| Abstract: | The periodic diameter variations in melt spinning known as draw resonance have been extensively studied, both theoretically and experimentally. The theory has evolved from analyses for isothermal, Newtonian spinning in which the critical draw ratio was found to be 20.21. Compared with this, recent theories have shown that elasticity and cooling are stabilizing (with certain qualifications on the range of variables) and that non-linear rheological response is destabilizing. The present work presents systematic data on two polymers, one that is always amorphous (polystyrene) and one that solidifies into a semi-crystalline state (polypropylene). Isothermal and non-isothermal data are available for the former; non-isothermal data, for the latter. The melt temperature, the cooling environment, the die length, the spinning length, the mass flow rate and the draw ratio were varied. Certain observations cannot be explained within the existing theoretical framework, specifically the destabilizing effect of certain cooling histories in the case of polystyrene and the destabilizing effect of short dies, presumably a die swell effect, in the case of polypropylene. Very highly oriented polystyrene can be produced under certain conditions when the fiber temperature is held above Tg. |
