Effects of interface on the dynamic mechanical properties of PET/nylon 6 bicomponent fibers

Three types of drawn bicomponent fibers were investigated to find out the e ffects of interface on the crystallinity and the dynamic mechanical propert ies. They are in the form of side-by-side, alternating-radial, and island-s ea types, and the core or island component is PET, and the sheath or sea co mponent is nylon 6. From the results it is observed that the storage moduli of these fibers are higher and the maximum values of the loss tangent are lower than the values calculated by the Takayanagi parallel model. Also, th e decrease of interfaces between the two components improves the crystallin ity of the PET component in the bicomponent fibers compared with the single -component PET fiber. With the decrease in interfacial area, the maximum lo ss tangent decreases and the crystallinity increases at the same compositio n ratios. Among three types of bicomponent fibers, the side-by-side type-wi th the smallest interfacial area-has the highest crystallinity and the lowe st maximum loss tangent. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.