Microfluidic behavior in melt-spun hollow and liquid core fibers

Abstract

The development of thermoplastic fibers containing a liquid core is described. Internal morphology analysis confirms that the liquid-containing core is composed of a continuous cylindrical microchannel of constant diameter. Microfluidic experiments on both liquid core and reference hollow fibers were conducted by pumping distilled water through several filaments simultaneously. The observed fluid motions are satisfactorily described by the Hagen-Poiseuille law, indicating that the hollow and liquid core fibers have internal diameters of 31.6 and 14.8 µm, respectively. Flushing the liquid core fibers with a surfactant solution efficiently removes the saturated ester initially used during the melt spinning of the fiber. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Recent advances in core/shell bicomponent fibers and nanofibers: A review

“…Leal et al . designed a spin pack (Figure ), based on the previous extrusion results, for liquid/polymer bicomponent fibers spinning.…”

“… Sectional view of liquid‐polymer co‐extrusion spin pack . Reproduced with permission of © Taylor & Francis.…”

“…Their melt spinning trial with 1500 m/min winding speed and X5 drawing ratio, using PP as sheath component and complex ester for core liquid, resulted in the desired structure of such a novel bicomponent fiber . Microscopic analysis along with physical and morphological studies by Naeimirad et al .…”

“…These fibers exhibit different properties, i.e., conductivity and self‐crimping etc., based on the nature of polymers, used in production of bicomponent fibers . Among the mentioned configurations, C/S cross‐section is the most common type for bicomponent fibers, where the polymer used as a core provides the desired physical characteristics whereas the polymer in the sheath gives a specific functionality to the filament . In addition to two main polymers, there is also the possibility of adding some fillers with specific functionalities during the spinning process.…”

Flexible phase change filament with ionic liquid core

“…Recently, a novel synthetic fluid‐core filament (LCF), comprising a thermoplastic polymer sheath and a microscale liquid core, has been developed with high‐speed spinning at the pilot scale . The continuous in‐line filling of the filament could be achieved by equipping a melt‐spinning line with a special spin pack that allowed the injection of a liquid fed from a high‐performance fluid pump directly into the polymer melt stream . Liquids in the core of a synthetic filament can provide unprecedented properties to textiles, without compromising mechanical properties, dyeability, or washability …”