STRUCTURAL TRANSITIONS IN MANUFACTURE OF HIGH-STRENGTH POLYETHYLENE FIBRES BY THE GEL-TECHNOLOGY METHOD

摘要

The creation of fibres from flexible-and rigid-chain polymers with mechanical indexes close to the theoretically possible is an important problem in the physical chemistry and technology of polymers.The development of the gel-technology method [1,2] at the Dutch company DSM,which allows increasing the strength of fibres made of flexible-chain polymers by an order of magnitude,should be considered an impressive step toward solving this problem.Conversion of the solution into a gel was the key stage in obtaining strong fibres.After DSM,the gel-technology method was successfully implemented by other foreign and domestic companies [3,4],and fibres were made in laboratory conditions from ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE),whose mechanical properties are close to the theoretical values.It was predicted that total realization of the strength and elastic properties of fibres from flexible-chain polymers would not only lead to significant savings of material and energy resources but also to the creation of a new class of construction materials.A further increase in the mechanical indexes of these fibres will only be possible after a comprehensive study and purposeful formation of the gel structure and intermediate products in all stages of the manufacturing process.