Changes in the Properties of Synthetic Fibres in Thermal Aging

Thermal aging of complex lavsan, nitron, and anid fibres and lavsan and nitron yarn was investigated in the temperature region above the glass transition temperature (120, 150, 180°C) in the free state and with shrinkage for up to 300 h. It was shown that thermal aging of chemical fibres in the general case includes periods of structural and thermochemical aging. The kinetic characteristics of thermal shrinkage of chemical fibres and yarn in the first period of thermal aging were investigated. An exponential curve of shrinkage in time was obtained and can be used to predict the behavior of fibres and yarn in the first period of aging in the free state. The kinetics of the change in the strength and relative elongation at break was investigated in prolonged thermal aging of chemical fibres and yarn in the free (with shrinkage) and fixed (without shrinkage) states. The exponential dependence of the change in the fibre breaking characteristics on the duration of heat treatment was demonstrated. The change in the properties in prolonged thermal aging in the free and fixed states in the first stage of aging takes place differently. With shrinkage, the strength decreases and the deformability increases as a result of relaxation phenomena in the first stage, followed by a symbatic decrease in the strength and deformability as a result of thermal degradation processes in the second stage. In heat treatment in the fixed state, the change in the mechanical properties in the first stage is slight, while the strength and deformability simultaneously decrease in time as a result of thermal aging in the second stage. The quantitative characteristics found can be used to predict the change in the mechanical properties of chemical fibres and yarn in conditions of prolonged exposure to heat.