NTC Project: F04-GT01

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FREQUENCY EFFECT ON DRAWING BEHAVIOR OF STAPLE FIBER STRANDS

Investigators:

Youjiang Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology

Ning Pan, University of California at Davis

Graduate Student:

Jianghong Liang, Georgia Institute of Technology

Visiting Professor:

Ge Chen, Donghua University, China

PROJECT GOAL

Staple yarn manufacturing is one of the most important activities of the US textile industrial
complex. The goal of this project is to develop some fundamental theories and a novel
technology to enhance the strand drafting process by minimizing drafting waves in staple yarn
manufacturing. This will lead to faster and more efficient processes with improved yarn quality.
It seeks the understanding of relative fiber motion in a staple fiber strand subjected to a drawing
action that is superimposed with a high frequency undulation motion. The new knowledge is a
needed addition to the field of fiber/textile science and engineering. The objectives are: (1) to
characterize the static and dynamic friction behavior of fibers based on static and dynamic cyclic
tests, (2) to study the response of fiber bundles that are subjected to combined drafting
(attenuation) and high-frequency undulating waves; (3) to establish a theory of fiber motion
during drafting in the presence of an undulating waves, and (4) to verify the feasibility and
effectiveness of a new roller drafting device with a undulating wave generator.

ABSTRACT

A literature review on roller drafting is provided followed by a summary of progress to date.

Preliminary experiments show that when a roving strand is subjected to lateral vibration, the
force required to stretch the strand is significantly reduced. A drafting device capable of
monitoring the strand drafting force has been designed and is under construction. Techniques to
introduce the high frequency undulation motion are investigated. Effort on theoretical modeling
has focused on fiber pull out by the front rollers from the fiber strand. The theory is being
extended to include additional fiber interaction effects and to predict the drafting force.

INTRODUCTION

Converting bales of fibers, each bale weighing about 500 pounds, into a thin, flexible textile
yarn, the staple yarn manufacturing process involves four basic operations: fiber separation, fiber
parallelization, strand attenuation, and consolidation of strand into yarn. Fibers go through about
10 individual machines in the following processing steps: opening/cleaning, carding, drawing,

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and yarn spinning [1]. A large strand of fibers is formed in carding, which then go through
several steps of drafting to improve fiber parallelization and, in the final step(s), to reduce the
linear density. A typical drafting device consists of multiple pairs of rollers, each pair moving at
a successively faster speed, attenuating the fiber strand. The distance between the two adjacent
pairs of rollers is set according to the length of the longest fibers to avoid fiber damage.
However, because staple fibers have different lengths (even for synthetic fibers of identical
length, the projected length along the strand is not uniform), shorter fibers are not always fully
grabbed or controlled by the drafting rollers. They are referred to as floating fibers, and their
movement is unpredictable. The floating fibers tend to move in bunches, causing irregularity in
the strand drafted, which are called drafting waves.

To reduce drafting waves, attachments are often installed to hold the floating fibers with those
controlled by the slower rollers, until the fibers reach the faster rollers, which then pull the fibers
at their speed. For thin strands such as a single sliver or a roving, a pair of aprons is often used
and it is very effective in controlling the motion of the floating fibers and reducing the drafting
waves. Roving has a low level of twist that also helps controlling the movement of short fibers.
In the drawing process, 6-10 slivers are combined and fed to the drafting device. Because of the
large strand in the drafting zone, pressure bars are used to help control the floating fibers, but
they are not very effective.

Some studies have been conducted on the fundamental mechanisms of roller drafting [2,3,4], and
they have led to various improvements in roller drafting. However, the current roller drafting
systems still add drafting waves that may be drastically reduced by a fundamental understanding
of the basic causes and by developing novel solutions.

STATE-OF-ART REVIEW ON FIBER BEHAVIOR IN DRAFTING ZONE

The effect of various parameters on roller drafting has been reported, including front-roll
coverings [5], crimp [3,6], yarn irregularity [7], roving twist [2], surface lubricant [2,8], fiber
fineness [9,10], among others [11]. Dogu [11] studied the pressure distribution and axial force
when a low-twist strand (e.g., roving) is attenuated. Johnson [12] conducted a computational
simulation on the roller drafting process and the effect of sliver elasticity on strand irregularity.
Yoshida and Kato [13] also simulated the roller drafting process, with an emphasis on the
distribution of the acceleration points of floating fibers.

