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High Performance Polyethylene Fiber

High-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibres like Dyneema and Spectra are produced using a gel spinning process. They are made from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene synthesized using metallocene catalysts, giving the polymers extremely long chains of 100,000-250,000 monomers. This makes the spun fibres highly crystalline, dense, and oriented, providing unique properties like very high strength, stiffness, abrasion resistance and self-lubrication. Commercially, HPPE fibres are produced as multifilament yarns with tenacities ranging from 2.6-3.7 N/tex and modulus between 75-120 N/tex, making them very strong for their weight and widely used

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323 views14 pages

High Performance Polyethylene Fiber

High-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibres like Dyneema and Spectra are produced using a gel spinning process. They are made from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene synthesized using metallocene catalysts, giving the polymers extremely long chains of 100,000-250,000 monomers. This makes the spun fibres highly crystalline, dense, and oriented, providing unique properties like very high strength, stiffness, abrasion resistance and self-lubrication. Commercially, HPPE fibres are produced as multifilament yarns with tenacities ranging from 2.6-3.7 N/tex and modulus between 75-120 N/tex, making them very strong for their weight and widely used

Uploaded by

Waqar Baloch
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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High-performance Polyethylene Fibres

1. Introduction
Polyethene, polyethylene, polythene
A flexible waxy translucent polyalkene thermoplastic made in a
variety of ways producing a polymer of varying characteristics.
LDPE: molecular weight 50,000 - 300,000
softening temperature 110 oC
relative density 0.92

HDPE: molecular weight up to 3,000,000


softening temperature 130 oC
relative density 0.945- 0.96
UHMW-PE: molecular weight up to 6,000,000
low moisture absorption
low coefficient of friction
highly resistant to abrasion
self lubricating
fibre commercialized in late 1970s by DSM
2. Spinning of Polymers
Spinning: A specialized form of extrusion that uses a
spinneret to manufacture multiple continuous multi filaments
of polymer

Types of Spinning:
Wet Spinning

Dry Spinning

Melt Spinning

Gel Spinning
Wet Spinning:
Polymers is dissolved in solvent

Precipitation of polymer

Solidification of polymers at emergence from the spinneret

Acrylic, spandex, modacrylic,


Dry Spinning:

Polymers is dissolved in solvent

Solidification of polymer through evaporating the


solvent

Acetate, triacetate, acrylic, modacrylic, spandex


Melt Spinning:
Polymer is melted

Solidification of cooling after


extrusion

Nylon, polyester, olefins


High-performance Polyethylene
Fibres

Gel Spinning:
Preparation of gel

At extrusion fibres are first dried and than cooled in a


liquid bath

Dyneema, spectra
3. Production

Polymer Preparation
– UHMW-PE is synthesized based on metallocene
catalysts from monomers of ethylene (C2h4)

– HDPE molecules have 700- 1,800 monomers

– UHMW-PE molecules have 100,000-250,000 monomers


3. Production

 Product Types
– Powder
– Rods Sheets
– Fibres
3. Production
 Gel Spinning
– HPPE are produced as Dyneema by DSM in
Netherlands and Toyobo/DSM in Japan and Spectra
by Honeywell in USA
– Feedstock Polymer
– Spinning Solution
– Gelation and crystallization
– Drawing
4. Structure and Properties

 Fibre Form- Produced as Multifilament Yarn


(0.32-10 dpf, 5 N/tex, 120 N/tex, circular cross-
section, smooth skin)

 Structure and Morphology (highly crystalline >


80%, non-crystalline is an interphase form
characterized by high density, orientation and
restricted mobility of molecular chains.
Structure and Properties
• Density 0.97-0.98 gm/cm3
Commercially Available Fibres
Density Den/fil Tenacity Modules Elongation
(kg/m3) (dpf) (N/tex) (N/tex) To break (%)
DSM HPF
Dyneema SK 60 970 1 2.8 91 3.5
Dyneema SK 65 970 1 3.1 97 3.6
Dyneema SK 75 970 2 3.5 110 3.8
Dyneema SK 76 970 2 3.7 120 3.8
Toyobo
Dyneema SK 60 970 1 2.8 91 3.5
Dyneema SK 71 970 1 3.5 122 3.7
Honeywell
Spectra 900 970 10 2.6 75 3.6
Spectra 1000 970 5 3.2 110 3.3
Spectra 2000 970 3.5 3.4 120 2.9

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