Sheet former for the production of highly oriented papers

The orientation of the fibres in the paper can significantly influence the strength properties. Current PMV research projects aim to make paper accessible as a building material. The fiber orientation is used here as a tool to improve the static behavior of components, especially in areas of high loads.

A sheet former for the production of highly oriented papers has been developed for this purpose. Requirements include the achievement of the highest possible fiber orientation, the precise positioning of fibers and the scalability of the process.

A vertically arranged, traversing nozzle generates an expansion flow through which the fibers are oriented and deposited on a rotating screen. Since fast dewatering is crucial, the vacuum zone had to be redesigned compared to conventional systems. It moves parallel to the nozzle and enables precise positioning of the vacuum slots. The slots are arranged in the direction of the flow to fix the fibers at the contact point.

The sheet former can be used to produce paper with a size of approx. 1560 mm ∙ 260 mm. The orientation is influenced by the viscosity of the suspension, the jet-wire difference and the nozzle geometry.

The sheet forming principle has been successfully tested on various fibrous materials. In further steps, the transferability to glass and carbon fibre chips is tested.