Numerical and experimental study of the glass flow and heat transfer in the continuous glass fiber drawing process

Abstract

The manufacturing process of glass fibers used for the reinforcement of composite materials consists in drawing a free jet of a molten glass at high temperature into fibers using a winder. This process is sensitive to numerous disturbances that can cause the fiber to break during the drawing process, and thus reduce the process efficiency. The underlying physics of the forming of a single fiber is investigated here through numerical simulations, and results are validated with measurements obtained on a dedicated experimental unit. Both a two-dimensional axisymmetric and a simplified one-dimensional model are used to simulate the high-temperature region before glass transition. The influence of key parameters and physical mechanisms on the internal stress is investigated through a sensitivity analysis. The simplified model is then used to identify the optimal operating window and to assess the impact of temperature inhomogeneities at the bushing plate. Results show that the initial region close to the tip is critical, and that a low cooling rate reduces the stress. Operating at high tip temperature, large drawing velocity and small tip radius is then found to be the best strategy to minimize the stress. Finally, it is shown that the heat pattern of the bushing plate is one of the most important causes for disturbance in the process.