PREPARATION OF HIGH-MODULUS NYLON-6 FIBERS BY VIBRATING HOT DRAWING AND ZONE ANNEALING

To prepare high-modulus fibers, the vibrating hot-drawing and zone-ann ealing methods have been applied to nylon 6. The vibrating hot drawing was repeated two times, increasing the applied tension; further, the zone annealing was superposed on the vibrating hot-drawn fibers. The s uperstructure and mechanical properties of each step fiber were invest igated. The vibration under a cooperation of heating and tension was v ery useful for increasing the draw ratio, birefringence, and orientati on factor of the amorphous chains. Consequently, the obtained fiber in dicated high moduli, namely, Young's modulus of 23 GPa and the dynamic storage modulus at room temperature of 25.3 GPa. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.