Structure and properties of ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene fibers fabricated by melt spinning

Abstract

Ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) fibers were fabricated by a single-screw melt spinning machine at different drawing roll speed ratios and different drawing roll temperatures. Thermogravimetric analyzer, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), digital fiber sound velocimeter and single fiber strength testers were used to discuss the impacts of spinning processes on the structure and performance of ETFE fibers. The results indicated that four different fibers showed a similar melting temperature at around 257℃. XRD results revealed that the largest crystallinity of four ETFE fibers was 41.1%. As the drawing temperature increased, the crystallinity of ETFE fibers decreased and the grain size increased. The breaking strength of four as-spun ETFE fibers reached up to 1.12 cN/dtex. The minimum shrinkage of ETFE fibers at 200℃ was 7%, and it was only 1% at most below 150℃. The maximum creep strain of ETFE fibers was 6% when the loading capacity was 20% of the breaking strength at room temperature and ETFE fibers had a high recovery ratio of >90% after the load was removed. Moreover, ETFE fibers showed exceptional corrosion resistance and good performance of irradiation resistance.