variation of the geometry during a steady-state draw. The accuracy of the elliptical pore model as an approximation is tested by comparison with full numerical simulations. Our model provides a fast and accurate reduction of the full free-boundary problem to a coupled system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. More significantly, it also allows a regularisation of an important ill-posed inverse problem in MOF fabrication: how to find the initial preform geometry and the experimental parameters required to draw MOFs with desired cross-plane geometries.

The use of channel pressurisation in drawing microstructured optical fibres (MOFs) potentially allows for fine control of the internal structure of the fibre. By applying extra pressure inside the channels it is possible to counteract the effect of surface tension which would otherwise act to close the channels in the fibre as it is drawn. This paper extends the modelling approach of Stokes et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 755, 2014, pp. 176-203) to include channel pressurisation. This approach treats the problem as two submodels for the flow, one in the axial direction along the fibre and another in the plane perpendicular to that direction. In the absence of channel pressurisation these models decoupled and were solved independently; we show that they become fully coupled when the internal channels are pressurised. The fundamental case of a fibre with an annular cross-section (containing one central channel) will be examined in detail. In doing this we consider both a forward problem to determine the shape of fibre from a known preform and an inverse problem to design a preform such that when drawn it will give a desired fibre geometry. Criteria on the pressure corresponding to fibre explosion and closure of the channel will be given that represent an improvement over similar criteria in the literature. A comparison between our model and a recent experiment is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the modelling approach. We make use of some recent work by Buchak et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 778, 2015, pp. 5-38) to examine more complicated fibre geometries, where the cross-sectional shape of the internal channels is assumed to be elliptical and multiple channels are present. The examples presented here demonstrate the versatility of our modelling approach, where the subtleties of the interaction between surface tension and pressurisation can be revealed even for complex patterns of cross-sectional channels.

We present a hybrid experimental and theoretical study on the oscillatory behavior exhibited by multiple thin sheets under aerodynamic loading. Our clapping book consists of a stack of paper, clamped at the downstream end and placed in a wind tunnel with steady flow. As pages lift off, they accumulate onto a bent stack held up by the wind. The book collapses shut once the elasticity and weight of the pages overcome the aerodynamic force; this process repeats periodically. We develop a theoretical model that predictively describes this periodic clapping process.

A series of six experiments drawing tubular fibres are compared to some recent mathematical modelling of this fabrication process. The importance of fibre tension in determining the internal geometry of the fibre is demonstrated, confirming a key prediction of the models. There is evidence of self-pressurisation of the internal channel, where an additional pressure is induced in the internal channel as the fibre is drawn, and the dependence of the magnitude of this pressure on fibre tension is discussed. Additionally, there is evidence that the difference between the glass and furnace temperatures is proportional to the furnace temperature and dependent on the preform geometry.