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46—THE EXTRACTION OF
WATER FROM COTTON-YARN
PACKAGES BY CENTRIFUGAL
FORCE. PART I: SPINNING IN A
BASKET CENTRIFUGE
a
M. J. Denton
a
Cotton Silk and Man-made Fibres Research
Association, Shirley Institute, Didsbury,
Manchester 20

Available online: 18 Nov 2008

To cite this article: M. J. Denton (1974): 46—THE EXTRACTION OF WATER FROM

COTTON-YARN PACKAGES BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE. PART I: SPINNING IN A BASKET
CENTRIFUGE, Journal of the Textile Institute, 65:8, 409-415

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 46—The Extraction of Water from Cotton-yarn Packages by Centrifugal Force. Part I—Denton 4C9

4^—THE EXTRACTION OF WATER FROM COTTON-YARN

PACKAGES BY CENTRIFUGAL FORCE
PART I: SPINNING IN A BASKET CENTRIFUGE
By M. J. DENTON

A study is reported of the removal of moisture from cotton-yarn packages by centrifugal force
in the basket type of centrifuge or hydro-extractor. Equations describing the influence of time,
centrifugal force, and package characteristics on the rate of moisture removal are developed.

1. INTRODUCTION
In the drying of textiles of any kind after wet processing, there are practical as well as
economic reasons why as much moisture as possible should be removed from the material
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by mechanical rather than thermal means. The main practical advantage of mechanical
water removal is that any dissolved impurity is removed, whereas it is left behind when
moisture is evaporated off, as in thermal drying. Mechanical water removal is also much
more rapid than thermal drying over the range of retentions to which it can be applied.
From the economic point of view, mechanical drying is free from steam or other heating
costs.
There is, however, a physical limit to the amount of water that can be removed without
recourse to heat, this being the saturation regain of the particular fibres making up the textile.
For cotton, this limit is between 30 and 40% of the oven-dry weight. The closeness to which
this figure can be approached is a measure of the efficiency of the mechanical drying
process.
The two principal mechanical methods of removing water from yarn packages after
package-dyeing are by sucking or blowing air through them and by centrifuging. Squeezing
is also sometimes (though rarely) used. Centrifuging is still probably the most common
method, though it has the disadvantage that packages must be removed from the stalks
of the dyeing machine before extraction.
The usual industrial method of centrifuging packages is to pack them in a large basket
centrifuge {commonly known as a hydro-extractor), with the axes of the packages along
the radii of the centrifuge (Fig. ]{a)). By this means, a large number of packages can be
spun together, though considerable labour and handling arc involved in carefully stacking
the packages in the basket. A second method is to spin the packages individually about
their own axes {Fig. \(b)), the loading and unloading being automated to some extent in
modern machines. Though less manual labour may be involved in using these machines,
the time taken to process a batch of packages is much longer, since the packages are spun
singly for at least I min each.
The object of the experiments described in the first part of this series was to reach an
understanding of the mechanism of water removal by studying the effect of the various
factors involved in basket-spinning, where the variation of the centrifugal field through
the package is relatively small. In the second part, a comparison will be made with axial
spinning.

2. GENERAL CONSffiERATIONS
The two most important factors in centrifuging are the centrifugal acceleration at the
package during spinning and the time for which spinning is continued. The centrifugal
acceleration not only governs the rate at which water moves through the porous package
but also determines the final retention, when an equilibrium is reached between surface-

•Paper submitted by a Fellow of the Textile Institute.