Ideally, in a drafting zone, a fiber should move at the slower speed until it reaches the nip line of
the faster rollers. To control the floating fibers, a high lateral pressure by the aprons or pressure
bars is desirable, although this is difficult to achieve with devices other than aprons. A very
sharp and very high nipping pressure is needed by the faster rollers to pull fibers from the
drafting zone (Note: a high nipping pressure is limited by mechanical design and leads to high
rate of wear of parts). Because fibers are held together in the drafting zone by the lateral
pressure, fibers tend to move in bundles instead of being pulled out smoothly only when they
reach the faster rollers nip line. One key contributing factor is the friction and cohesion (due to
fiber crimps) characteristics of fibers, and especially the difference between the static friction
coefficient (s) and the dynamic friction coefficient (d). Many studies have been reported on
the friction behavior of fibers, and it is well known that s>d [14-22]. This difference is largely

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responsible for the stick-slip motion of fibers during drafting. The stick-slip motion is most
pronounced at low draft ratio between 1.1 and 1.7 (referred to as critical draft region), as
identified from the force-draft curve in Figure 1 [23].

For the common two-zone drafting arrangement, the first zone is mainly to straighten the fibers
in preparation for drafting in the second zone. To avoid the stick-slip effect, the draft ratio for
the first zone (called break draft) is either below or above the critical draft region. In the
drawing process where the total draft ratio is typically below 10, a break draft below the critical
draft is often chosen, whereas in roving and spinning process where the total draft is over 30,
break drafts above the critical region are selected. This critical draft region is affected by many
factors including the fiber properties, fiber geometry (e.g., crimp), fiber surface characteristics,
and the strand configuration. McCreight et al [1] described a device developed at the Institute of
Textile Technology to select the break draft ratio to avoid the critical region.

In a drafting zone shown in Figure 2, some fibers (a and c) may be controlled by the gripping
action of rollers, and other fibers (b) may be floating, whose motion is influenced by the
frictional forces exerted by the neighboring fibers.

V1 V2

b c
a

Figure 1. Schematic of force versus draft ratio Figure 2. Fibers in a drafting zone
and force variation due to the stick-slip motion
in the critical draft region

With proper selection of roller surface materials, roller diameters, top roller pressures, and
control of strand lateral spreading, the motions of fibers gripped by the rollers (a and c) are
generally predictable. The same cannot be said for the floating fiber (b). Floating fibers are
surrounded by other fibers, some moving at the faster speed (V2) exerting a forward force
attempting to accelerate fiber b, while other neighboring fibers moving at the same speed as
fiber b at V1 exerting a force holding fiber b back. All the external forces on fiber b are
via friction on the fiber surface.

To make the drafted strand as uniform as possible, ideally we want all the fibers to accelerate
when they reach a given location, say the nip line of the faster set of rollers. This requires that
the fiber be pulled out from the neighboring fibers, overcoming the static friction between the
floating fiber and its neighbors. On the other hand, some of its neighboring fibers are floating

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fibers themselves. Because s>d, once sliding starts, the friction forces resisting the relative
movement is decreased. Therefore it is easier for other floating fibers to move together than
individually, leading to drafting waves. In studies of twisted fiber bundles subjected to cyclic
loading, gradual axial extension of the strand has been observed [24]. We expect that when the
motion of the faster pair of rollers (front rollers) is combined with a high frequency cyclic
motion, the friction between fibers is dominated by the dynamic friction coefficient (d) rather
than the static friction coefficient (s), and thus the fiber binding effect causing drafting waves
can be significantly reduced or eliminated. As a result, fibers reaching the front roller nip line
can be pulled out more cleanly with less effort, resulting in better, simpler, and longer lasting
drafting devices.

Efforts have been made to understand the intrinsic mechanisms for the formation of drafting
wave, and the drafting force is a main parameter in such discussions. Drafting force is initiated
by the interfacial friction/interaction of roller and the outer layer of fiber assembly to overcome
the cohesive friction of fiber strand and to attenuate sliver or roving to a desired linear density as
a result. Martindale [25] described it as a necessary force for pulling out the higher speed fibers
from the lower speed ones. Plonsker and Backer [2,3] defined it as a required force causing
fibers to slide past one another as the number of fibers in the sliver or strand is attenuated in the
drafting zone. Many devices to measure the drafting force (draftometers) have been developed
and reported, including those by Martindale [25], Plonsker and Backer [2,3], Deluca et al [26],
Taylor [27] and Olsen[8]. Okmura et al [28] measured both the drafting force and the strand
lateral deformation in sliver drafting.

