Spandex Fiber: Dorlastan.) Invista, Radicispandex Corporation

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Spandex Fiber

    (Elastane)

Spandex Textile Filament Fiber

First U.S. Commercial Spandex Fiber Production: 1959, DuPont Company

Current U.S. Spandex Fiber Producers: Asahi Kasei Spandex America, Inc. (formerly
Dorlastan.); INVISTA, RadiciSpandex Corporation

Federal Trade Commission Definition for Spandex Fiber: A manufactured fiber in


which the fiber forming substance is a long-chain synthetic polymer comprised of at least
85% of a segmented polyurethane. (Complete FTC Fiber Rules here.)

Basic Principles of Spandex Fiber Production — The polymer chain is a segmented


block copolymer containing long, randomly coiled, liquid, soft segments that move to a
more linear, lower entropy, structure. The hard segments act as “virtual cross-links” that
tie all the polymer chains together into an infinite network. This network prevents the
polymer chains from slipping past each other and taking on a permanent set or draw.
When the stretching force is removed, the linear, low entropy, soft segments move back
to the preferred randomly coiled, higher entropy state, causing the fiber to recover to its
original shape and length. This segmented block copolymer is formed in a multi-step
proprietary process. It is extruded into a fiber as a monofilament threadline or for most
products into a multiplicity of fine filaments that are coalesced shortly after they are
formed into a single threadline.

Spandex Fiber Characteristics

o Can be stretched repeatedly and still recover to very near its original
length and shape
o Generally, can be stretched more than 500% without breaking
o Stronger, more durable and higher retractive force than rubber
o Lightweight, soft, smooth, supple
o In garments, provides a combination of comfort and fit, prevents bagging
and sagging
o Heat-settable — facilitates transforming puckered fabrics into flat fabrics,
or flat fabrics into permanent rounded shapes
o Dyeable
o Resistant to deterioration by body oils, perspiration, lotions or detergents
o Abrasion resistant
o When fabrics containing spandex are sewn, the needle causes little or no
damage from “needle cutting” compared to the older types of elastic
materials
o Available in fiber diameters ranging from 10 denier to 2500 denier

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o Available in clear and opaque lusters

Some Major Spandex Fiber Uses

o Garments where comfort and fit are desired: hosiery, swimsuits,


aerobic/exercise wear, ski pants, golf jackets, disposable diaper, waist
bands, bra straps and bra side panels
o Compression garments: surgical hose, support hose, bicycle pants,
foundation garments
o Shaped garments: bra cups

General Spandex Fiber Care Tips

o Hand or machine wash in lukewarm water


o Do not use chlorine bleach on any fabric containing spandex. Use oxygen
or sodium perborate type bleach
o Rise thoroughly
o Drip dry. If machine dried, use low temperature
o Ironing, if required, should be done rapidly. Do not leave the iron too long
in one position. Use low temperatures setting. (For specific instructions,
refer to garment's sewn-in care label)

Polyurethanes are the most well known polymers used to make foams. If you're
sitting on a padded chair right now, the cushion is more than likely made of a
polyurethane foam. Polyurethanes are more than foam.

Much more than foam!

Polyurethanes are the single most versatile family of polymers there is.
Polyurethanes can be elastomers, and they can be paints. They can be fibers, and
they can be adhesives. They just pop up everywhere. A wonderfully bizarre
polyurethane is spandex.

Of course, polyurethanes are called polyurethanes because in their backbones they


have a urethane linkage.

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The picture shows the a simple polyurethane, but a polyurethane can be any
polymer containing the urethane linkage in its backbone chain. More sophisticated
polyurethanes are possible, for example:

Polyurethanes are made by reacting diisocyanates with di-alcohols.

Sometimes, the dialcohol is replaced with a diamine, and the polymer we get is a
polyurea, because it contains a urea linkage, rather than a urethane linkage. But
these are usually called polyurethanes, because they probably wouldn't sell well
with a name like polyurea.

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Polyurethanes can hydrogen bond very well, and thus can be very crystalline. For
this reason they are often used to make block copolymers with soft rubbery
polymers. These block copolymers have properties of thermoplastic elastomers.

Spandex

One unusual polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer is spandex, which DuPont sells under
the trade name Lycra. It has both urea and urethane linkages in its backbone. What gives
spandex its special properties is the fact that it has hard and soft blocks in its repeat
structure. The short polymeric chain of a polyglycol, usually about forty or so repeats
units long, is soft and rubbery. The rest of the repeat unit, you know, the stretch with the
urethane linkages, the urea linkages, and the aromatic groups, is extremely rigid. This
section is stiff enough that the rigid sections from different chains clump together and
align to form fibers. Of course, they are unusual fibers, as the fibrous domains formed by
the stiff blocks are linked together by the rubbery soft sections. The result is a fiber that
acts like an elastomer! This allows us to make fabric that stretches for exercise clothing
and the like.

