Frictional behaviour of high performance fibrous tows: Friction experiments

Tow friction is an important mechanism in the production and processing of high performance fibrous tows. The frictional behaviour of these tows is anisotropic due to the texture of the filaments as well as the tows. This work describes capstan experiments that were performed to measure the frictional behaviour of aramid, carbon and E-glass tows, both in tow-metal and tow–tow contact. The effects of anisotropy and other processing-related parameters on the frictional behaviour of the tows are discussed. The surface topography of the counterface plays a dominant role in tow-metal friction. For tow–tow contact, the relative orientation of the tows dominates the frictional behaviour.