10—The Rôle of Air Drag in Ring Spinning

The effects of air drag on the shape of the balloon formed in ring spinning are discussed and it is shown that air drag : allows fine yarns to be spun without balloon collapse at a greater spindle speed or with a smaller specific tension (tension ÷ mass per unit length) than can be used with coarse yarns ;limits the maximum attainable balloon diameter. This is shown to be approximately independent of balloon height and spindle speed, and to depend mainly upon yarn count and ring size. The finer the yarn count the smaller is the maximum attainable balloon diameter. It is also shown that air drag can be responsible for a large proportion of the tension in the yarn in ring spinning, the proportion decreasing as the yarn becomes finer and as the balloon height increases.