Orientation mechanisms in the development of high-performance fibers

Abstract

Highly oriented polymer fibers can be manufactured in various ways involving different regimes of deformation. Two processes and two different mechanisms of orientation are discussed. The first is strain orientation in a plastic solid subjected to slow deformation. The example of industrial processes include cold-drawing, calendering, and solid-state extrusion. The other process is flow orientation in the fluid state (melt, solution, suspension). Melt- or wet-spinning are typical examples. The theory of orientation and stress in plastic-state and fluid-state processing is developed, and examples of industrial processes leading to high-performance fibers are discussed.