Modelling of fibre spinning and film blowing

Abstract

A review is presented of the modeling of fibre spinning and film blowing carried out under the auspices of the Center for Advanced Engineering Fibers and Films at Clemson University. Studies have focused on modelling the processes of melt spinning and film blowing of crystallisable polymers and dry spinning of amorphous polymers. In the case of melt spinning and film blowing, the phenomenon of flow enhanced crystallisation plays a central role. The models are unique in the employment of separate constitutive equations for the melt and semicrystalline phases that are linked to the crystallisation kinetics. Similarly, the dry spinning constitutive model includes both viscous and viscoelastic effects based on an equivalent parallel combination of a non-linear viscoelastic equation and a Newtonian component. Extensive comparisons with literature data and data generated through the Clemson test beds attest to the value and use of our two phase modelling approaches.

Stability analysis of the melt spinning process with respect to parameters

“…In later works more and more sophisticated descriptions including crystallization kinetics and viscoelastic behavior were developed to achieve a better understanding of the fiber formation process, see [2,4,6,12,22]. Up to now it is possible to use the basic models with more or less modifications in different technological aspects of the melt spinning process.…”