Harper International, Buffalo, N.Y., announces that initial data on its three-meter wide production-scale oxidation oven for carbon fiber manufacturing shows outstanding performance for key metrics, including air-velocity uniformity and temperature uniformity.
Data was acquired at temperatures up to 280°C and air velocities up to 4 m/s, with uniformity measured at 2.2%. Air velocity uniformity across the entire tow band is essential, as the PAN stabilization phase is an exothermic reaction, and any low-velocity regions can run away, causing deflagration. High-velocity regions can cause damage to the delicate PAN fiber.
Harper’s design also demonstrated temperature uniformity of +/-2.5°C throughout the entire heated length. Temperature uniformity is critical in carbon fiber manufacturing because it enables higher and more efficient rates of production.
As greater production rates have led to wider, taller, and longer oxidation ovens, it is a critical challenge to improve velocity and temperature uniformity while simultaneously increasing the oven size.
“Harper’s oven design offers our customers enhanced performance and increased confidence in their fiber manufacturing,” commented Bill Stry, PhD, and Renee Bagwell, PhD, Senior Process Technology Engineers at Harper. “We took on the task of engineering an oxidation oven that addresses today’s and tomorrow’s market demands for efficiency and quality, and the data from full scale testing shows our success.”
Harper International is a global leader in complete thermal processing solutions and technical services essential for the production of advanced materials.
