Applications of synthetic polymeric fibers

Synthetic polymeric fibers find extensive applications in all walks of life. 

Fibers such as nylon and polyester find applications in a wide variety of fields  

Mkrofiber or microdenier fiber has become important in the fashion industry. The reason for this is the fine size of microfiber. It is finer than any natural textile fiber such as silk, wool, etc. Microfibers are nothing but polyester fibers with diameter 5 xm (or less than 1 den). Such fineness allows more filaments to be packed in the yarn. Fabrics using such tightly bundled filaments are said to have a buttery texture like velour or washed silk. They also have the desirable characteristics of polyester, namely wrinkle-resistance and durability. Such fabrics are used in men s wear, women s wear, rainwear, active wear and home furnishings. 

Another important application of thermoplastic fibers such as poly ether ether ketone (PEEK), Poly etherimide(PEI), and VectranM andHS (Vectranis the trade mark of Hoechst liquid crystalline polymer) is in making thermoplastic matrix composites. Commingled yams of the reinforcement and matrix such as quartz/PEEK, glass/PEI, Vectran HS/M are used to make the composites wherein the matrix yarn fuses to form the continuous phase of the composite. 

Aramid fibers and ultra high molecular weight polyetlylene fibers (UHMWPE) are used in a variety of apphcations. For example, marine tow ropes, mooring cables, anti-ballistic clothing, fishing nets, sail doth are prime 

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Geotextiles have become one of the most important fields of application for synthetic polymeric fibers. In view of their great importance, we describe them in a separate section. Textiles made of synthetic polymer fibers are used in various applications to address a variety of solids-related problems in civil engineering such as soil support, stabilization, separation and filtration, reinforcement of... 

Natural polymeric fibers are used for a variety of textile applications ranging from clothing to upholstery to sacks and cordage. Frequently, these are blended with synthetic fibers to obtain an optimum set of properties. Many naturally occurring fibers can be and are used in composites, but mostly in applications involving not very high stresses (Chawla, 1976 Chawla and Bastos, 1979 Roe and Ansell, 1985 Chand and Rohatgi, 1994)... 

Chapter 14 provides the basic principles of polymer science, and addresses the importance of this subject. This chapter aims to give a broad and imified description of the subject matter—describing the polymerization reactions, structures, properties, and applications of commercially important polymers, including those used as plastics, fibers, and elastomers. This chapter focuses on synthetic polymers because of the great commercial importance of these materials. The chemical reactions by which polymer molecules are synthesized are addressed along with the process conditions that can be used to carry them out. This chapter also discusses topics on degradation, stability, and environmental issues associated with the use of polymers. 

Liquid polymers (at ambient temperature) are in general macromolecules with a relatively low molecular weight, many of them being in fact oligomers. Some liquid polymers are utilized as synthetic oils. Certain polymers can form liquid crystals in other words they can have an ordered structure while being in liquid state (either melted or in a solution). The orientation of certain polymeric molecules in liquid state such that the properties of the material are anisotropic is possible. Polymer liquid crystals have practical applications, and solution of liquid crystal polymers can be used for extruding fibers that have a highly crystalline structure after solvent elimination. 

There are many different applications of the DLS technique. The DLS method has been u.sed to determine the size of polymer lattices and resins and to monitor the grow th of particles during processes such as emulsification and polymerization. Micelles and microemulsions have been studied by DL.S methods. DLS is also widely applicable to the investigation of biopolymers and biocolloids. It has been used to study natural and synthetic polypeptides, nucleic acids, ribosomes, vesicles, viruses, and muscle fibers. 

Schmack et al. [126] spun PLA fibers through the reactive extrusion polymerization of L-lactide (92 wt%) and meso-lactide (8 wt%). In many potential textile technological applications (e.g., for nonwoven materials) the fiber forming process is of general importance. An effective polymer synthesis requires also an effective spinning process to reduce the still high cost of the PLA fibers compared with those of established synthetic fibers. 

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