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PROPERTIES OF NYLON 66
 -Tenacity-elongation at break ranges from 8.8g/d-18% to 4.3 g/d-45%.

 Its tensile strength is higher than that of wool, silk, rayon, or cotton.

 100% elastic under 8% of extension

 -Specific gravity of 1.14

 -Melting point of 263oC

 -Extremely chemically stable

 -No mildew or bacterial effects

 -4 - 4.5% of moisture regain

 -Degraded by light as natural fibers

 -Permanent set by heat and steam

 -Abrasion resistant

 -Lustrous- Nylon fibers have the luster of silk

 -Easy to wash

 -Can be pre colored or dyed in wide range of colors; dyes are applied to the
molten mass of nylon or to the yarn or finished fabric.

 -Resilient

 -Filament yarn provides smooth, soft, long lasting fabrics

 -Spun yarn lend fabrics light weight and warmth

PROPERTIES OF NYLON 6
The main difference between nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 is nylon 6 has a much lower melting
point than nylon 66. This is a serious disadvantage, as garments made from it must be
ironed with considerable care.

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NONWOVENS USAGE
The fiber has outstanding durability and excellent physical properties. Like PET fiber, it
has a high melting point, which conveys good high- temperature performance. The fiber
is more water sensitive than PET; despite this fact, nylon is not considered a comfortable
fiber in contact with the skin. Its toughness makes it a major fiber of choice in carpets,
including needle punched floor-covering products. Because of its relatively high cost,
nylon has somewhat limited use in nonwoven products. It is used as a blending fiber in
some cases, because it conveys excellent tear strength. The resiliency and wrinkle
recovery performance of a nonwoven produced from nylon is not as excellent as that
from PET fiber.

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ACRYLIC FIBRES

Significance

Irreplaceable in the apparel sector


Acrylic is another man-made fibre where development in Germany paralleled that in the
USA. In Germany it came on the scene in 1942 and since 1954 has been manufactured on
a large scale by Bayer as the first producer in Europe. 75 % of acrylic fibres are used in
apparel, 20% in home furnishing and 5% in industrial end-uses. In apparel the acrylic
fibres are used, for instance, in jumpers, waistcoats, cardigans, jackets, socks, knee-high
stockings, training and jogging suits, either pure or in blends for example with wool. The
modacrylic fibre, a modified form of acrylic, is found in flame-retardant garments,
children's and baby wear, and in dolls clothes and soft toys. In the year 2005 192,000 tons
of acrylic fibres were produced in Germany.

The fibre

Mostly as a crimped staple fibre

Both dry and wet spinning processes are used to make acrylic fibres. In the dry-spinning
process the spinning mass emerges from the spinneret into a spinning chamber, into
which warm air is blown. In wet spinning the spin mass is pressed into a so-called
coagulating bath. The largest proportion of the production is made and used as crimped
staple fibre.

On care labels the acrylic fibre is often designated as "PAN" and the modacrylic as
"MAC". Vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, methyl acrylate and 2-vinyl-pyridine are among
the monomers which are probably used commercially

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Properties

Ideal for blends with wool

 Main properties of acrylic fibres:


 Feels like wool, with high bullk

 Very good heat retention and fastness to light.

 Very good shape retention, durability, easy care and quick dry qualities.
Qualities such as its wool-like feel and bulk make it pre-destined for use in the
knitwear sector. The positive features of acrylic fibres come into their own
when they are blended with a suitable proportion of wool or other natural
fibres: the wool needs practically no additional finishing, does not felt when
washed and is significantly easier to care for.

 With sportswear, training and jogging suits particularly benefit from the
special advantages of acrylic fibres - be it pure or blended: low water
absorption, quicker water transport, light and weather resistance.

 The mechanical properties of acrylic fibres are modest when compared with
fibres like nylon and polyester. The fibre strength is often only half that of
nylon, but the breaking extension is usually so high at about 40% that this
gives a relatively tough fibre. Acrylic fibres are easy to bend and deform, and
recover well, although less well than nylon. However, the soft open structure
of many of the products made from acrylic fibres is helpful in avoiding the
incidence of sharp creases.

