Thermal and Mechanical Characterization of Drawn Polypropylene Fibres

The main objective of this work was to investigate the effect of different cellulose (CEL) content and the draw ratio on the thermal and mechanical properties of drawn polypropylene (PP) fibres. The modification of PP fibres during their production can helps to prepare PP fibres with improved properties, guarantees new opportunities for the expansion of an assortment of PP fibres in the clothing and domestic textile industries. The modified PP/CEL fibres were prepared from PP pellets and PP/cellulose masterbatch via the melt spinning technique at 260 °C followed by drawing for various draw ratios in the company Chemosvit, Fibrochem a. s. (Svit, Slovakia). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to evaluate the thermal properties of PP fibres. The mechanical properties (tenacity and elongation at break and modulus of elasticity) and low cycle loading of modified PP fibres were also studied. The obtained experimental results of drawn PP/CEL fibres were compared with neat PP fibre prepared under the same technological conditions. Cellulose had a minimal effect on the melting temperatures of fibres and increased of the PP crystallization temperatures in comparison with the neat drawn PP fibre. The limited decrease of mechanical properties of prepared fibres were observed, but the decreases do not influence on the fibres commercial use.