A parallel automated track collector is integrated with a rationally designed centrifugal spinning head to collect aligned polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers. Centrifugal spinning is an extremely promising nanofiber fabrication technology due to high production rates. However, continuous oriented fiber collection and processing presents challenges. Engineering solutions to these two challenges are explored in this study. A 3D-printed head design, optimized through a computational fluid dynamics simulation approach, is utilized to limit unwanted air currents that disturb deposited nanofibers. An automated track collecting device has pulled deposited nanofibers away from the collecting area. This results in a continuous supply of individual aligned nanofibers as opposed to the densely packed nanofiber mesh ring that is deposited on conventional static post collectors. The automated track collector allows for simple integration of the postdraw processing step that is critical to polymer fiber manufacturing for enhancing macromolecular orientation and mechanical properties. Postdrawing has enhanced the mechanical properties of centrifugal spun PAN nanofibers, which have different crystalline properties compared with conventional PAN microfiber. These technological developments address key limitations of centrifugal spinning that can facilitate high production rate commercial fabrication of highly aligned, high-performance polymer nanofibers. 相似文献
A mathematical model to describe the thermal channel spinning (TCS) process in PET high‐speed melt‐spinning has been developed. This model, which is based on the spinning process kinematics, includes the effects of acceleration, gravity, and surfacial air friction. It incorporates the constitutive equation of PET polymer, the heat transfer related to the transverse air blowing and, in particular, to a convection and radiation combining procedure in the thermal channel, while taking into account the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics related to temperature and molecular orientation as well as the elongational viscosity of PET polymer connected with temperature, intrinsic viscosity and crystallinity. The developments of crystallinity, molecular orientation and morphological features of high‐speed‐spun PET fiber in the TCS process are investigated at take‐up speeds ranging from 3 600–4 400 m/min and thermal channel temperatures ranging from 160–200°C. The simulated results of this model are compared with the measured crystallinity, diameter, and birefringence of the spun yarn. The “necking point” in the TCS spinline can be predicted by this model. 相似文献
A comparison of the electrostatic and centrifugal spinning of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) is shown in terms of the resulting fiber morphology and the process conditions. Specific parameters of centrifugal spinning, such rotational speed of spinneret and the relative humidity, were extensively investigated in details. Morphologies and diameters of resulting fiber mats were investigated by a scanning electron microscopy and compared between the two spinning techniques. The results revealed that formation of fibers is mainly affected by the initial polymer concentrations (and resulting viscosities) of polymeric solutions, which is in line with previous reports. However, the key novel finding of this work is that increasing relative humidity during centrifugal spinning process leads to greatly reduced fiber diameters to the levels typical for electrospinning. The obtained comparison is discussed and clearly shows technological advantages of the centrifugal spinning over electrospinning, enabling quantitative production of fibers with same or similar diameters. 相似文献
Nanofiber production platforms commonly rely on volatile carrier solvents or high voltages. Production of nanofibers comprised of charged polymers or polymers requiring nonvolatile solvents thus typically requires customization of spinning setup and polymer dope. In severe cases, these challenges can hinder fiber formation entirely. Here, a versatile system is presented which addresses these challenges by employing centrifugal force to extrude polymer dope jet through an air gap, into a flowing precipitation bath. This voltage‐free approach ensures that nanofiber solidification occurs in liquid, minimizing surface tension instability that results in jet breakup and fiber defects. In addition, nanofibers of controlled size and morphology can be fabricated by tuning spinning parameters including air gap length, spinning speed, polymer concentration, and bath composition. To demonstrate the versatility of our platform, para‐aramid (e.g., Kevlar) and biopolymer (e.g., DNA, alginate) nanofibers are produced that cannot be readily produced using standard nanofiber production methods.