Acrylic fibres are generally resistant to chemicals and are used for some types of
protective clothing. The fibres are quite resistant to acids and most types of common
organic solvent. They generally have good resistance to oxidising agents but are
discoloured by alkalis. Moths, carpet beetles and mildew are resisted by the fibre, causing
at most only superficial harm

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Polyacrylonitrile is used for very few products an average consumer would be familiar
with, except to make another polymer, carbon fiber. Homopolymers of polyacrylonitrile
have been uses as fibers in hot gas filtration systems, outdoor awnings, sails for yachts,
and even fiber reinforced concrete. But mostly copolymers containing polyacrylonitrile
are used as fibers to make knitted clothing, like socks and sweaters, as well as outdoor
products like tents and such. If the label of some piece of clothing says "acrylic", then it's
made out of some copolymer of polyacrylonitrile. Usually they're copolymers of
acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate, or acrylonitrile and methyl methacrylate:

Also, sometimes we make copolymers of acrylonitrile and vinyl chloride. These


copolymers are flame-retardant, and the fibers made from them are called modacrylic
fibers.

But the slew of copolymers of acrylonitrile doesn't stop there. Poly(styrene-co-


acrylonitrile) (SAN) and poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co--styrene) (ABS), are used as
plastics.

SAN is a simple random copolymer of styrene and acrylonitrile. But ABS is more
complicated. It's made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence of
polybutadiene. Polybutadiene has carbon-carbon double bonds in it, which can
polymerize, too. So we end up with a polybutadiene chain with SAN chains grafted onto
it, like you see below.

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ABS is very strong and lightweight. It is strong enough to be used to make automobile
body parts, but it is so light that Wassana can lift this front bumper fascia over her head
with only hand! Using plastics like ABS makes automobiles lighter, so they use less fuel,
and therefore they pollute less.

ABS is a stronger plastic than polystyrene because of the nitrile groups of its acrylonitrile
units. The nitrile groups are very polar, so they are attracted to each other. This allows
opposite charges on the nitrile groups to stabilize each other like you see in the picture on
the left. This strong attraction holds ABS chains together tightly, making the material
stronger. Also the rubbery polybutadiene makes ABS tougher than polystyrene.

Polyacrylonitrile is a vinyl polymer, and a derivative of the acrylate family of polymers.


It is made from the monomer acrylonitrile by free radical vinyl polymerization.

This is what the monomer acrylonitrile really looks like:

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Trade names for acrylic fibres:

Manufacturer Origin Trade Name Uses

Monsanto USA Carpets


Chemical 'Acrilan'
       
Asahi Chemical Japan 'Cashmilon' Industrial/apparel
Industry
Courtaulds UK 'Courtek M'
Hygienic/barrier
Cloth/bactericidal
Courtaulds UK 'Courtek N'
Nonwovens/paper
       
Courtaulds UK 'Courtelle' Knitwear
       
Hoechst- Germany 'Dolan' Carpets
Celanese
       
Hoechst- Germany ' Dolanit' Industrial
Celanese
       
Bayer Germany 'Dralon' Domestic textiles
       
Bayer Germany 'Dralon X160' Knitwear/dresses
    'Neochrome’ Producer dyed
fibres
       
USA 'Orlon' Knitwear
Du Pont
       
Courtaulds UK 'Sekril' Cement
reinforcement

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Carbon fiber

Carbon fiber is a polymer which is a form of graphite. Graphite is a form of pure carbon.
In graphite the carbon atoms are arranged into big sheets of hexagonal aromatic rings.
The sheets look like chicken wire.

Carbon fiber is a form of graphite in which these sheets are long and thin. You might
think of them as ribbons of graphite. Bunches of these ribbons like to pack together to
form fibers, hence the name carbon fiber.

These fibers aren't used by themselves. Instead, they're used to reinforce materials like
epoxy resins and other thermosetting materials. We call these reinforced materials
composites because they have more than one component.

Carbon fiber reinforced composites are very strong for their weight. They're often
stronger than steel, but a whole lot lighter. Because of this, they can be used to replace
metals in many uses, from parts for airplanes and the space shuttle to tennis rackets and
golf clubs.

Carbon fiber is made from another polymer, called polyacrylonitrile, by a complicated


heating process.

Carbon fiber...the wonder polymer...stronger than steel, and much lighter...but how does
one make it? It's made something like this: We start off with another polymer, one called
polyacrylonitrile. We take this polymer, and heat it up. We're not sure just exactly what
happens when we do this, but we do know that the end result is carbon fiber. We think

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the reaction happens something like this: when we heat the polyacrylonitrile, the heat
causes the cyano repeat units to form cycles!

