1D Model Estimation of Free Surface Location in a Polymer Fiber Drawing Process

Abstract

A radially lumped and axially differential control volume is used to numerically estimate free surface location in a polymer fiber drawing process. The simplified model will include the effects of temperature-dependent viscosity of the polymer μ(z), variable furnace wall temperature profile Tw(z), and radiation heat transfer. Empirical relations were used to model the convective heat transfer to the polymer from the adjacent air and enclosure analysis is used to calculate radiation heat transfer between the furnace and the polymer. While the free surface shape does show a considerable error when compared to the two-dimensional simulation and experimental results from the literature, using the free surface shape and temperature profile obtained from the simplified model as an initial guess for the full three-dimensional simulations can significantly reduce convergence times.