Fracture behaviour of microstructured silica optical fibres

Abstract

Microstructured optical fibres (with a periodic transverse microstructure) are of interest since they offer a simple alternative to controlling the index profile of optical waveguides. Although many types of optical fibres and cables have been developed to meet the needs of communications service providers for long-term performance and reliable operation, the brittle nature, aging and fatigue of these fibres remain as the key materials issues. The flaws on the surface of fibres caused by processing (drawing) or subsequent assembling make the situation more complex. In this work, experimental investigation and fracture mechanics analyses have been conducted to understand the fracture behaviour of these newly-developed optical fibres. The results are believed to be useful for design, fabrication and evaluation of optical fibres for a variety of applications.

Keywords:

• Optical fibre
• fracture
• reliability
• tensile test
• fracture mechanics

Additional information

Notes on contributors

C Yan

Dr Cheng Yan is an associate professor in materials and mechanical engineering in the School of Engineering Systems at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), with expertise in materials processing and characterisation, numerical analysis, and failure and reliability of various structures. Recently, he has conducted extensive investigation on mechanical behaviour of nanostructured materials and microsystems. With the support of several ARC Discovery Projects and other research grants ($3.4 million in total), his ongoing research includes nanocrystalline alloys, polymer nanocomposites, thin films and microsystem packaging. He has generated more than 130 publications, and maintained broad collaboration with many local and overseas universities, research organisations and industry.

R X Bai

Dr Ruixiang Bai is an associate professor in composite structures and mechanics in State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment and the Department of Engineering Mechanics at Dalian University of Technology, China. He has been engaged in research on numerical analysis, damage, fracture and failure mechanisms of composite structures. Along these directions, he has conducted several research projects supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and many projects supported by other research organisations and local industry. He has published more than 60 academic papers. Recently, he is working on failure behaviour of smart composite structures with piezoelectric elements, considering interface damage and interface strengthening, under the support of National Natural Science Foundation of China.

P K D V Yarlagadda

Prasad KDV Yarlagadda is currently the Professor of School of Engineering Systems and the Director of Smart Systems Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. His research expertise is in various fields of manufacturing, such as rapid prototype manufacturing and rapid tooling, CAD/CAM, AI and neural network in process control and process automation, control systems for high energy rate manufacturing, product data modelling, and engineering knowledge management. He is a fellow of Engineers Australia, World Academy of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, and Institution of Engineers, India; and a senior member of Society Manufacturing Engineers, USA. He has published over 225 technical papers in international journals and conferences, edited a number of special issues of international journals and conference proceedings, and attracted over $8 million research funding from government and industry agencies.

H Yu

Hao Yu graduated from School of AMME, The University of Sydney, specialising in mechanical behaviour of optical fibres. Currently, he is a cable engineer in Prysmian Cables & Systems, a leading player in high-technology cables. He is engaged in the development of FTTP (fibre to the premises), the initiative of the upcoming Australian National Broadband Network.