PROJECT APPROACH

The speed of roller drafting has increased from 30 m/min in the 1950s to the current 1000 m/min.
With better understanding of the intrinsic limitations and novel solutions to overcome such,
another leap in productivity, product quality and machine reliability is possible. Our approach is
to demonstrate by both theoretical analysis and experiments the intrinsic cause of limiting factors
in the current roller drafting system, and to demonstrate the feasibility of using high-frequency
undulating waves to overcome the barriers. The tasks are: (1) to characterize the static and
dynamic friction behavior of fibers based on static and dynamic cyclic tests, (2) to study the
response of fiber bundles that are subjected to combined drafting (attenuation) and high-
frequency undulating waves; (3) to establish a theory of fiber motion during drafting in the
presence of an undulating waves, and (4) to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of a roller
drafting device with a undulating wave generator.

EFFECT OF VIBRATION ON DRAFTING FORCE

The force-measuring devices reported are based on a single-zone drafting device with two pairs
of rollers. Since two-zone roller-drafting systems with three pairs of rollers are commonly used
in staple yarn processing, we are building a two-zone drafting device with the capability of
drafting force measurement. It will also be used to study the effect of undulating waves on the
drafting behavior. This laboratory setup is shown in Figure 3. The device consists of a back
drafting zone (back and middle rollers) driven by a servo motor, and a pair of

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Flexible shaft
connected to motor

Figure 3. Assembly drawing and photograph of laboratory drafting device

front rollers to form the front drafting zone, driven by a second servo motor via a flexible shaft.
The front roller assembly is mounted on a separate frame which is connected to a force
transducer to record the drafting force. Using flexible driving shaft and mounting the assembly
on a separate frame reduce the effect of motor vibration on drafting force measurement. A
computerized data acquisition system is used to record the data for analysis. The construction of
this drafting device is near completion.

We have conducted an off-line test on the effect of vibration on drafting force. Cotton roving
samples were mounted on a cardboard tab and tested on an Instron tester at 101mm/min. (Figure
4). The cotton roving has a linear density of 504 tex and a twist of 53.7 turns/m (1.4 tpi). A

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modified electric toothbrush was attached to the bottom tab to introduce lateral vibration to the
strand as it was being stretched. The vibration frequency was about 510Hz. The magnitude of
lateral vibration can be adjusted by attaching a damping mass to the brush head. Figure 5 shows
the tension versus elongation curves for roving test, both without and with vibration (magnitude
approximately 0.5mm).

It is observed that with lateral vibration superimposed during a tensile test, the force to pull apart
the roving is significantly reduced. We believe that vibration in drafting will have a similar
effect on reducing the drafting force. A lower drafting force means that it is easier to pull
individual fibers out from a bundle, and it could lead to better control of fiber acceleration point
and thus improved evenness. We also consider the off-line test method to be useful in
preliminary selection of vibration parameters such as magnitude and frequency. We are in the

grips

roving

4 in.

tab

2 in.
vibration

Figure 4. Schematic of
roving tensile test
Front Side
view view

0 .4 0 0.40

0 .3 5 0.35

0 .3 0 0.30 Vibration
NWithout
o n -v ib ra tio n With
Load (lbf)
Load (lbf)

0 .2 5 0.25

vibration vibration
0 .2 0 0.20

0 .1 5 0.15

0 .1 0 0.10

0 .0 5 0.05

0 .0 0 0.00
0 .0 0 .5 1 .0 1 .5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5

E x te n s io n (in ) Extension (in)

Figure 5. Roving tensile load-extension curves tested with and without lateral vibration

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process of evaluating a non-contact method to introduce vibration via acoustic agitation. We are
employing a signal generator with variable magnitude and frequency to power one or two small
speakers. Such non-contact methods, once proven feasible, would be easier to implement in a
strand drafting equipment.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

In drafting devices with two drafting zones, the back zone where the fiber strand first enters
prepares the strand by imposing a relatively small draft ratio to initiate fiber slippage so as the
strand becomes easier to draft in the front zone. The front zone formed by the front and middle
rollers generally bears the main responsibility of drafting with a high drafting ratio. To help
control the movement of floating fibers, the strand in the front zone is pressed by a pair of aprons
moving with the middle rollers, and in the case with ring spinning, a small amount of twist is
inserted to the strand prior to drafting (roving). The strand in the front zone are held together by
friction due to lateral pressure caused by aprons, pressure bars, and twist, until the fibers are
pulled out by the front rollers.

