Abstract
A new process to open continuously reinforcing fiber tow was proposed. It consists of a roll part for its preliminary opening and a pneumatic part based on a novel principle for its main opening. This process was successfully applied to carbon and glass fiber tows. Three methods for evaluating the degree of tow opening were also proposed and applied to the evaluation of these opened tows. The following results were obtained:In the new combined method, filaments within tow are separated from the state adhered by a sizing agent in the roll part, and the tow is widely opened by the pneumatic part. Thus, much more widely opened tow can be obtained by the combined method, as compared with any of the singular process.The effects of the number of filaments within tow, the breadth/thickness ratio of tow, the compactness caused by sizing, and the diameter of single filament on the opening degree of carbon fiber and glass fiber tows were also clarified.
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