Effect of Heat Setting Methods on Structures and Properties of High Strength Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibre

Abstract

The effect of heat setting methods on the structures and mechanical properties of high strength polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibre is studied in this article. The microstructure and mechanical properties of heat treated PVA fibre is investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and single fibre electronic tensile strength tester. Results show that the heat setting method with constant tension is a good heat setting method which can largely enhance the tensile strength of PVA fibre. During the heat setting process, the mechanical properties of PVA fibre are greatly affected by the temperature, tension and setting time. When the temperature is 220°C, tension is 5cN/dtex and setting time is 90sec, the tensile strength of PVA fibre increases from 12.0cN/dtex to 16.4cN/dtex in compare with the PVA fibre without heat setting