RJS is known to produce ‘beads’, or spherical accumulations of mass along the nanofibre length which may be attributed to many factors, such as high spinneret rotation speed or high surface tension. Beading results in inconsistent nanofibre morphology and non-uniform sheets post solidification of nanofibres, leading to quality degradation and production losses. Through theoretical stability analysis, it is possible not only to predict the conditions for the onset of beading, but also to predict the size and frequency of the beads, post onset. The research investigates these issues for RJS spinning of Newtonian fluids initially, followed by extended investigation into RJS spinning of high-molecular-weight polymers; the latter study being the basis for producing high-strength nanofibres.

Research funded by SERB, DST (SRG/2020/000033)

PI: Dr. Karan Gupta