synopsisA generalized, empirical equation is proposed which takes into account the dependence of elongational viscosity on both elongation rate and temperature. From this, a mathematical model for simulating the melt spinning process has been developed. The model has been tested against experimentally observed velocity profiles in fibers of polystyrene and high-density polyethylene spun into an isothermal chamber. It has been found that predicted velocity profiles agree well with experimentally observed ones. The mathematical model has been used to predict velocity and temperature profiles in fibers spun into a cooling medium. The simultaneous solution of momentum and energy balance equations by means of a numerical integration scheme has generated important information such as distributions of force components involved in spinning and distributions of the total rate of heat transfer along the spinning way.

synopsisAn experimental study has been carried out to investigate threadline instabilities in melt spinning. Two types of melt threadline instabilities, draw resonance and melt fracture, were observed under both isothermal and nonisothermal spinning conditions. Polymers investigated were polypropylene and polystyrene. Draw resonance was observed as an increase of the takeup speed above a critical value. It was also observed that an increase in take-up speed reduces the severity of melt fracture, whereas once draw resonance OCCUR the amplitude and frequency of the pulsing thread diameter increases with the take-up speed. The phenomenon of draw resonance was investigated by taking motion pictures of the pulsing molten threadliie spun vertically downward. Furthermore, a stability analysis was carried out to explain the experimentally observed draw resonance.

An experimental study is carried out to elucidate the melt fracture mechanism. For the study, the electrical outputs of the melt pressure transducers, mounted on the wall of a circular tube, are recorded on a Sanborn recording system. It has been observed from this study that the wall pressures start to fluctuate prior to the inception of visible melt fracture. The frequency and amplitude of the excursion signals are increased as the shear rate is increased up to and beyond the critical value. This behavior has been observed for three polymer samples tested: polystyrene, high density polyethylene, and low density polyethylene. The fluctuations of wall pressures are interpreted as due to an irregular flow of polymer melts at the tube wall. It is further investigated to find the effects of the die entry angle of a capillary, and capillary length‐to‐diameter ratio on the critical shear rate. A correlation between exit pressure and shear stress has been found for polystyrene and low density polyethylene. It is found that at and above the critical stress, the exist pressure increases abruptly. This is interpreted to be a sudden change in the elastic properties of the materials above melt fracture since Han et al have shown that the exist pressure is a measure of the elastic properties.

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