CA1131424A - Quench system for synthetic fibers using fog and flowing air - Google Patents
Quench system for synthetic fibers using fog and flowing airInfo
- Publication number
- CA1131424A CA1131424A CA330,461A CA330461A CA1131424A CA 1131424 A CA1131424 A CA 1131424A CA 330461 A CA330461 A CA 330461A CA 1131424 A CA1131424 A CA 1131424A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- quench
- fog
- air
- nozzle
- stack
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D01—NATURAL OR MAN-MADE THREADS OR FIBRES; SPINNING
- D01D—MECHANICAL METHODS OR APPARATUS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTIFICIAL FILAMENTS, THREADS, FIBRES, BRISTLES OR RIBBONS
- D01D5/00—Formation of filaments, threads, or the like
- D01D5/08—Melt spinning methods
- D01D5/088—Cooling filaments, threads or the like, leaving the spinnerettes
- D01D5/092—Cooling filaments, threads or the like, leaving the spinnerettes in shafts or chimneys
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A quench system for spinning multifilament synthetic fiber using a fog in the quench stack is disclosed. The system and method comprise a. spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from the molten synthetic polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack, b. quenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack with a combination of flowing air and airless atomized water in the form of a fog, and c. taking up the fiber onto a wound package, d. while controlling the air flow, controlling the formation of the fog, and removing any excess water droplets formed in the quench stack.
A quench system for spinning multifilament synthetic fiber using a fog in the quench stack is disclosed. The system and method comprise a. spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from the molten synthetic polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack, b. quenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack with a combination of flowing air and airless atomized water in the form of a fog, and c. taking up the fiber onto a wound package, d. while controlling the air flow, controlling the formation of the fog, and removing any excess water droplets formed in the quench stack.
Description
BACKGRoUND OF THE INVENTION
_ This invention relates to an impro~Jed quench system and method for use in spinning multifilament synthetic fiber~ Mor~ particularly, the system and method use a fog in the quench stack in combination with a flow of air.
B~ fog is meant fine particles of fluid, such as water suspended in air, speci~ically excluding ~luid such'as water droplets not suspended in air.
This fog can be mechanically produced with an airless spray no'zzle (atomizer~ to atomize fluid such as water.
Such an airless spray nozzle is disclosed in U~S.
3,366,721, By fluid is meant any fluid which can absorb a ~reat deal of heat, such as by the latent heat of vaporization of water or possibly liquid gases. Fluid also means mixtures of water with other fluids beneficial to fibers, such as finishes.
Although it is known to use flowîng air to ~uench'~reshl'~ spun filaments~ and it is known to use airless spray fog or colloidal suspension of fluid~
sùch as water (U.S. 3~366,721)''a1'o'ne'to quench filaments, ..
the combination is not taught~ Each'of these methods when used alone is uneconomical in capital investment or require hi~h flow rates causing filament motion, undesirable for reasons given below.
Because'a large volume of air at hi~h ~elocity - is necessary to create the'water spray, the prior art method of using flowing air and sprayed water from a com~ressed air spray nozzle to quench filaments creates , ... .
.~.',"~,.', ~
~3~291~
great turbulence of the filaments in the quench st~ck causing at worst filaments fusing together, ox at best sli~ht imperfections where the filaments touch or bxush one another ~n the quench st~ck. Also~
turbulence can cause denier variation. These ~usions and eyen denier yariation o~ sli~ht imperfections then cause major problems in subsequent continuous processing o~ continuous fila~lents as they break, slough, or wrap on rolls in the drawing, twisting, texturing or liké
equipment.
Use of steam to condition fiber in the quench stack is also known, but does not utilize the latent heat of vaporization to cool the filaments which is available by use of fog.
Also, use of sprays of water droplets on the yarn is known but cause undesirable non-uniformities along thè filament. In fact, such nonuniformity is used to intentionally create weak spots or to create crinkled fiber.
_ This invention relates to an impro~Jed quench system and method for use in spinning multifilament synthetic fiber~ Mor~ particularly, the system and method use a fog in the quench stack in combination with a flow of air.
B~ fog is meant fine particles of fluid, such as water suspended in air, speci~ically excluding ~luid such'as water droplets not suspended in air.
This fog can be mechanically produced with an airless spray no'zzle (atomizer~ to atomize fluid such as water.
Such an airless spray nozzle is disclosed in U~S.
3,366,721, By fluid is meant any fluid which can absorb a ~reat deal of heat, such as by the latent heat of vaporization of water or possibly liquid gases. Fluid also means mixtures of water with other fluids beneficial to fibers, such as finishes.
Although it is known to use flowîng air to ~uench'~reshl'~ spun filaments~ and it is known to use airless spray fog or colloidal suspension of fluid~
sùch as water (U.S. 3~366,721)''a1'o'ne'to quench filaments, ..
the combination is not taught~ Each'of these methods when used alone is uneconomical in capital investment or require hi~h flow rates causing filament motion, undesirable for reasons given below.
Because'a large volume of air at hi~h ~elocity - is necessary to create the'water spray, the prior art method of using flowing air and sprayed water from a com~ressed air spray nozzle to quench filaments creates , ... .
.~.',"~,.', ~
~3~291~
great turbulence of the filaments in the quench st~ck causing at worst filaments fusing together, ox at best sli~ht imperfections where the filaments touch or bxush one another ~n the quench st~ck. Also~
turbulence can cause denier variation. These ~usions and eyen denier yariation o~ sli~ht imperfections then cause major problems in subsequent continuous processing o~ continuous fila~lents as they break, slough, or wrap on rolls in the drawing, twisting, texturing or liké
equipment.