Then you know what we do? We heat it again! This time we turn the heat up higher, and
our carbon atoms kick off their hydrogens, and the rings become aromatic. This polymer
is a series of fused pyridine rings.

Then...guess what?...we heat it...AGAIN! Slow roasting the polymer some more at
around 400-600 oC causes adjacent chains to join together like this:

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This expels hydrogen gas, and gives us a ribbon-like fused ring polymer. But don't think
we're done yet! Next we crank up the heat, anywhere from 600 all the way up to 1300 oC.
When this happens, our newly formed ribbons will themselves join together to form even
wider ribbons like this:

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When this happens, we expel nitrogen gas. As you can see on the polymer we
get, it has nitrogen atoms along its edges, and these new wide ribbons can then
merge to form even wider ribbons. As this happens, more and more nitrogen is
expelled. When we're through, the ribbons are really wide, and most of the
nitrogen is gone, leaving us with ribbons that are almost pure carbon in the
graphite form. That's why we call these things carbon fibers.

Kevlar

Kevlar is the DuPont Company's brand name for material made out of synthetic fiber of
poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide which is constructed of para-aramid fibers that
the company claims is five times stronger than the same weight of steel, while being
lightweight, flexible and comfortable. It is also very heat resistant and decomposes above
400 °C without melting. It was invented by Stephanie Kwolek of DuPont from research
into high performance polymers, and patented by her in 1966 and first marketed in 1971.
Kevlar is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Originally
intended to replace the steel belts in tires, it is probably the most well known name in soft
armor such as bulletproof vests. It is also used in extreme sports equipment, high-tension
drumhead applications, animal handling protection, composite aircraft construction, fire
suits, yacht sails, as an asbestos replacement, sometimes in loudspeaker cones, and
recently, even in R/C model helicopter blades .

When this polymer is spun in the same way that a spider spins a web, the resulting
commercial para-aramid fiber has tremendous strength, and is heat and cut resistant.
Para-aramid fibers do not rust or corrode, and their strength is unaffected by immersion
in water. When woven together, they form a good material for mooring lines and other
underwater objects. However, unless specially waterproofed, para-aramid fiber’s ability
to stop bullets and other projectiles is degraded when wet.

Properties

Kevlar is a processed polyparaphenylene terephthalamide that is an aramid consisting of


long polymeric chains with a parallel orientation. Kevlar derives a portion of its improved
strength from inter-molecular hydrogen bonds formed between the carbonyl groups and
protons on neighboring polymer chains and the partial pi stacking of the benzenoid
aromatic stacking interactions between stacked strands. These interactions have a greater
influence on Kevlar than van der Waals interactions and chain length that typicaly
influence the properties of other synthetic polymers and fibers like Dyneema. In addition
the presence of salts and certain other impurities, especially calcium, could interfere with
the strand interactions and caution is used to avoid inclusion in its production. Kevlar's
structure consists of relatively rigid molecules, which tend to form mostly planar sheet-
like structures that have similarities to silk protein.

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Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide intermolecular hydrogen bonding

These properties result in its high mechanical strength and additionally kevlar's
remarkable heat resistance. The degree of unsaturated carbons (the ratio of carbon to
hydrogen atoms) is quite high, and decreases kevlar's flammability. Kevlar molecules
have polar groups accessible for hydrogen bonding. Water that enters the interior of the
fiber can take the place of bonding between molecules and reduce the material's strength,
while the available groups at the surface lead to good wetting properties. This is
important for bonding the fibers to other types of polymer, forming composite material.
This same property also makes the fibers feel more natural and "sticky" compared to
nonpolar polymers like polyethylene.

There are three common grades of Kevlar: Kevlar, Kevlar 29, and Kevlar 49. Kevlar is
typically used as reinforcements in tires and other rubber mechanical goods. Kevlar 29 is
used in industrial applications such as cables, asbestos replacement, brake lines, body
armor (knife, bullet, etc). Kevlar 49 is considered to have the greatest tensile strength of
all the aramids, it is used in applications such as plastic reinforcement for boat hulls,
airplanes, and bikes.

In structural applications, Kevlar fibers can be bonded to one another or to other


materials to form a composite.

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Kevlar's main weaknesses are that it decomposes under alkaline conditions or when
exposed to chlorine. While it can have a great tensile strength, sometimes in excess of 4.0
GPa, like all fibers it tends to buckle in compression.

