International Polymer Processing, Vol.31, No.2, 217-223, 2016
Fine Filament Formation Behavior of Polymethylpentene and Polypropylene near Spinneret in Melt Blowing Process
Formation behavior of fine fibers of polymethylpentene (PMP) and polypropylene (PP) in the melt blowing process was investigated through the observation of the spin-line near the spinning nozzle using a high speed camera. Reduction of the polymer throughput rate and increase of the air flow rate were necessary to achieve fine diameter fibers, however these conditions generally cause the instability in the spinning process. Observation of the spin-line at the melt blowing die revealed the periodic accumulation of polymer flow near the spinning nozzle followed by the quick pulling down of the accumulated polymer by the air flow. This behavior caused the periodic fluctuation of fiber diameter as well as the intermittent breakage of the spin-line under extreme conditions. Because of high extrusion viscosity, PMP showed more stable spinning behavior than PP. Frequency of diameter fluctuation became higher with the increases of air flow rate and throughput rate, and the maximum frequency of about 60 Hz was observed for PP spinning with the throughput rate of 0.18 g/min. Diameter distribution of the fibers in the prepared web was also analyzed to compare with the spinning behavior. Fiber diameter distributions were narrow and symmetric under stable spinning conditions, whereas skewed diameter profiles with a maximum at low value and a long tail to the larger diameter region were observed under unstable conditions. Intermittent spin-line breakage caused flaws of "shot" and/or "fly", and the skewed fiber diameter distribution with the presence of a small amount of fiber of extremely large diameter was confirmed.