Use of steam to condition fiber in the quench stack is also known, but does not utilize the latent heat of vaporization to cool the filaments which is available by use of fog.
Also, use of sprays of water droplets on the yarn is known but cause undesirable non-uniformities along thè filament. In fact, such nonuniformity is used to intentionally create weak spots or to create crinkled fiber.
2 0 SUMMARY OF TH:E~ INVENTION
. .
In the broad concept, the improved method of this invention is to quench freshly sp~m synthetic multifilament fibers in a quench stack using fog and air comprising spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette then into a quench stack, introducing flowing air into the quench stack, then introduciny fluid, such as water, in the form of fog generated from an airless atomizer into the quench stack along with the flowing air, controlling the air flow, and controlling the formation of the foy, to quench the freshly spun fiber.
A preferred method is to quench freshly spwn fibers in a quench stack usiny air and foy and comprises spinning fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack and ~uenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack first with flowing a~r and then air and fluid, such aS wa~er in the form o~ fog generated from an airless atomizer~ and taking up the fiber on a wound package, while controlling the a~r flow~ and controlling the rate of formation of the ~o~. The atomizer nozzle can be preferably from about 4 to about 8 feet from the spinnerette. Pre~erably the`fibexs are fxom a synthetic polymer. Also, it is preferred to provide one nozzle for each two bundles of multifilament per stack. The air flow is preferably controlled to supply from about .01 to .15 standard cubic feet per minute per pound polymer per minute and the farmation of fog is preferably controlled by atomizing water at a rate of from about 2 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute to 4.5 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute at a pressure of about 400 to 720 psi at the nozzle of the atomizer. The nozzle is more preferably located about 6 feet below the spinnerette.
By use of this invention, a spinning and quench system designed for high throughput feeder yarn for staple can be converted to produce high quality feeder yarn for continuous filament processing at high throughput rates. The system uses the latent heat of vaporization to obtain a high degree of quenching. The fiber emerging from the interfloor tube has been measured '~3~LZ~
at 20C. compared -to 35 to ~O~C. for conven-tional quench systems.
The quench system of this invention for spinning multifilament fiber, preferably synthetic, using fog and air in a quench stack comprises a spinnerette for spinning synthetic fiber into a quench s~ack, preferably a cross-flow quench stack, a nozzle for airless atomizing water into fog, the nozzle preferably being loca~ed four to eight feet, more preferably, six feet below the spinnerette introducing fog into the quench stack, means ~or supplying a flow of air to the quench stack, means to exhaust the air flow from the guench stack, means to supply water to the nozzle, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets in the quench stack, means to control the air flow, and means to control the pressure of the water supply to the nozzle. The spinnerette is located at the entrance of the quench stack, while the means for supplying air, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets, means to exhaust air and nozzle all communicate with the quench stack. The means to supply the water communicates with the nozzle.
Both the means to cvntrol are operativel~ connected respectively to the air flow supply means and the wa-ter supply means. The nozzle atomizes and communicates with the quench stack at a point downstream from said means to supply air and so tha no water droplets are formed to directly contact the fiber. The quenching of the fibers is due entirely to the effect of the fog in conjunctian wikh the air flow. Preferably, one nozzle is provided for each two bundles of multifilament 2~
fiber per stack. This invention makes possible spinniny high quality continuous filamen-t yarn frorn equipment designed for high throughput staple feeder yaxn by simply modifying the quench stack to add the airless atomizer type spraye.r to create a fog in the quench stack. This permits a much lower rate of ~low of moving air through the quench stack and creates much less filament motion. This reduced filament motion in turn permits practicable downstream continuous processing of the continuous filament yarn because of much fewer feeder yarn fusion points and imperfections where yarn filaments have bounced or contacted one another. Denier quality is also improved. In fact, in a practical application of this invention on a spinning and quench system designed for high throughput staple feeder yarn into a piddler can, it was impossible to take up the yarn from the quench stack onto an acceptable wound package unless the fog was used in conjunction with the flowing air in the quench stack. Without fog introduction into the quench stack, commercially acceptable wound packages were not possible at the high throughputs desired. At those throughputs air flow was so high it caused high filament fusiorl levels, and ve~y soft, unstable packages that could not be handled normally without sloughs of yarn occurring. ~lso full size packages could not be wound because ridges, overgrowth and overthrows of yarn would form, causing package deterioration.
Distribution of the quench air in a typical operation is as follows: Fifty percent of the quench " ~33l4~
air passes across the filaments bein~ quenched and out into the room. The remaining 50 percen-t is aspirated by the movement of the yarn into the narrow part of the quench stack called the interfloor tube. Of thatt 15 percent passes entirely through the tube and exhausts at the lower end of the quench stack and 35 percent is removed ~y th~ exhaust system located along the interfloor tube. In other embodiments greater portions of quench air may flow into the room, up to nearly 100 ~ercent.
The new quench system has the upper area (near the spinnerette) operating as a standard cross flow system with a normal air profile, i.e., lower velocity at the top increasing to higher velocity at the bottom.