 410 46—7fte Extraction of Water from Cotton-yam Packages by
tension and centrifugal forces. The centrifugal acceleration, C, depends on the rate of rotation
of the centrifuge and the distance from the centrifuge axis, r, and is given by:
C = 4TC2/2r, (0
where/is the frequency of rotation of the centrifuge.
In the large basket centrifuge, although there is some variation of centrifugal accelera-
tion throughout the package, this variation is usually not great, since the package dimensions
are generally much smaller than the centrifuge radius. Such variation in centrifugal accelera-
tion through the package as does exist might be expected to cause a variation in terminal
retention, the parts of the package nearest to the axis being wetter. On the other hand, the
strong capillary forces will probably reduce this effect by their tendency to distribute the
moisture evenly.
The retention is time-dependent, for, before escaping from the package, much of the
contained water must move through it to the outside surface. The rate of movement depends
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on a balance between viscous-flow forces and the difference between accelerating centrifugal
forces and restraining capillary forces. As the retention decreases, the rate of water loss
also decreases; the larger capillaries empty first, the smaller capillaries being more difBcuIt
to empty. This is not only because of the smaller difference between centrifugal and capillary
forces but also because the permeability of the porous material decreases with decreased
retention. This will be discussed later.
The temperature of the package would also be expected to be of importance in so
far as the viscosity of the water is lower at higher temperatures; its speed of movement is
therefore greater.
3. PUBLISHED INFORMATION
Previous literature on this subject is scanty. It has been mainly confined to the study
of terminal retentions of small bundles of fibres and has not dealt with the mechanism of the
movement of moisture through the material. Preston, Nimkar, and Gundava' derived a
qualitative expression for the capillary water retained, and, by equating the surface-tension
force and the centrifugal force acting on the mass of liquid retained in a capillary formed
between a bundle of parallel fibres, they obtained:
/ Y COS G = a/i<yC,
where / and a are the peripheral length and area of the cross-section of the capillary,
respectively, Y is the suface tension, Gisthe contact angle, h is the height to whichthe capillary
is filled with liquid, a is the density of the liquid, and C is the centrifugal acceleration. The
mass of liquid retained is therefore:
, /Y cos6
aha = —L^—,

i.e., it is inversely proportional to C.

Welo, Ziifle, and McDonald 2 assumed a somewhat different model, of droplets on the
surface of the fibres, and concluded that the retention should be inversely proportional
to C3/2.
Loeb 3 studied the parameters affecting the retention of water in a cotton fabric after
centrifugal extraction. His experiments, mainly based on a spinning time of 3 min, were
related to the equation of Preston et al.', and he examined the effects of centrifugal-field
strength, initial water content, temperature, surface tension, and fabric thickness. Van
den Bulcke" gave an empirical equation for predicting retention in a large centrifuge
and quotedvalues fordiameter, spinning speed,temperature,and time-dependent coefficients.
Both Preston et al.^ and Welo et al.^ produced experimental evidence in support
of their respective formulae. The model adopted by Preston et al. seems more reasonable
than that of Welo et al., though it takes no account of the condition when h is longer than
 Centrifugal Force. Part I: Spinning in a Basket Centrifuge—Denton 411

the total length of the capiifary. It will therefore not be expected to apply at low values of
C when the centrifugal force is insufficient to drain any water from many of the narrower
capillaries. As C is increased, more and more capillaries will be 'opened', and a condition
may be reached where capillary retention is proportional to I/C The observations of
Preston et al. were made at values of C between lOOOg and 5000g, whereas the studies
described in the present paper were confined to a range of accelerations typical of industrial
hydro-extractors, i.e., up to about 500g.

4. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
Several packages of 66-tex (9s) cotton yarn were thoroughly wetted out at the same
temperature and placed in the centrifuge basket in the way that is typical of industrial
practice, as shown in Fig. \{a). The centrifuge used was a 20-in. Broadbent hydro-extractor,
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Fig. I
(a) Arrangement of yarn packages in centrifuge
ib) Spinning of yam package about its own axis

wiiha maximum speed of 1450 rev/min. Different cenirifugal fields were obtained by varying
the speed. Spinning times were reckoned from the time at which the centrifuge reached
its desired speed. Run-up times were between 1 and 2 min, dependng on the final speed
required. Afier spinning, packages were weighed, oven-dried, and reweighed.

5. EFFECT OF WINDAGE
Before studying the effect of other factors on hydro-extraction, it was necessary to
ensure that packages were not losing an appreciable amount of moisture by evaporation
due to windage during spinning. Several packages were therefore centrifuged at the same
time, some being covered by plastics bags to prevent evaporation and others being uncovered.
There was no significant difference in the retention between covered and uncovered
packages, as is shown in Table I. Evaporation losses can therefore be ignored.

