Hot compaction of crosslinked high modulus polyethylene fibres and fabrics

A patented method for the production of solid articles from ultra high modu lus polyethylene fibres, known as hot compaction, in which the surface of t he fibre is selectively melted to provide a matrix to glue the fibres toget her has been reported previously. The present studies extend the technique to include fibres that have previously been subjected to crosslinking by ir radiation, a technique known to improve the mechanical properties of polyet hylene at elevated temperatures. It is shown that not only does this techni que improve the mechanical properties of the product at elevated temperatur es, but that also the temperature window for production is increased. In ad dition, new results are presented, which show that significantly lower pres sures can be used in the hot compaction technique than was previously repor ted.