| Abstract: | Model fibers of polyethylene and nylon 6 were strained in the direction of the fiber axis and the internal deformation of the samples was studied by large-angle and small-angle x-ray diffraction. The compression of samples along the fiber axis was successfully carried out, and the results obtained by x-ray methods yielded more interesting information on the structure of the fibers than was obtained in extension. A model for the structure of the fiber was constructed on the basis of the results on compressed fibers. In this model, crystals are distributed in cylindrical symmetry around the fiber axis keeping a crystal axis tangential to circles in the section normal to the fiber axis. The characteristic crystal axis is the b axis in polyethylene and the a axis in nylon 6. The chain axis of the crystals varies in orientation with respect to the fiber axis. In compression of fibers with such a structure, the crystals rotate around the characteristic axis indicated above. In the case of nylon 6 fiber, only this simple rotation seems to occur, while additional changes occur in polyethylene fibers. However, the simple rotation predominates even in polyethylene fibers. This fiber structure is correlated with the structure of thin films of the materials. This similarity proves the existence of a common mechanism for the origin of the structure of fibers and films. |