Table I

Retention (%)
Spinning Time
(min) Covered Packages Uncovered Packages
i 75 i 75
11 57 57
20 54 531
 412 46—The Extraction of Water from Cotton-yarn Packages hy

6. EEFECT OF CENTRIFUGAL ACCELERATION AND

SPINNING TIME
Packages were hydro-extracted for times between 1 and 40 min at speeds between
337 and 1350 rev/min, corresponding to values of centrifugal acceleration between 34^
and 545,? at the outside surface of the basket. The results are shown in Figures 2 and 3,
each point representing the average of the retentions of five packages.
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Fig. 2
Relation bstween percentage retention and time for
different values of the centrifugal acceleration
Fig. 3
Relation between percentage retention and centrifugal
acceleration for different times
7. THEORY
Various simple models were tried in an attempt to explain the movement of moisture
through the porous material under the centrifugal gravitational field, but no saisfactory
correlation with the practical data was achieved. All these simple models, however, had the
same major fault; they assumed the permeability of the package to be independent of the
retention.
Gillespie^, working on absorption in filter paper, pointed out that Wycoffand Botset's
data's on the flow of gas-liquid mixtures through unconsolidated sands could be fitted to
an expression:
K=^^Ks(RIRs)\ (2)
where K is the permeability, ^s the saturation permeability, R the retention, and Ra the
saturation retention of the sand bed. Gillespie used this expression successfully in explaining
the mechanism of capillary absorption into paper. It seemed reasonable to hope that the
same equation might apply to the movement of water out of the yarn packages during
centrifugal drying.
At any point in a package, the rate of movement of moisture (v) in a centrifugal
gravitational field (C) would then be given by:
v^CK-- CKs {RA/RSA)^. (3)
There is a limit to the amount of water that can be removed by any given centrifugal Held
acting against the capillary forces, and RA in this case therefore represents the avaitahle
water, that is, any water over and above the final retention (^o) particular to the value of
C being considered, Rs\ being the corresponding value of saturation retention.
 Centriftigal Force. Part I: Spinning in a Basket Centrifuge—Denton 413

If it is assumed that the variation in R is small through most of the package (this
assumption will be justified in Part ri), then the rate of change of moisture content of the
package is:

- ^ - rjf (^y
d/ "^"^RSA)' (4)
where R is the actual retention and R = /?o + Rx.
Putting Ks/RnA^ — x and integrating Equation (4), we have;
1
+
and hence:
1
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^ (5)
where p, the constant of integration, depends on the initial retention at / = 0 and is given by:
1
(6)
If the appropriate substitutions are now made for a and % Equation (5) reduces to:

(7)
This equation shows the dependence of the retention on the time of spinning, centrifugal
acceleration, and initial (saturation) retention. The parameter ^o-the final retention at ?= oo,
is itself a function of C but also depends on the pore sizes and the pore-size distribution.

8. APPLICATION OF THEORY TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA

Equation (4) can be rewritten:
1/3
(8)
and, if this expression is obeyed, plots of -(d/?/d/)i/3 against R for constant values of C
should be straight lines, the intercepts on the R-axis being the respective values of /?„.
The rate of change of retention, d^/d/, was derived from the results of Fig. 2, and, in Fig.4,
-(d/?/d/)'/3 is plotted against /?. The plots are straight lines in accordance with the theory.
The values of terminal retentions, RQ, from the intercepts and values of a from the slopes
are shown in Table II. i
Table n

c 34g 68^ 136^ 27ig 545^

Ro 118% 89% 67% 53% 45%
a. 16-8x10-'' lO-IxlO-7 605x10^7 4-25x10-7 4-48x10-7
Ks 3-94 4-15 3-68 3-63 388

Since a is equal to Ksl{Rs~Ro)^ and Rs is known to be 250%, (package density

0-32g/cm3; fibre density, 1-53 g/cm3; 7?s-{i/O-32-l/O-53) x 100%), ^s, the saturation
package permeability, can now be calculated. The values of As, which should be a constant
are also shown in Table II. The average value of K^ is 3-80 ±0-13,
 414 46—The Extraction of Water from Cotton-yurn Packages hy

