Paper Number
SM29 

Session
Polymers Solutions, Melts, and Blends

Title
Spinnability and centrifugal force spinning of fibers of poly(ethylene oxide) solutions

Presentation Date and Time
October 13, 2021 (Wednesday) 9:50

Track / Room
Track 1 / Ballroom 5

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Merchiers, Jorgo (Hasselt University)
  2. Slykas, Cheryl (University of Illinois at Chicago, Chemical Engineering)
  3. Martínez Narváez, Carina (University of Illinois at Chicago, Chemical Engineering)
  4. Reddy, Naveen (Hasselt University)
  5. Sharma, Vivek (University of Illinois at Chicago, Chemical Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Jorgo Merchiers1, Cheryl Slykas2, Carina Martínez Narváez2, Naveen Reddy1 and Vivek Sharma2
1Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium; 2Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607

Speaker / Presenter 
Slykas, Cheryl

Keywords
experimental methods; theoretical methods; additive manufacturing; applied rheology; flow-induced instabilities; non-Newtonian fluids; polymer solutions; rheology methods

Text of Abstract
Centrifugal force spinning has recently emerged as a highly promising alternative technique for the production of nonwoven, ultrafine fiber mats. Due to its high production rate, it could provide a more technologically relevant fiber spinning technique than electrospinning. In this contribution, we examine the influence of polymer concentration and solvent properties on the centrifugal spinning process and the fiber morphology. We find that increasing the polymer concentration transforms the process from a beaded-fiber regime to a continuous-fiber regime. Furthermore, we find that not only fiber diameter is strongly concentration-dependent, but the choice of solvent and nozzle properties also influence the fiber morphology and mechanical properties. A comprehensive investigation of shear and extensional rheology of the PEO solutions is carried out using torsional rheometry and dripping-onto-substrate (DoS) rheometry respectively to correlate spinnability to the processing conditions as well as to material properties.