Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) Fibers: Connecting
Processing to Performance

This work focuses on the use of novel apparatuses to study processing of UHMWPE. The gel-spinning device was designed to control the extensional flow and timescale of the spinning process through temperature, relative velocities, and gel composition. Early work has found that flow kinematics, specifically extensional strain rate, during spinning of the fiber controls the resultant crystalline structure. Current industrial methods, which are unable to quantify strain rate, are inadequate for characterizing the spinning process. Post drawing is performed with an extensional rheometer, with the intent of observing the various crystalline structures’ impact on polymer relaxation and mechanical properties.