The lower portion acts as a co-current system with room air being introduced in annular manner near the top and being exhausted in an annular manner near the bottom of the interfloor tube. The co-current section has the airless atomizing jet or jets located near the top (below the air introduction point) for the injection of water (or other fluidized medium) under high pressure to form fog. The resulting water as fog and vapor (due to the heat of the polymer filamen-ts vaporizing the suspended fine water particles) are removed with the air exhaust.
The use of cooling air prior to contacting filaments with fog puts a tough skin on the filament surface. This avoids the prior art problem of non~uniformities, weak spots, and crinkling of the filaments. Condensation from the cooled interfloor tube is collected at the exit of the tube and drained oEf to prevent yarn spotting.
4Z~
This invention offers the following advantayes over the prior ar-t:
a. Provides increased heat removal frorn the fiber during quenching.
b. Combines the best features from both cross flow and co-current flow quench systems.
c. Allows for higher throughputs than either above system is capable of.
d. Reduces amount of fused filaments and filament movement.
e. Increased yarn uniformity.
f. Reduces requirement for high energy consumption of conditioned air.
g. Improves package formation by reducing yarn growth aft~r winding.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The figure is a schematic, partial cross section, side view showing a preferred embodiment of the quench system of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE ERRED EMBODIMENT
In the figure molten polymer from extruder 1 flows through conduit 2 to be forced by pump 3 through spinnerette 5 in spin block 4. The filaments 12 of synthetic fiber are extruded into quench stack 6 which has monomer exhaust 7 and monomer exhaust ring 8.
Cooling air enters through plenum 9 from source of air 10 and enters quench stack as shown by arrows ll flowing across filaments 12 and out of quench stack 6 as shown by arrows 13. Some quench air i5 also drawn along with the moving filaments as shown by arrow 23. Room air z~
may also be drawn alony in qllench stack ~ as shown by arrow 24. Filaments 12 then pass through fog 26 formed by atomi~er 16 which receives high pressure water through pipe 15 from pump 14. Wa-ter is supplied from water source 22. Filaments ~hen pass through the interfloor tub~ section shown as the narrowed section of quench stack 6. Interfloor tube exhaust 17 for air and wa-ter vapor then exhausts a portion of the air drawn along with the filaments through the interfloor tube as shown by arrow 27. Filaments then contact finish roll 18 and pass around and over separator roll 19 and godet roll 20 to be taken up in takeup means 21 which could be a winder or tow can. Droplets of water which may condense inside on ~uench stack 6 are caught by drip catchers 28. Water is removed through drains 33.
Air may flow into interfloor exhaust 17 from either direction as shown by arrows 25.
Control for water pressure to the atomizer is by pressure control valve 29. Control for air flow is by controller 32 on fan motor 31 which powers fan 30.
EXAMPLE
Using the system and method described above, nylon 6 polymer, h~ving properties shown in Table 1, was extruded through a 140 hole ("Y" shaped) spinnerette to a denier of about 6,000, and taken up as two ends of 3,000 denier, 70 filaments each, at a rate of about 76 pounds per hour per spinnerette. Spinning and quench conditions are shown in Tables 2 and 3. The atomizer was a Nordson having the specificati.ons given in Table 4 and atomizing water was done as specified in Table 4.
~13~ L2~
Take-up was by conventional Leesona 967 winders at 3,000 feet/minute using standard spin firlish. Air in the takeup a~ea was maintained at abou~ 48~ relative humidity and 72F. The resulting yarn was subsequently drawn, textured, commingled and taken up as a carpet yarn sales package. The yarn had properties as shown in Table 5. Yarn was then made into small carpet samples equal in appearance and quality to presently commercial carpet.
Note the air flow rate is about one third of normal for preparation of nylon feeder yarn for making nylon staple yarn for carpet end use. Also, the comparative data in Table 3 show the fusion of filaments is improved by 800% by using fog in combination with flowing air.
Properties of Nylon 6 Polymer Type 1Type 2 R~lative Vis~osity 56 60 Extractables, ~ 2.7 2.0 Carboxyl ends, per 7.512 to 16 milliequivalents of polymer Amine ends, per 47 72 milliequivalents of polymer Spinning Conditions Extruder temperature 260C.
Extruder pressure 600 psig Pump type 5.6 cc/rev.
Pump rpm 55.2 Block temperature 260C.
Exit polymer temperature 263C.
Filter pack type Screens , L0-2~8 I'ABLE 3 Quench Cond1t ons Cross Flow Quench Quench Air Temperature, F. 65 Relative Humidity, % 65 Air flow, cfm 400 Velocity 60 fpm avg.
Monomer exhaust, vacuum Inches of water 2 to 4 Fused filaments, % .007 Comparative Data Fused filaments, with water to atomizer off .056 Atomiz_r Specifications Type Nordson, 16:1 drive -pressure to output pressure ratio Orifice, inches .003 Turbulence plate, inches .003 Pressure, psig. 560 Water flow, ounces 3 per minute per nozzle .84 ~ 3~
Yarn Pr pe ties _drawn T pe 1 Type 2 Denier 3,000 3,120 Ultimate Elongation, ~ 315 360 Tenacity, grams/denier 1.1 1.7 Drawn Draw Ratio 2~ 3.0 Drawing Speed,fpm 5,000 6,000 Denier 1,330 1,300 Ultimate Elongation, % 53 52 Tenacity, grams/denier 2.1 3.0 Entanglements per mPter 33 - 31 Yarn breaks during .63 1.0 drawing, per hour .
