Man-made Textile Fibres
Course Code: YE215-0723
Reference Books
1. Handbook of Textile Fibers, Vol – II – Manmade Fibers by J. Gordon Cook
2. Apparel fibers – Dr. Md. Nazirul Islam
3. References Books of Textile Technologies – Man Made Fibers
4. Man-made Fibers, [Link]
5. Textile Raw Materials by Ajay and Rakesh Jindal
6. Production of Synthetic Fibers by A.A. Vaidya
7. Technology of Textile Processing – Vol – I – Textile Fibers by Dr. V. A. Shenai
8. Textile Science – E.P.G Ghol
PART - A
1. Introduction to Man Made Textile Fiber
2. Different Manufacturing Processes
3. Polyester Fiber
4. Elastomer (Spandex)
5. Bicomponent fibers
6. Electrospinning
Man-Made Fibers
Man-made fibers fall naturally into two broad groups, depending on
the origin of the fiber-forming materials from which they are
produced.
Man-made fibers are considered under two main headings:
(a) Natural polymer fibers (in which fiber-forming material is of
natural origin)
(b) Synthetic fibers (in which the fiber-forming material is made from
simpler substances)
Man-Made Fibers
Synthetic fiber: The fiber which is obtained by chemical
synthesis is called synthetic fiber.
Regenerated fiber: The fiber which is obtained by
conversion of natural fiber by chemical process is called
regenerated fiber.
Man Made
Fibers
Classification:
Natural Fibers vs Man made Fibers
Natural fibers are those that originates from Natural sources (Plant, Animal, Mineral etc.) on the other hand Man
made fibers are not naturally present in the nature and are processed or regenerated by man. The fundamental
differences between natural and man made fibers are given below:
Natural Fiber Man made fiber
Length and shape of fibers are given by nature Length and shape of fibers can be controlled
Comfortable to wear Comparatively less comfortable
Hygienic and environment friendly Non hygienic and detrimental to environment
Mostly hydrophilic in nature Hydrophobic in nature
Dependent on climatic condition and nature Not dependent on climatic condition and nature
Number of molecules and molecular weight is controlled by Number of molecules and molecular weight is controlled by
nature people
Comparatively less durable Better durable than natural fibers
Generally ignites quickly, burns freely with smoke and have Readily burns and melts giving a distinct plastic burning
an afterglow following burning odor
Manmade Fibers Classification:
Manmade fibers can be broadly classified into 3 types:
1. Regenerated Fibers
2. Synthetic Fibers
3. Inorganic Fibers
If the manmade fibers are obtained from cellulosic base material,
then they are termed as regenerated cellulosic manmade fibers; if they
are manufactured from synthesizing using various chemicals like the
petroleum products then they are called synthetic manmade fibers.
The fibers which are obtained from inorganic base are Inorganic
Fibers.
Regenerated Fibers
Regenerated natural-polymer fibers are those fibers which are derived from or regenerated by using
natural source as a base and are chemically shaped to filament form, e.g. viscose rayon,
cuprammonium rayon, acetate rayon, casein ardil, etc.
Synthetic Fibers
Synthetic fibers are those fibers where only chemicals are used in the manufacture
of such fibers. They do not require natural raw material as a base for the
manufacture, as in the case of regenerated fibers. For example,
hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid are used in the manufacture of nylon and
dimethyl terephthalate and ethylene glycol in the production of polyester fiber etc.
Synthetic fibers can also be classified in two groups, (a) Hetero chain fibers, e.g.,
polyester, polyamide, polyurethane, polyurea fiber, etc., (b) Carbon chain fibers, e.g.
polyacrylonitrile, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl chloride, polyolefin and special
purpose fluorine, etc., containing fibers.
Synthetic Fibers
Inorganic Fibers
Miscellaneous inorganic fibers are those fibers which are made from substances such as metal and
glass. Both these materials have been used by man for a long time in forms other than textile fibers.
Thus, malleable and ductile nature suggested the use as textile fibers long ago, but the cost and
technical difficulties hindered its wide use.
Glass, Carbon, Metal, Ceramic Fibers etc. are examples of Inorganic Fibers
Glass Fiber
Glass fiber is formed when thin silica based or other formulation based glass is extruded into
many fiber forms with small textile processing.
Forms of Man Made Fibers
Man made fibers are broadly found in 3 forms:
1. Continuous Filament:
(a) Mono Filament
(b) Multi Filament
2. Staple
3. Filament Tow
Continuous Filaments are of long continuous length. They are spun from Spinnerets and is
determined by the size of yarn to be made.
Staple Fibers are those of discontinuous length, they are chopped to shorter lengths of a few
inches. The length depends on their use.
Filament Tow is a form that is kept with ten or hundred of thousands of filaments bundled
together in a loose rope and wound up in some sort of spool or package.
Sequence of man-made fiber production
MANUFACTURE OF THE FIBER FORMING POLYMER
SPINNING ( EXTRUSION THROUGH SPINNERET )
STRETCHING / DRAWING ( IMPROVING STRENGTH &
CRYSTALLINITY )
TEXTURING / CRIMPING ( DEVELOPING PROPERTIES OF NATURAL
POLYMER FIBERS )
INTERLACING / INTERMINGLING ( APPLIED INSTEAD OF TWISTING )
HEAT SET TING (MADE DIMENSIONALLY STABLE)
Properties required for Fiber forming
polymers:
Hydrophilic: For man made fiber to be comfortable to wear the forming polymers need to be
hydrophilic so that the system permits the entry of water molecule.
Flexibility: Fiber forming polymers should be linear and flexible, they should not be branched.
Orientation: Fiber forming polymers should be capable of being oriented. They should be able to
be arranged or aligned into more or less parallel order in the direction of longitudinal axis of the
filament or fiber.
Molecular Weight: Molecular weight should be high.
Chemical resistance: Polymers should be chemically resistant against common degrading agents
such as sunlight, weather, soiling, laundry liquors, dry cleaning agents etc.
Solubility: Polymers must be soluble in some solvents from which they can be spun.
Melting point: Fibers melting point must be higher to be useful for textile operation.
Properties required for Fiber forming
polymers:
Tg (Glass transition temperature) should be near to room temperature.
Tm (Crystalline melting point) 200 – 3000C is suitable.
Tg : The temperature below which a polymer is hard and above which it is soft, is called the glass
transition temperature.
Tm: The temperature above which polymer melt is called Tm.
Why molecular weight is important for fiber forming
polymer?
The molecular weight of a polymer is directly related to its
properties. As the molecular weight increases, mechanical
properties generally increase.
i) A high molecular weight increases how far the material
can stretch before rupturing.
ii) A high molecular weight increase the impact resistance of
the material.
Why molecular weight is important for fiber forming
polymer?
iii) A high molecular weight increases the chemical
resistance.
iv) A high molecular weight increases the viscosity of the
material.
Importance of Orientation of fiber
1. Orientation of fiber mainly refers to the ratio of
crystalline to amorphous materials.
2. Well oriented fibers are always the expected
for having better strength performance.
The better oriented the Fibers,
the stronger the element.
Importance of Orientation of fiber
3. Although crystalline structure provide more strength,
Rigidity. The amorphous region provides
intensity for more water or chemical
uptake, flexibility and reactivity.
4. In the case of natural fibers, the ratio of
crystallinity to amorphous region is fixed by
nature where as in case of MMF it can be
controlled to a large extent by condition
under which fiber is produced.