The development of morphology during hot compaction of Tensylon high-modulus polyethylene tapes and woven cloths

Abstract

The development of morphology in tapes and woven cloths of oriented melt-spun Tensylon polyethylene has been studied both before and after hot compaction over a range of temperatures below and above the optimum. For both the unidirectional fibres and the woven cloths, the optimum temperature was found to be where approximately 30% of the original structure was lost which, for Tensylon tapes, was ∼2 K below the point of major crystalline melting, giving a processing window roughly twice as wide as for other previously studied polyethylene materials. Transverse sections show a two-component morphology after etching of cratered ribbons emerging from a flat, relatively featureless landscape. This morphology disappears at the highest temperature studied when the longitudinal morphology consists of oriented walls from which transcrystalline units have grown during cooling. Morphological comparison with other polyethylenes and their compactions places Tensylon behaviour alongside Dyneema, Spectra and Tekmilon rather than the melt-spun Certran.