Yield of yarn on packages 86O5 -versus yarn from spinning, %
INITIAL TRIALS
In initial trials of the use of fog in the quench stack combined with flowing air, a closed quench stack using co-current air flow was used.
Several times, when operating the spinning and quenching at 45 pounds/hour of polymer throughput and otherwise standard conditions, as given above, cylindrical packages of nylon 6 yarn could not be taken up on conventional winders when the fog was not beiny introduced about 6 feet down the stack because the 30. yarn being wound would expand and form ridges and slough off of the packayes until winding failed.
Introducing fog under the same conditions perrnitted normal winding of full size yarn packages Increasiny air flow without fog would have created much undesirable filament motion in the quench stack.
Also, yarn produced with no fog as compared to yarn produced with fog introduced to the quench stack along with the flow of air was highly inferior in mechanical quality during subsequent processing. That is, the yarn produced with no fog had a great deal more imperfections and nonuni~ormities along the length of the filaments as shown by problems in drawing.
One sample of yarn produced with fog had no wraps during subsequent drawing while an equal amount taken from partial packages of yarn quenched with no fog had 0.21 wraps per pound of yarn drawn. One sample produced without fog could not be drawn because it continually ~roke when drawn at the same conditions as yarn quenched with fog and flowing air.
Using ten samples of wound sales packages of each type of nylon 6 feeder yarn for carpet end-use, one set quenched with air only and the other set quenched with air and fog under otherwise identical conditions, a comparative evaluation of mechanical quality was made. The packages were evaluated objectively, visually. A value of l indicates no overthrown ends, no broken fils and no loops on the package. The inspectors were trained in ordinary daily quality control inspections. The standaxd for commexcial yarn is 2. A value of 5 ~3~9L2~
indicates very poor quality, and any value above 3.5 would be rejected and not sold. The trial averaye for packages of yarn produced w.ith fog in the quench s~ack was 1.8. The trial average for packages of yarn produced without fog in the quench stack was 4.4. The yarn produced without fog made unacceptable packages and also would not pass through the standard tuf~ing needles used to tuft carpet due to snags from yarn imperfections.
. .
In the broad concept, the improved method of this invention is to quench freshly sp~m synthetic multifilament fibers in a quench stack using fog and air comprising spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette then into a quench stack, introducing flowing air into the quench stack, then introduciny fluid, such as water, in the form of fog generated from an airless atomizer into the quench stack along with the flowing air, controlling the air flow, and controlling the formation of the foy, to quench the freshly spun fiber.
A preferred method is to quench freshly spwn fibers in a quench stack usiny air and foy and comprises spinning fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack and ~uenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack first with flowing a~r and then air and fluid, such aS wa~er in the form o~ fog generated from an airless atomizer~ and taking up the fiber on a wound package, while controlling the a~r flow~ and controlling the rate of formation of the ~o~. The atomizer nozzle can be preferably from about 4 to about 8 feet from the spinnerette. Pre~erably the`fibexs are fxom a synthetic polymer. Also, it is preferred to provide one nozzle for each two bundles of multifilament per stack. The air flow is preferably controlled to supply from about .01 to .15 standard cubic feet per minute per pound polymer per minute and the farmation of fog is preferably controlled by atomizing water at a rate of from about 2 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute to 4.5 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute at a pressure of about 400 to 720 psi at the nozzle of the atomizer. The nozzle is more preferably located about 6 feet below the spinnerette.
By use of this invention, a spinning and quench system designed for high throughput feeder yarn for staple can be converted to produce high quality feeder yarn for continuous filament processing at high throughput rates. The system uses the latent heat of vaporization to obtain a high degree of quenching. The fiber emerging from the interfloor tube has been measured '~3~LZ~
at 20C. compared -to 35 to ~O~C. for conven-tional quench systems.
The quench system of this invention for spinning multifilament fiber, preferably synthetic, using fog and air in a quench stack comprises a spinnerette for spinning synthetic fiber into a quench s~ack, preferably a cross-flow quench stack, a nozzle for airless atomizing water into fog, the nozzle preferably being loca~ed four to eight feet, more preferably, six feet below the spinnerette introducing fog into the quench stack, means ~or supplying a flow of air to the quench stack, means to exhaust the air flow from the guench stack, means to supply water to the nozzle, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets in the quench stack, means to control the air flow, and means to control the pressure of the water supply to the nozzle. The spinnerette is located at the entrance of the quench stack, while the means for supplying air, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets, means to exhaust air and nozzle all communicate with the quench stack. The means to supply the water communicates with the nozzle.
Both the means to cvntrol are operativel~ connected respectively to the air flow supply means and the wa-ter supply means. The nozzle atomizes and communicates with the quench stack at a point downstream from said means to supply air and so tha no water droplets are formed to directly contact the fiber. The quenching of the fibers is due entirely to the effect of the fog in conjunctian wikh the air flow. Preferably, one nozzle is provided for each two bundles of multifilament 2~
fiber per stack. This invention makes possible spinniny high quality continuous filamen-t yarn frorn equipment designed for high throughput staple feeder yaxn by simply modifying the quench stack to add the airless atomizer type spraye.r to create a fog in the quench stack. This permits a much lower rate of ~low of moving air through the quench stack and creates much less filament motion. This reduced filament motion in turn permits practicable downstream continuous processing of the continuous filament yarn because of much fewer feeder yarn fusion points and imperfections where yarn filaments have bounced or contacted one another. Denier quality is also improved. In fact, in a practical application of this invention on a spinning and quench system designed for high throughput staple feeder yarn into a piddler can, it was impossible to take up the yarn from the quench stack onto an acceptable wound package unless the fog was used in conjunction with the flowing air in the quench stack. Without fog introduction into the quench stack, commercially acceptable wound packages were not possible at the high throughputs desired. At those throughputs air flow was so high it caused high filament fusiorl levels, and ve~y soft, unstable packages that could not be handled normally without sloughs of yarn occurring. ~lso full size packages could not be wound because ridges, overgrowth and overthrows of yarn would form, causing package deterioration.
