Numerical simulation and experimental investigation of lattice-apron compact spinning with an air guide

The four-roller compact spinning system is widely used today and is considered an improvement over traditional ring spinning because of its excellent yarn properties. Reducing energy consumption in compact spinning has always been a key issue for the textile industry. This paper proposed a method for installing an air guide on compact spinning to reduce energy consumption. Four types of air guides were designed with different side shapes (Type-N, Type-L, Type-R, and Type-LR), and the airflow characteristics in the converging zone were analyzed using numerical simulation. In addition, high-speed photography technology and image-processing technology were used to study the dynamic state of the fiber bundle in the flow field of the converging zone. The effectiveness of the preferred solution of the air guide was also verified by spinning experiments. The results revealed that the best air guide was Type-LR, achieving a 3.7% reduction in yarn hairiness even after a decrease in negative pressure by 800 Pa and a 58.4% reduction in power of the fan motor, surpassing the yarn quality observed without any air guide.