Study on Electrostatic Spinning

Abstract

An electrostatic spinning system consisting of fiber-opening roll, electrostatic field for formation of yarn, yarn twister, and take-up roll developed by the authors is described. The opening roll covered with garnet wires opens the entangled fibers, and individual fibers are blown to the electrostatic field by the centrifuge of the roll. It was found that the opening-roll diameter should be increased with increasing fiber length to insure best performance and to prevent roll wraps. The electrostatic field is created by a pair of cone electrodes facing each other either in horizontal or vertical arrangement. In the horizontal type, the yarn formed is drawn out of the electrostatic field through a small hole at the tip of the cathode. In the vertical type, the cathode is placed above the anode, with the yarn drawn out of a small hole at the tip of the anode. The yarn twister resembles the false twister, and the take-up roll is driven by friction. The size and the shape of electrodes, the distance between the electrode pair, the geometry of fiber supply to the electrostatic field, and the air-conditioning, etc. were found to affect the fiber yield. Vertically-positioned electrodes were found to be better than horizontal ones with respect to the filer yield and compactness of the equipment. Revolving anode and sharply-pointed cathode were found to be effective in straightening bent fibers, thereby obtaining uniform yarns.