Distribution of the quench air in a typical operation is as follows: Fifty percent of the quench " ~33l4~
air passes across the filaments bein~ quenched and out into the room. The remaining 50 percen-t is aspirated by the movement of the yarn into the narrow part of the quench stack called the interfloor tube. Of thatt 15 percent passes entirely through the tube and exhausts at the lower end of the quench stack and 35 percent is removed ~y th~ exhaust system located along the interfloor tube. In other embodiments greater portions of quench air may flow into the room, up to nearly 100 ~ercent.
The new quench system has the upper area (near the spinnerette) operating as a standard cross flow system with a normal air profile, i.e., lower velocity at the top increasing to higher velocity at the bottom.
The lower portion acts as a co-current system with room air being introduced in annular manner near the top and being exhausted in an annular manner near the bottom of the interfloor tube. The co-current section has the airless atomizing jet or jets located near the top (below the air introduction point) for the injection of water (or other fluidized medium) under high pressure to form fog. The resulting water as fog and vapor (due to the heat of the polymer filamen-ts vaporizing the suspended fine water particles) are removed with the air exhaust.
The use of cooling air prior to contacting filaments with fog puts a tough skin on the filament surface. This avoids the prior art problem of non~uniformities, weak spots, and crinkling of the filaments. Condensation from the cooled interfloor tube is collected at the exit of the tube and drained oEf to prevent yarn spotting.
4Z~
This invention offers the following advantayes over the prior ar-t:
a. Provides increased heat removal frorn the fiber during quenching.
b. Combines the best features from both cross flow and co-current flow quench systems.
c. Allows for higher throughputs than either above system is capable of.
d. Reduces amount of fused filaments and filament movement.
e. Increased yarn uniformity.
f. Reduces requirement for high energy consumption of conditioned air.
g. Improves package formation by reducing yarn growth aft~r winding.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The figure is a schematic, partial cross section, side view showing a preferred embodiment of the quench system of this invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRE ERRED EMBODIMENT
In the figure molten polymer from extruder 1 flows through conduit 2 to be forced by pump 3 through spinnerette 5 in spin block 4. The filaments 12 of synthetic fiber are extruded into quench stack 6 which has monomer exhaust 7 and monomer exhaust ring 8.
Cooling air enters through plenum 9 from source of air 10 and enters quench stack as shown by arrows ll flowing across filaments 12 and out of quench stack 6 as shown by arrows 13. Some quench air i5 also drawn along with the moving filaments as shown by arrow 23. Room air z~
may also be drawn alony in qllench stack ~ as shown by arrow 24. Filaments 12 then pass through fog 26 formed by atomi~er 16 which receives high pressure water through pipe 15 from pump 14. Wa-ter is supplied from water source 22. Filaments ~hen pass through the interfloor tub~ section shown as the narrowed section of quench stack 6. Interfloor tube exhaust 17 for air and wa-ter vapor then exhausts a portion of the air drawn along with the filaments through the interfloor tube as shown by arrow 27. Filaments then contact finish roll 18 and pass around and over separator roll 19 and godet roll 20 to be taken up in takeup means 21 which could be a winder or tow can. Droplets of water which may condense inside on ~uench stack 6 are caught by drip catchers 28. Water is removed through drains 33.
Air may flow into interfloor exhaust 17 from either direction as shown by arrows 25.
Control for water pressure to the atomizer is by pressure control valve 29. Control for air flow is by controller 32 on fan motor 31 which powers fan 30.
EXAMPLE
Using the system and method described above, nylon 6 polymer, h~ving properties shown in Table 1, was extruded through a 140 hole ("Y" shaped) spinnerette to a denier of about 6,000, and taken up as two ends of 3,000 denier, 70 filaments each, at a rate of about 76 pounds per hour per spinnerette. Spinning and quench conditions are shown in Tables 2 and 3. The atomizer was a Nordson having the specificati.ons given in Table 4 and atomizing water was done as specified in Table 4.
~13~ L2~
Take-up was by conventional Leesona 967 winders at 3,000 feet/minute using standard spin firlish. Air in the takeup a~ea was maintained at abou~ 48~ relative humidity and 72F. The resulting yarn was subsequently drawn, textured, commingled and taken up as a carpet yarn sales package. The yarn had properties as shown in Table 5. Yarn was then made into small carpet samples equal in appearance and quality to presently commercial carpet.
Note the air flow rate is about one third of normal for preparation of nylon feeder yarn for making nylon staple yarn for carpet end use. Also, the comparative data in Table 3 show the fusion of filaments is improved by 800% by using fog in combination with flowing air.
Properties of Nylon 6 Polymer Type 1Type 2 R~lative Vis~osity 56 60 Extractables, ~ 2.7 2.0 Carboxyl ends, per 7.512 to 16 milliequivalents of polymer Amine ends, per 47 72 milliequivalents of polymer Spinning Conditions Extruder temperature 260C.
