Prediction of fiber die coating thickness

Fiber coating is an effective way to impart smartness to a fiber. Die coating is a process that utilizes a die to control the thickness and concentricity of the coating layer. In the present work the die coating mechanism is studied numerically. A mathematical model for the fiber coating thickness has been developed. Compared with the previous work, the proposed model considers the effect of gravity force to get the general solution. The shear rate acting on the fiber surface is proportional to the fiber draw speed in an unpressurized applicator and can be minimized in a pressurized applicator through the applied external pressure. A serials of experiments using open-cup and pressurized applicators have been designed and conducted to measure simultaneously the coating speed and coating thickness in the coating process. It was found that the gravity may be an important driving force for the coating flow when the drawing velocity is small and the viscous force decreases, but may be relatively insignificant for high speed coating process. The calculated results were compared with the experimental data and a good agreement was obtained.