The parameter, Ro, the final retention at f- co is a complex function of the pore sizes
and pore-size distribution, as well as depending on the centrifugal acceleration. The relation
between ^o and C can conveniently be represented by an empirical equation,

1 -\-mC"
where Rrj is the final retention for C = x ; , a n d m and fl are empirical constants. The best
values for m, n, and Rrx-_ to fit the values of ^o "" Table II were m =0-064, n-0-92, and
V?oo=35%-Thisvatueof/!^, = 3 5 % agrees very well with the expected limit of mechanical
water removal for cotton, and for mC"> I, iR()-R-ji) becomes proportional to I/C".
where n is close to the value of unity derived by Preston et al.^- Equafion (9) is plotted in
Fig. 5, together with the observed values of /?(,. The final relation between retention,
centrifugal acceleration, and time of spinning in these experiments for cotton packages is
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therefore given by Equations (7) and (9), with /^s =3-80, m =0-064, «=0-92, and y?Go^35%,

Fig.4
Relation between (d/?/d/)i and percentage retention
for difFerent values of the centrifugal acceleration
Fig. 5
Plot of Equation (9) for observed values of

t being expressed in minutes and C in multiples of g. Curves of R against t calculated from

these equations are shown in Fig. 6 as continuous lines. The dotted lines are the origmal
practical curves as in Fig. 2. Agreement between the two sets of curves is not good for
short spinning times but, if an allowance of 1-2 min is made for the run-up time of the
centrifuge (the dotted curves being thereby moved 1-2 min to the right), the agreement
becomes more satisfactory. The run-up time was, of course, shorter for the lower speeds.
However, the approach to the condition whereby moisture is evenly distributed through
the package and Equation (4) is obeyed is probably slower for lower values of C, and
hence there is a need for a correction time similar to that for the faster speeds.
9. THE EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE
The temperature of the package determines the viscosity of the water in their pores and
hence the rate at which water will move through them. The effects of water temperature
were examined briefly, and results are shown in Fig. 7. No attempt has been made to explain
these results theoretically, since the package temperature falls rapidly during the spinning.
For example, the temperature of a package of initial temperature 90 C. measured by
forcing a mercury thermometer between the layers of yarn at roughly the middle of the
 Centrifugal Force. Part I: Spinning in a Basket Centrifuge—Denton 415
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Fig. 6
Relation between perconlagcretention and time fordilT-
erent values of the centrifugal acceleration (continuous
lines are theoretical curves calculated from Equations
(7) and (9); dotted lines are experimental curves as
shown in Fig. 2) i
Fig. 7
Relation between percentage retention and lem-
perature for different values of the centrifugal
accleeration and spinning time

yarn layers, was 64 C after spinning for 2 min, and 4 0 X after 10 min. For this reason, the
effect of temperature is not as great as might have been expected.

10. CONCLUSIONS
During centrifuging. water migrates through the porous package in the direction of
the centrifugal field, the rate of movement depending mainly on the porous structure of the
package, the water retention, the field strength, and, to a less extent, the temperature. As
the larger pores empty, the retention reduces, and the rate of flow declines until a balance
is reached where capillary forces retain moisture within the material against the influence
of the centrifugal forces. The rate of movement of moisture can be described by equations
similar to those applying to the flow of fluids through porous materials under pressure
gradients.
REFERENCES
1 J. M. Preston. M. V. Nimkar. and S. P. Gundava. J. Text. Inst., 1951, 42, T79
2 L. A. Welo, H. M. Ziifle. and A. W. McDonald. Text. Res.J., 1952,22,261.
J L. Loeb. Te.xt. Res. J., 1963, 33, 521.
4 R. van den Bulcke. Textilis, 1966, 22, No. 10, 55.
5 T. Gillespie. y. Colloid Sci., 1958, 13, 32; 1959, 14, 123.
6 R. D. Wycoffand H. G. Qois^X.J. Appi. Phys., 1936,7,325.
Cotton Silk and Man-made Fibres Research Association, Received25.\.\914
Shirley Inslilute, Accepted for publication 28.3.1974
Didsbury.
Manehester 20.
Present address:
Ernest Scragg & Sons Ltd,
Macclesfield,
Cheshire.