Extruder pressure 600 psig Pump type 5.6 cc/rev.
Pump rpm 55.2 Block temperature 260C.
Exit polymer temperature 263C.
Filter pack type Screens , L0-2~8 I'ABLE 3 Quench Cond1t ons Cross Flow Quench Quench Air Temperature, F. 65 Relative Humidity, % 65 Air flow, cfm 400 Velocity 60 fpm avg.
Monomer exhaust, vacuum Inches of water 2 to 4 Fused filaments, % .007 Comparative Data Fused filaments, with water to atomizer off .056 Atomiz_r Specifications Type Nordson, 16:1 drive -pressure to output pressure ratio Orifice, inches .003 Turbulence plate, inches .003 Pressure, psig. 560 Water flow, ounces 3 per minute per nozzle .84 ~ 3~
Yarn Pr pe ties _drawn T pe 1 Type 2 Denier 3,000 3,120 Ultimate Elongation, ~ 315 360 Tenacity, grams/denier 1.1 1.7 Drawn Draw Ratio 2~ 3.0 Drawing Speed,fpm 5,000 6,000 Denier 1,330 1,300 Ultimate Elongation, % 53 52 Tenacity, grams/denier 2.1 3.0 Entanglements per mPter 33 - 31 Yarn breaks during .63 1.0 drawing, per hour .
Yield of yarn on packages 86O5 -versus yarn from spinning, %
INITIAL TRIALS
In initial trials of the use of fog in the quench stack combined with flowing air, a closed quench stack using co-current air flow was used.
Several times, when operating the spinning and quenching at 45 pounds/hour of polymer throughput and otherwise standard conditions, as given above, cylindrical packages of nylon 6 yarn could not be taken up on conventional winders when the fog was not beiny introduced about 6 feet down the stack because the 30. yarn being wound would expand and form ridges and slough off of the packayes until winding failed.
Introducing fog under the same conditions perrnitted normal winding of full size yarn packages Increasiny air flow without fog would have created much undesirable filament motion in the quench stack.
Also, yarn produced with no fog as compared to yarn produced with fog introduced to the quench stack along with the flow of air was highly inferior in mechanical quality during subsequent processing. That is, the yarn produced with no fog had a great deal more imperfections and nonuni~ormities along the length of the filaments as shown by problems in drawing.
One sample of yarn produced with fog had no wraps during subsequent drawing while an equal amount taken from partial packages of yarn quenched with no fog had 0.21 wraps per pound of yarn drawn. One sample produced without fog could not be drawn because it continually ~roke when drawn at the same conditions as yarn quenched with fog and flowing air.
Using ten samples of wound sales packages of each type of nylon 6 feeder yarn for carpet end-use, one set quenched with air only and the other set quenched with air and fog under otherwise identical conditions, a comparative evaluation of mechanical quality was made. The packages were evaluated objectively, visually. A value of l indicates no overthrown ends, no broken fils and no loops on the package. The inspectors were trained in ordinary daily quality control inspections. The standaxd for commexcial yarn is 2. A value of 5 ~3~9L2~
indicates very poor quality, and any value above 3.5 would be rejected and not sold. The trial averaye for packages of yarn produced w.ith fog in the quench s~ack was 1.8. The trial average for packages of yarn produced without fog in the quench stack was 4.4. The yarn produced without fog made unacceptable packages and also would not pass through the standard tuf~ing needles used to tuft carpet due to snags from yarn imperfections.
Claims (7)
- WE CLAIM:
l. A method to quench freshly spun synthetic multi-filament fibers in a quench stack using fog and air comprising spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from its molten synthetic polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack, quenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack first with flowing air and then with a combination of flowing air and water in the form of a fog generated from an airless atomizer, and taking up said fiber onto a wound package, while controlling said air flow, and controlling the rate of formation of said fog, providing one nozzle for each two bundles of multifilament fiber per stack, controlling said air flow to a supply of from about 0.01 to 0.15 scfm per pound of polymer per minute, controlling said formation of fog by atomizing water at a rate of from 2 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute to about 4.5 ounces of water per minute per pound of polymer per minute at a pressure of about 400 to 720 at the nozzle of said atomizer, locating said nozzle at about 6 feet below said spinnerette, so that a spinning and quench system designed for high throughput feeder yarn for staple can produce high quality feeder yarn for continuous filament processing. - 2. A method to quench freshly spun fibers in a quench stack using fog and air comprising spinning fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack, and quenching the freshly spun fiber in the quench stack first with flowing air then a combination of flowing air and water in the form of fog generated from an airless atomizer, and taking up said fiber onto a wound package, while controlling said air flow to a supply of from about 0.01 to 0.15 scfm per pound of polymer per minute, and controlling the rate of formation of said fog by atomizing water at a rate of from 2 ounces to 4.5 ounces of water per pound of polymer per minute at a pressure of about 400-720 psi at the nozzle of the atomizer.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said polymer is synthetic and said atomizer nozzle is from about 4 to about 8 feet from said spinnerette.
