Abstract
A numerical model of the drawing of polymer optical fibers (POF) in a steady state has been developed. The continuity and the momentum equations were one-dimensionally treated in the drawing direction, and the energy equation was axisymmetrically solved in the present model. A parameter study on the drawing of optical fibers made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has been also carried out. The effects of the drawing velocity, the distributions of its ambient temperature and its heat transfer rate were focused on as parameters in this paper. From the results, it is found that five times longer heater than that of the known furnace or the exchange of the ambient gas from air into helium for higher heat transfer rates is required for five times higher-speed drawing.