Production

Kevlar is synthesized from the monomers 1,4-phenyl-diamine (para-phenylenediamine)


and terephthaloyl chloride. The result is a polymeric aromatic amide (aramid) with
alternating benzene rings and amide groups. When they are produced, these polymer
strands are aligned randomly. To make Kevlar, they are dissolved and spun, the
combination of lyotropic liquid-crystalline behaviour and mechanical drawing causing
the polymer chains to orientate in the direction of the fibre.

Kevlar has a high price, in part, due to the difficulties arising from the use of
concentrated sulfuric acid in its manufacture. These harsh conditions are needed to keep
the highly insoluble polymer in solution during synthesis and spinning.

Nomex
NOMEX is the registered brand name of a flame retardant meta-aramid material
marketed and first discovered by DuPont in the 1970s. It can be considered an aromatic
"nylon". It is sold in both fiber and sheet forms and is used as a fabric wherever
resistance from heat and flame is required. Nomex sheet is actually a calendered paper
and made in a similar fashion. The paper is used in electrical laminates such as circuit
boards and transformer cores as well as fireproof honeycomb structures were it is
saturated with a phenolic resin. Both the firefighting and vehicle racing industries use
NOMEX to create clothing and equipment that can stand up to intense heat. It is the meta
variant of the para-aramid Kevlar. Both aramids are heat and flame resistant but Kevlar,
having a para- orientation can be molecularly aligned and gives high strength. Meta
aramid polymer cannot align during filament formation and has poor strength.

A NOMEX hood is a common piece of firefighting equipment. It is placed on the head on


top of a firefighter's face mask. The hood protects the portions of the head not covered by
the helmet and face mask from the intense heat of the fire. Race car drivers commonly
use a similar hood to protect them in the event that a fire engulfs their car. Military pilots
wear one-piece coveralls (flight suits) made of over 92% NOMEX, to protect them from
the possibility of cockpit fires and other mishaps. The remaining 8% is usually Kevlar
thread used to hold the fabric together at the seams.

The DuPont scientist responsible for discoveries leading to the creation of NOMEX, Dr.
Wilfred Sweeny, earned a Lavoisier medal [1] partly for this work in 2002.

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 Glass
Glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when the viscous molten
material cools very rapidly to below its glass transition temperature, without sufficient
time for a regular crystal lattice to form. The most familiar form of glass is the silica-
based material used for windows, containers and decorative objects.

In its pure form glass is a transparent, strong, hard-wearing, essentially inert, and
biologically inactive material that can be formed with very smooth and impervious
surfaces. Glass is, however, brittle and will break into sharp shards. These properties can
be modified or changed with the addition of other compounds or heat treatment.

Common glass contains about 70% amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is the same
chemical compound found in quartz and in its polycrystalline form, sand.

Properties and uses

The most obvious characteristic of ordinary glass is that it is transparent to visible light
(not all glassy materials are). This transparency is due to an absence of electronic
transition states in the range of visible light, and because ordinary glass is homogeneous
on all length scales greater than about a wavelength of visible light. (Heterogeneities
cause light to be scattered, breaking up any coherent image transmission). Ordinary glass
partially blocks UVA (wavelength between 400 and 300 nm) and totally blocks UVC and
UVB (wavelengths shorter than 300 nm) due to the addition of compounds such as soda
ash (sodium carbonate).

Pure SiO2 glass (also called fused quartz) does not absorb UV light and is used for
applications that require transparency in this region, although it is more expensive. This
type of glass can be made so pure that, when made into fibre optic cables, hundreds of
kilometres of glass are transparent at infrared wavelengths. Individual fibres are given an
equally transparent core of SiO2/GeO2 glass, which has only slightly different optical
properties (the germanium contributing to a higher index of refraction). Undersea cables
have sections doped with erbium, which amplify transmitted signals by laser emission
from within the glass itself. Amorphous SiO2 is also used as a dielectric material in
integrated circuits, due to the smooth and electrically neutral interface it forms with
silicon.

Glasses used for making optical devices are categorized using a six-digit glass code, or
alternatively a letter-number code from the Schott Glass catalogue. For example, BK7 is a
low-dispersion borosilicate crown glass, and SF10 is a high-dispersion dense flint glass.
The glasses are arranged by composition, refractive index, and Abbe number.

Glass is sometimes created naturally from volcanic magma. This glass is called obsidian,
and is usually black with impurities. Obsidian is a raw material for flintknappers, who

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have used it to make extremely sharp knives since the stone age. Collecting obsidian
from national parks and some places may be prohibited by law in some countries, but the
same toolmaking techniques can be applied to industrially-made glass.

      

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