- 4. A method to quench freshly spun synthetic multifilament fibers in a quench stack using fog and air comprising spinning synthetic multifilament fiber from its molten polymer through a spinnerette into a quench stack first introducing flowing air into said quench stack, then introducing fluid in the form of a fog generated from an airless atomizer into said quench stack, along with said air, and controlling said air flow to a supply of from about 0.01 to 0.15 scfm per pound of polymer per minute, and controlling said formation of said fog by atomizing water at a rate of from 2 ounces to 4.5 ounces of water per pound of polymer per minute at a pressure of about 400-720 psi at the nozzle of the atomizer to quench the freshly spun fiber.
- 5. A quench system for spinning multifilament synthetic fiber using fog and air in a quench stack comprising a spinnerette for spinning synthetic fiber into a cross-flow quench stack, a nozzle for airless atomizing of water into fog, said nozzle located about six feet below said spinnerette and emitting said fog into said quench stack, means for supplying a flow of air to said quench stack, means to exhaust said air flow from said quench stack, means to supply water to said nozzle, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets in said quench stack, means to control said air flow, and means to control the pressure of said water supply to nozzle, said spinnerette being located at the entrance of said quench stack, said means for supplying air, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets, means to exhaust air and nozzle all communicating with said quench stack, said means to supply said water communicating with said nozzle, both said means to control operatively connected respectively to said air flow supply means and said water supply means, and said nozzle atomizing and communicating with said quench stack so that no water droplets are formed to directly contact said fiber and the quenching of said fiber is due entirely to the effect of said fog in conjunction with said air flow, and one nozzle being provided for each two bundles of multifialment fiber per stack.
- 6. A quench system for spinning fiber using fog and air in a quench stack comprising a spinnerette for spinning fiber into a quench stack a nozzle for airless atomizing of fluid into fog for introduction into said quench stack, means for supplying a flow of air to said quench stack, and means to exhaust said air flow from said quench stack means to supply fluid to said nozzle means to receive and remove any excess fluid droplets condensed from said fluid and formed in said quench stack and means to control said air flow, and means to control the pressure of said fluid supply to said nozzle, said spinnerette being located at the entrance of said quench stack, said means for supplying air, means to receive and remove any excess water droplets, means to exhaust air and nozzle communicating with said quench stack, said means to supply said water communicating with said nozzle, said means to control operatively connected respectively to said air flow supply means and said water supply means, and said nozzle atomizing and communicating with said quench stack at a point downstream from said means for supplying air and so that no water droplets are formed to directly contact said fiber and the quenching of said fiber is due entirely to the effect of said fog in conjunction with said air flow.
- 7. The system of claim 6 wherein said nozzle is located from about 4 to about 8 feet from said spinnerette.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US930,119 | 1978-08-01 | ||
| US05/930,119 US4204828A (en) | 1978-08-01 | 1978-08-01 | Quench system for synthetic fibers using fog and flowing air |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1131424A true CA1131424A (en) | 1982-09-14 |
Family
ID=25458944
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA330,461A Expired CA1131424A (en) | 1978-08-01 | 1979-06-25 | Quench system for synthetic fibers using fog and flowing air |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4204828A (en) |
| EP (1) | EP0007481A3 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS5522098A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1131424A (en) |
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| US4288207A (en) * | 1980-06-30 | 1981-09-08 | Fiber Industries, Inc. | Apparatus for producing melt-spun filaments |
| US4332764A (en) * | 1980-10-21 | 1982-06-01 | Fiber Industries, Inc. | Methods for producing melt-spun filaments |
| US4340341A (en) * | 1980-10-21 | 1982-07-20 | Fiber Industries, Inc. | Apparatus for guiding filaments |
| US4424927A (en) | 1980-10-21 | 1984-01-10 | Fiber Industries, Inc. | Method and apparatus for guiding filaments |
| US4396570A (en) * | 1981-05-01 | 1983-08-02 | Allied Corporation | Nylon spin-draw process with steam conditioning |
| JPS59187610A (en) * | 1983-03-22 | 1984-10-24 | Toa Nenryo Kogyo Kk | Method for heating melt spinning head structure |
| US4561569A (en) * | 1984-01-12 | 1985-12-31 | Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company | Thermoplastic dispensing device with outlet cooling chamber |
| JPS60224807A (en) * | 1984-02-28 | 1985-11-09 | Ube Nitto Kasei Kk | Method for spinning and cooling of thick denier fiber |
| US4978485A (en) * | 1988-07-25 | 1990-12-18 | Amoco Corporation | Method for controlling a quench fluid velocity in a polymer melt spinning process |
