Study on the spinnability and mechanical properties of aspirator aided melt‐spun binary blends polypropylene fibers

Abstract

In this study, polypropylene (PP) binary blends with obviously different molecular weight were produced and melt spun using a capillary rheometer aided with an aspirator for aerodynamic stretching for the first time. A comprehensive processing map on the spinnability of all the seven PP blends regarding to three extrusion speeds and six take-up pressures was originally presented. According to a detailed investigation on the diameter information and tensile properties of all the PP fibers (modulus, tenacity, elongation at break), the optimum processing parameters of the advanced technology of aspirator for preparing PP fibers were revealed: processing temperature at 250 C, extrusion speed at 0.075 mm/s and take-up pressure at 1.5 bar. Most importantly, the reliability of a novel mathematic model was verified to predict PP fiber diameters in this study, which provides practical guidance for the research or mass production of PP blend fibers in the academia and industry.

Rheological Properties and Melt Spinning Application of Controlled-Rheology Polypropylenes via Pilot-Scale Reactive Extrusion

“…As the chain scission reaction by peroxide proceeded in the twin-screw extrusion process, the MWD, a key factor in chain length uniformity, varied accordingly. The MWD narrowed gradually as the peroxide content increased ( Figure 3 b), which is beneficial for enhancing the spinnability of melt-spinning processes by alleviating fiber breakage defects [ 39 ]. It is noteworthy that the addition of a small amount of peroxide significantly narrowed the MWD, whereas the MWD of CR-PP extruded via the harsh extrusion method did not differ significantly from that of CR-PP extruded via the mild extrusion method.…”