Numerical Investigation of Continuous Fiber Glass Drawing Process

The manufacturing process of glass fibers used for the reinforcement of composite material consists in drawing a glass melt at high temperature through the bushing plate into fibers using a winder. This process is sensitive to numerous disturbances that can cause the fiber to break during the drawing process. In order to understand the origin of these failures and improve the process efficiency, it is important to understand the physics of the forming fiber. We investigate here the underlying physics of the forming of a single fiber through numerical simulations. In particular, we focus on the region from the hole tips at the bushing plate to the glass transition point. The influence of key parameters (e.g. operating windows, and heat transfers mechanisms) on the fiber radius attenuation and the internal stresses is investigated through a sensitivity analysis. In addition, the impact of the temperature variations at the bushing plate is investigated. Finally, we show how the forming stress is influenced by these parameters. It is found that the internal stress can be minimizing by varying the operating windows. On the other hand, results also demonstrate that the heat pattern of the bushing plate is one of the most important causes for disturbance in the process.