Simulation of Carbonaceous Mesophases Micro-Textures

Carbonaceous mesophases are liquid crystalline precursor materials that can be spun into high performance carbon fibers using the conventional melt spinning process. Carbon fiber property optimization requires a better understanding of the principles that control the structure development during the fiber formation processes and the rheological processing properties. This work presents the elastic and continuum theory of liquid crystals and simulations of structure formation for pressure-driven flow of carbonaceous liquid crystalline precursors used in the industrial carbon fiber spinning process. The results of these simulations capture the formation of characteristic fiber micro-textures and provide new knowledge on the role of viscous and elastic effects in the spinning process.