Can I pass liquid through fiber optic strands?

Thread Starter

JJoll

Joined May 7, 2013
49
Hi,
I am a university research student and for my project I need very thin microtubes. Similarly to the ones that you can find in this website: https://www.raumedic.com/technologies/extrusion/micro-tubing/

I need a microtubing with inner diameter of approximately 0.5mm and outer diameter of less than 0.8mm. I need to pass some sort of liquid through these tubes and I was just wondering if I could use fiber optics strands for this purpose? I have not used fiber optics strands before but since they are hollow I thought it is possible to pass liquids through them, is it going to work?


thanks
 

ian field

Joined Oct 27, 2012
6,536
Hi,
I am a university research student and for my project I need very thin microtubes. Similarly to the ones that you can find in this website: https://www.raumedic.com/technologies/extrusion/micro-tubing/

I need a microtubing with inner diameter of approximately 0.5mm and outer diameter of less than 0.8mm. I need to pass some sort of liquid through these tubes and I was just wondering if I could use fiber optics strands for this purpose? I have not used fiber optics strands before but since they are hollow I thought it is possible to pass liquids through them, is it going to work?


thanks
Never heard of hollow strand glass fibers - but you might get some capilliary action in the spaces between the strands.
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
Fiber optic strands may be referred to as a "light pipe" but that pipe is not hollow.
The light reflects off the inner surfaces of the strand at very near 100% efficiency due to total internal reflection, allowing the light to travel down the strand and around corners as if it were a pipe.
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
There are lots of real tubing options with ID's of 0.5 mm. Can you help us narrow the search? Depending on the flow rate you need, viscosity of your liquid, and distance the pressure required can get quite high.

John
 

Thread Starter

JJoll

Joined May 7, 2013
49
There are lots of real tubing options with ID's of 0.5 mm. Can you help us narrow the search? Depending on the flow rate you need, viscosity of your liquid, and distance the pressure required can get quite high.

John
Flow rate wont matter in my application. It could be slow or fast. I am trying to pump/force regular ink through these tubes. The viscosity of black ink according to this chart (http://www.viscopedia.com/viscosity-tables/substances/ink/) is roughly 5.7mPA.s. The travel distance (tube length) shouldn't be more than 0.5 meter. Also I want the OD to be no more than 0.8-0.9mm. It would be great if you could direct me to a couple of vendors that sell such tubbings. I found a couple of vendors that supply medical tubings with such a low ID but they are very expensive. They quoted me around $50/meter.
 

jpanhalt

Joined Jan 18, 2008
11,087
Flow rate wont matter in my application. It could be slow or fast. I am trying to pump/force regular ink through these tubes. The viscosity of black ink according to this chart (http://www.viscopedia.com/viscosity-tables/substances/ink/) is roughly 5.7mPA.s. The travel distance (tube length) shouldn't be more than 0.5 meter. Also I want the OD to be no more than 0.8-0.9mm. It would be great if you could direct me to a couple of vendors that sell such tubbings. I found a couple of vendors that supply medical tubings with such a low ID but they are very expensive. They quoted me around $50/meter.
What do you want the tubing made from? Some of the many options: glass, PVC, modified PVC, Nylon, various stainless steels, silicone rubber, newer Teflon-like plastics, Teflon-lined stainless, various nickel alloys (e.g Iconel). The list is really quit long. If 0.5 mm is your maximum ID, what is your minimum ID?

John
 

Thread Starter

JJoll

Joined May 7, 2013
49
What do you want the tubing made from? Some of the many options: glass, PVC, modified PVC, Nylon, various stainless steels, silicone rubber, newer Teflon-like plastics, Teflon-lined stainless, various nickel alloys (e.g Iconel). The list is really quit long. If 0.5 mm is your maximum ID, what is your minimum ID?

John
the material type wont matter to me as long as it is flexible. I was personally looking for silicone rubber or any type of flexible plastic. The Id needs to be somewhere between 0.4mm to 0.7mm. less than 0.4 is not really ideal. thanks
 
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