FILAMENT SEPARATION IN LIQUIDS

摘要

A method of separating filaments (8) from a clump thereof in a liquid flow from each other comprises sub-dividing the flow across its lateral extent to pass through an array (4) of a plurality of filament separating channels (9) having a cross-section at least large enough to accommodate the cross-section of the clumps such that flow along the channels (9) imparts a shearing force to filaments (8) at the edge of the flow in the channel to separate these axially from each other and from filaments (8) at the centre of the clump. The liquid may be a polymer melt obtained by melting polymer granules containing lengths of yarn or tow and the method used to separate the individual filaments from the yarn or tow prior to forming a network structure from the filaments (8).