In the literature there is a lack of theoretical analysis of fiber pull out in the drafting zone. The
Principal Investigators have studied fiber pull out in twisted assemblies [29-35] and in this
project we are extending the theories to analyze roller drafting. Ideally, the front roller should
pull out fibers from the strand in the drafting zone individually. The condition for pulling out a
single fiber is:
FP (1)
where F is the pulling force on the fiber by the front rollers due to friction, and
P is the griping force by the strand on the embedded fiber

Assuming a constant pressure field between the top and bottom front rollers,
F = wr r Lc (2)
where wr is the compressive force on the fiber per unit length, r the friction coefficient
between the fiber and roller surfaces, and Lc the fiber length in the front roller pressure field.

The embedded part (Le) of a fiber is gripped by neighboring fibers in the strand via mainly
frictional force which is determined by the pressure on the embedded length
G = g + gw (3)

where g w is the transverse pressure from the machine parts in contact with the strand such as
aprons or pressure bars if present, and g is the internal lateral pressure determined by the strand
structure.

According to the analysis in references [29-32], when a twisted strand (e.g., roving) is in tension
T, the mean lateral pressure g exerted on the embedded fiber length can be derived as:
T
g= Ef q tanh(se ) (4)
2 1 2
n1 rf EL

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where Ef is the fiber modulus; 1 is the frictional coefficient between the embedded and the
neighboring fibers; s e = Le 2r f is the embedded aspect ratio of the fiber. is termed the
cohesion factor as an indicator of the gripping effect of the strand on each individual fiber and
can be calculated according to [29]. The longitudinal tensile modulus of the strand EL, the mean
number of the fibers in the cross section n1 , the mean radius of the cut fiber ends in the cross section r f
and the so called the fiber orientation efficiency factor q can all be calculated from [29,31,32];
all are functions of the helix angle q of the fiber on the strand surface or the twist factor Ty.

The above equation assumes that fibers contact each other closely over the fiber length, but in reality, this
is usually not the case because of the discrete nature of fiber contact. The above equation should be
modified as:
T
g = Ef q tanh(se ) (5)
2 1 2
n1 rf EL
where is a correction factor whose value can be calculated from:
Df
= ne (6)
Le
where Df is the fiber diameter; and ne is the mean number of the contacting over the length Le; for twisted
structures, ne can be calculated according to [36].

The pressure gw on a fiber is from the fiber control device in the drafting zone, if present (e.g.,
aprons, pressure bars). For a given strand tension T, the mean gripping force P on the embedded
part of the fiber to be pulled out can be calculated as
P = P1 + P2 = g 1 2r f Le + g w 1 2r f Le (7)
It is clear from this equation that the total gripping force is related to the intrinsic characteristics
Ty and se of the strand, the machine parameter gw and drafting tension T. In order to have a
consistent position to pull out the fibers (Lc in Eq 1 to be approximately constant), the equation
appears to suggest that the gripping force should be low. However, this analysis has neglected
the interaction of the fiber being pulled out and the neighboring fibers that are already held by
the front rollers. If the gripping force is too low, a fiber could be pulled out even before if enters
the front roller pressure field. Clearly, there is an optimal condition on fiber gripping during
drafting. We are extending the theory to account for fiber interaction with fibers already
controlled by the front rollers. In the presence of high-frequency undulation waves
(superimposed vibration), we expect that the friction coefficient between the fibers is equal to the
dynamic friction coefficient (1=d), instead of varying between d and s. The theory on single
fiber pull out during drafting will serve as a basic module to predict the total drafting force and to
evaluate the effect of various processing and materials parameters.

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SUMMARY

Staple yarn manufacturing is one of the most important activities of the US textile industrial
complex. The goal of this project is to develop the fundamental theory and a novel technology to
enhance the strand drafting process by minimizing drafting waves in staple yarn manufacturing.
The project focuses on the relative fiber motion in a staple fiber strand when subjected to a
drawing action that is superimposed with a high frequency undulation motion. We have
conducted preliminary experiments that clearly show that when a roving strand is subjected to
lateral vibration, the force required to stretch the strand is significantly reduced. A drafting
device capable of monitoring the strand drafting force has been designed and is under
construction. Techniques to introduce the high frequency undulation motion are investigated,
including contact and noncontact (acoustic) means. Effort on theoretical modeling has focused
on fiber pull out by the front rollers from the fiber strand. The theory is being extended to
include additional fiber interaction effects and to predict the drafting force.

REFERENCES

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trail fiber ends, Textile Research Journal, 74 (10): 905-913 (2004).
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PROJECT WEBSITE:

http://www.ptfe.gatech.edu/faculty/wang/NTCF04GT01/

National Textile Center Annual Report: November 2005