A viscoelastic beam theory of polymer jets with application to rotary jet spinning

Abstract

Complex deformation of a polymer jet appears in many manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing, electrospinning, blow spinning, and rotary jet spinning. In these applications, a polymer melt or solution is first extruded through an orifice and forms a jet. The polymer jet is then dynamically deformed until the polymer solidifies. The final product is strongly affected by the deformation of the polymer jet. And the deformation is strongly affected by the viscoelasticity of the polymer. Here we develop a beam theory to incorporate both the nonlinear viscoelasticity and the bending/twisting stiffness of a polymer jet. As a demonstration, we study the formation of a polymer fiber under strong centrifugal force, a fiber manufacturing process known as rotary jet spinning.