Melt-Spun Fibers for Textile Applications

Abstract

Textiles have a very long history, but they are far from becoming outdated. They gain new importance in technical applications, and man-made fibers are at the center of this ongoing innovation. The development of high-tech textiles relies on enhancements of fiber raw materials and processing techniques. Today, melt spinning of polymers is the most commonly used method for manufacturing commercial fibers, due to the simplicity of the production line, high spinning velocities, low production cost and environmental friendliness. Topics covered in this review are established and novel polymers, additives and processes used in melt spinning. In addition, fundamental questions regarding fiber morphologies, structure-property relationships, as well as flow and draw instabilities are addressed. Multicomponent melt-spinning, where several functionalities can be combined in one fiber, is also discussed. Finally, textile applications and melt-spun fiber specialties are presented, which emphasize how ongoing research efforts keep the high value of fibers and textiles alive.

Flexible Phase Change Material Fiber: A Simple Route to Thermal Energy Control Textiles

“…A gear metering pump (Mahr, Göttingen, Germany) was set to a nominal polymer volumetric flow rate of 7.5 cm 3 /min, resulting in a spin pressure of 139 bar and a throughput of 6.79 g/min. To shape the hollow filament, a multiple die with annular co-flow channel [ 35 ] was applied, consisting of a tube with 0.6 mm inner diameter and 0.9 mm outer diameter within a 1.2 mm capillary. The polymer melt was spun through the annulus, while pressurized air was injected through the inner capillary tube to assist the formation and stabilization of the hollow core.…”

“…So far, the highest loading achieved with this approach was a liquid core ratio of about 25 vol.%. To realize a higher core content, first, a thin-walled hollow filament has to be melt-spun through a spinneret with an annular co-flow channel [ 35 ] and subsequently filled with the intended liquid by microfluidic technology. Microfluidics provides new ways to produce liquid-core fibers, like post-filled triangular continuous core fibers [ 36 ], necklace-like microfibers produced with co-flow technology [ 37 ], or kidney-shaped continuous core wet-spun fibers [ 38 ].…”

Effect of Thermal Aging on the Mechanical Properties of High Tenacity Polyester Yarn

“…Many researchers [ 4 , 5 , 9 , 13 , 14 ] have presented that thermal aging of polyester yarn, above its glass transition temperature and below the melting point, results in the modification of the fiber’s internal structure; this drastically changes the mechanical property of the yarn. As the temperature approaches the melting point of the polyester fiber (260 °C) [ 22 ], the ability of the polymer molecules rearrangement is high, and this phenomenon facilitates the elongation of yarn under a meager applied load. The polyester fiber’s internal structure modification under thermal treatment has been investigated in past studies [ 10 , 13 , 23 , 24 ], but these analyses have not included how the rearrangement of the internal structure affects the percentage elongation of polyester yarn.…”

Melt-Spun Photoluminescent Polymer Optical Fibers for Color-Tunable Textile Illumination

“…The resulting spin pressures reached between 74 and 128 bar. The fiber-forming spinneret comprised a multiple die [ 17 , 37 ] with a centered tube (0.8 mm inner and 1.2 mm outer diameter) within a 2.0 mm capillary. The bicomponent fiber exited the spinneret into a quenching chamber, where it was cooled by air in order to solidify before drawing.…”

“…The PL waveguides studied in this work are polymer optical fibers (POFs) that are produced by melt-spinning which is the most commonly used method for manufacturing synthetic fibers [ 17 ]. Photoluminescent polymer optical fibers (PL-POFs) [ 18 ] have already been successfully utilized as LSCs for photovoltaic cell enhancement [ 10 , 19 ] and to amplify signal detection of free-space optical communication systems [ 20 , 21 ].…”