| JPH0725648B2 (en) * | 1988-08-02 | 1995-03-22 | クルツァ ゲーエムベーハー | Plastic denture member |
| JP2517753B2 (en) * | 1988-12-28 | 1996-07-24 | 株式会社ジーシーデンタルプロダクツ | Artificial tooth and its manufacturing method |
| US5219585A (en) * | 1990-02-23 | 1993-06-15 | Basf Corporation | Monomer exhaust system |
| US5165940A (en) * | 1992-04-23 | 1992-11-24 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Spinneret |
| US6090485A (en) * | 1996-10-16 | 2000-07-18 | E. I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company | Continuous filament yarns |
| TW476818B (en) * | 1998-02-21 | 2002-02-21 | Barmag Barmer Maschf | Method and apparatus for spinning a multifilament yarn |
| CN1117186C (en) * | 1998-07-23 | 2003-08-06 | 巴马格股份公司 | Spinning device and method for spinning synthetic thread |
| DE19915762A1 (en) * | 1999-04-08 | 2000-10-12 | Lurgi Zimmer Ag | Cooling system for filament bundles |
| US6406657B1 (en) * | 1999-10-08 | 2002-06-18 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Method and apparatus for making a fibrous electret web using a wetting liquid and an aqueous polar liquid |
| US6454986B1 (en) | 1999-10-08 | 2002-09-24 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Method of making a fibrous electret web using a nonaqueous polar liquid |
| US6375886B1 (en) * | 1999-10-08 | 2002-04-23 | 3M Innovative Properties Company | Method and apparatus for making a nonwoven fibrous electret web from free-fiber and polar liquid |
| US20060022370A1 (en) * | 2004-05-03 | 2006-02-02 | Honeywell International, Inc | Carpet yarn desensitized to variable ambient environmental conditions and methods and systems of making the same |
| TWI337634B (en) * | 2007-12-27 | 2011-02-21 | Taiwan Textile Res Inst | Apparatus and method for manufacturing nonwoven fabric |
| CN101235550B (en) * | 2008-02-01 | 2010-04-21 | 江阴中绿化纤工艺技术有限公司 | 48 head square spinning path |
| US8303288B2 (en) * | 2008-12-24 | 2012-11-06 | Taiwan Textile Research Institute | Machine for manufacturing nonwoven fabric |
| TWI345007B (en) * | 2008-12-24 | 2011-07-11 | Taiwan Textile Res Inst | Spunbonding apparatus |
| DE112016001912A5 (en) * | 2015-04-25 | 2018-01-04 | Oerlikon Textile Gmbh & Co. Kg | Method and apparatus for melt spinning and cooling multifilament yarns |
| CN109097844A (en) * | 2018-10-10 | 2018-12-28 | 宣城广能非织造有限公司 | A kind of spraying device for accelerating meltblown fibers cooling |
| CN114875503A (en) * | 2022-06-18 | 2022-08-09 | 盐城市力马空调工程有限公司 | Airless spinning cooling forming process, device and spinning equipment |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US2161354A (en) * | 1936-06-26 | 1939-06-06 | Eastman Kodak Co | Method for lubrication of artificial silk |
| US2212772A (en) * | 1937-02-15 | 1940-08-27 | Du Pont | Synthetic polymers and shaped articles therefrom |
| US2289860A (en) * | 1938-08-09 | 1942-07-14 | Du Pont | Process and apparatus for the production of artificial fibers and the like |
| GB541238A (en) * | 1940-04-17 | 1941-11-19 | Henry Dreyfus | Improvements in or relating to the manufacture of artificial textile materials and the like |
| US2318679A (en) * | 1940-08-05 | 1943-05-11 | Celanese Corp | Production of artificial filaments, films, and like materials |
| US2377810A (en) * | 1942-10-30 | 1945-06-05 | Dow Chemical Co | Crinkled polymeric vinylidene chloride fibers |
| US2447984A (en) * | 1944-02-22 | 1948-08-24 | American Viseose Corp | Apparatus for spinning artificial staple fibers |
| US2886848A (en) * | 1955-02-10 | 1959-05-19 | American Enka Corp | Blow box |
| BE565068A (en) * | 1957-02-22 | |||
| US3053611A (en) * | 1958-01-21 | 1962-09-11 | Inventa Ag | Process for spinning of synthetic fibers |
| US2982994A (en) * | 1958-10-15 | 1961-05-09 | Du Pont | Process and apparatus for quenching and steam-conditioning yarn |
| US3118012A (en) * | 1959-05-01 | 1964-01-14 | Du Pont | Melt spinning process |
| FR1257932A (en) * | 1959-05-01 | 1961-04-07 | Du Pont | Process for spinning a molten synthetic polymer |
| IT650394A (en) * | 1960-04-29 | |||
| NL267934A (en) * | 1960-08-08 | |||
| BE632713A (en) * | 1962-05-23 | |||
| US3115385A (en) * | 1962-09-19 | 1963-12-24 | Du Pont | Quenching process |
| NL129960C (en) * | 1963-04-17 | |||
| US3316740A (en) * | 1964-12-23 | 1967-05-02 | Du Pont | Yarn steaming apparatus |
| US3366721A (en) * | 1966-07-21 | 1968-01-30 | Monsanto Co | Process for treating filaments |
| US4000238A (en) * | 1972-02-29 | 1976-12-28 | Fiber Industries, Inc. | Method for production of synthetic yarns |
| DE2214297A1 (en) * | 1972-03-24 | 1973-10-11 | Hoechst Ag | NEW (THIO) PHOSPHORUS AND (THIO) PHOSPHONIC ACID ESTERS AND AMIDES AND THE PROCESS FOR THEIR PRODUCTION |
| US3907957A (en) * | 1973-06-18 | 1975-09-23 | Du Pont | Quenching process for melt extruded filaments |
| DE2638662B2 (en) * | 1976-08-27 | 1978-12-21 | Didier Engineering Gmbh, 4300 Essen | Device for the continuous production of filament yarns from polymers |
-
1978
- 1978-08-01 US US05/930,119 patent/US4204828A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1979
- 1979-06-25 CA CA330,461A patent/CA1131424A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-07-04 EP EP79102261A patent/EP0007481A3/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1979-07-30 JP JP9716679A patent/JPS5522098A/en active Pending
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0007481A2 (en) | 1980-02-06 |
| EP0007481A3 (en) | 1980-03-19 |
| JPS5522098A (en) | 1980-02-16 |
| US4204828A (en) | 1980-05-27 |
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