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This article provides a new approach to estimate the wettability of fibers based on the force analysis in immerging procedure. A fiber in horizontal is forced into and withdrawn from the liquid at a certain speed, and the force changes are detected simultaneously. The experimental results show that the force impulse can be found at fiber contacting with liquid and immersed into liquid, and its value depends on the wettability of the fiber. According to the force impulses of different fibers, the immerging behavior of the fibers can be obtained and categorized into four characteristics. Meanwhile, the wettability of the fibers can be evaluated with the wettability factor, w, derived from the fiber immerging curve, where w is the ratio of the force increment on fiber initially contacting with the liquid to the force increment on liquid surface closing with fiber immerging into the liquid, and with the contact angle, θ, calculated from the wettability factor (θ = π/(w+1)) supposed that the fiber is a circular cross section. The pulling‐out test for a fiber has also been conducted and the results are discussed briefly in this article. The force measurement indicates that the method can be used for various fibers with short length, or lower density than that of the liquid, or poor wettability. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2659–2666, 2006

To prevent the loss of fiber strength, ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers were treated with an ultraviolet radiation technique combined with a corona-discharge treatment. The physical and chemical changes in the fiber surface were examined with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared/attenuated total reflectance. The gel contents of the fibers were measured by a standard device. The mechanical properties of the treated fibers and the interfacial adhesion properties of UHMWPE-fiber-reinforced vinyl ester resin composites were investigated with tensile testing. After 20 min or so of ultraviolet radiation based on 6-kW corona treatment, the T-peel strength of the treated UHMWPE-fiber composite was one to two times greater than that of the as-received UHMWPE-fiber composite, whereas the tensile strength of the treated UHMWPE fibers was still up to 3.5 GPa. The integrated mechanical properties of the treated UHMWPE fibers were also optimum. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 463–472, 2004

In order to illuminate the mechanisms of corona discharge treatment on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibre, the effects of corona treatment power and time are discussed in detail. The surface-roughness and tensile-failure characteristics of the polyethylene fibre were determined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The photos from the SEM showed that the size and number of the micro-pits on the fibre surface increase with increase of corona power. The oxygen-containing groups on the fibre surface could be detected by Fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflectance and also increased gradually with increase of corona power. The T-peel strength of composites increased from the corona treatment, and then showed a maximum value at a corona treatment time about 0.1 s with increase of treatment time. However, the tensile strength of the fibre was reduced with increase of corona power and the failure mechanism obviously changed after the treatment. The ballistic impact energy absorption of UHMWPE fibre/vinylester composite was obtained after fragment simulating projectiles (FSP) impact tests. After 6-kW corona treatment for 0.075 s, the impact energy absorbed by the laminate reached a maximum value. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry

This study investigated sunlight-simulated ultraviolet (UV) beam irradiation on the tensile properties and structure of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. The tensile results showed that after 300 h sunlight UV irradiation, the tensile properties of the UHMWPE fibers were obviously degraded. Investigation of morphology revealed that the crystallinity was slightly increased, whereas the overall orientation and molecular weight of the fibers were decreased. SEM observations indicated that the degradation process was nonuniform throughout the fiber and a change from a ductile to a brittle fracture mechanism was found after UV irradiation. DMA results showed two β-relaxations and one α-relaxation in the original single filament, and UV irradiation led to the increased intensity of the high-temperature β-relaxation and the lowered position of the low-temperature β-relaxation. This indicated that irradiation-induced molecular scission and branching were located primarily in the amorphous and the interface areas of the fiber. Changes in the thermal behavior were also examined by DSC. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2757–2763, 2003

Hydroxyethyl methacrylate was grafted onto woolen fabrics by microwave irradiation in the presence of catalyst (NH4)2S2O8. Various parameters of the graft copolymerization reaction, namely, time, microwave intensity, catalyst, and monomer concentration, were optimized. The graft copolymerization was also compared with conventional heating graft copolymerization at the same condition. Microwave irradiation was shown to improve the reactivity of the monomer. The moisture regain decreased as graft add-on increased. The Max load and the strain at Max load increased as graft add-on increased. The infrared spectra showed an additional peak at 1700 cm⁻¹, confirming ester carbonyl groups of the monomer. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 70: 2343–2347, 1998