Bulletin of the Chemists and Technologists of Macedonia, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp.

6775 (2005)
GHTMDD 463 ISSN 0350 0136
Received: May 25, 2004 UDC: 677.074
Accepted: December 14, 2004
Professional paper
TEXTILE STRUCTURES FOR TECHNICAL TEXTILES
I PART: FIBRES AS RAW MATERIALS FOR TECHNICAL TEXTILE
Goran Demboski. Gordana Bogoeva-Gaceva
Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, "Ss Cyril and Methodius" University,
P. O. Box 580, MK-1001 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
goran@ereb1.mf.ukim.edu.mk
The paper gives a review of the technical textile products, production structure and perspectives. The first part
of the paper includes division of technical textile, classification according to the field of application and development
trend. The various types of fibres, conventional and high-performance, are discussed in brief as raw material for pro-
duction of technical textile.
Key words: technical textile; application fields; high-performance fibre; development trend
1. TECHNICAL TEXTILE: CLASSIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS
In the last period there was a remarkable
growth of the production of technical textile,
which definitively promoted this branch as one of
the most potential and dynamical fields for devel-
opment of the textile industry. The range of tech-
nical textiles products is very broad and it com-
prises various products: industrial filters, implants
and artificial organs for medicine, rocket motors
nozzles, the shield of the stealth bomber, high-
performance sport clothing and goods [1]. For
some of these products there was no expectation
they will appear on the market, and that is not all
because the product range is constantly expanding
[2]. For this reason there is a problem in finding an
allover definition for the products of technical tex-
tiles, since the general definition of textile as an
assembly of textile fibres into useful product is
very broad and can be spread onto another seg-
ments of flexible engineering. Even the name itself
"Technical textile" is a result of broadly accepted
compromise among other existing terms, such as:
"Functional textile", High-performance textile",
"Engineering textile" and "High-tech textile". In
turn this opens a question in which sense the tech-
nical textile is really "technical", i.e. is it a result
of an application of high-tech materials or highly
sophisticated production techniques? The fact that
only small quantity of products (about 23 % by
volume) utilize high-performance fibres, where the
bulk of the products use conventional polymer ma-
terials such as polyethylene (PET), polypropylene
(PP), polyamide (PA), viscose, cotton, jute and
even glass is surprising. However, the properties
and the structure of conventional fibres have been
substantially modified compared to the ones used
in everyday textile [3]. The technology of techni-
cal textile is not always confined to the products
themselves or to the production technology but it
incorporates "know-how" for the application of
these products for a broad range of end users such
as: aviation, industry, medicine, defense, security,
transport, construction, agriculture, etc. The fact
that leads to confusion is that manufacturing of
many products (for example, manufacturing of
metal wires covered with braids or fabrics) em-
ploys pure textile techniques, and still these prod-
ucts can not be defined as textile products.
According to a narrower definition, textile
products are divided in three categories: textile for
clothing, textile for household and technical
textile. If we separate the first two, it seems that all
other products can be classified as technical textile
products. However, this classification is not
68 G. Demboski, G. Bogoeva-Gaceva
I(ac. xc+. cxuo(. Matc0ouuja. 24. 1. 6775 (2OO5)
However, this classification is not complete, since
the special sport clothing or the protective clothing
against high temperature, water or electricity are
the products of the technical textile. Maybe the
most comprehensive definition can be found in the
publication "Textile terms and definition", which
says that the products which are manufacturing
primarily for their technical characteristics and
functional properties (aesthetic characteristicis are
of lesser importance) are considered as technical
textile [4]. This definition leaves enough space for
a great number of products that grow every day.
However there are some questions which are diffi-
cult to answer. For example, how to classify tech-
nical textile used in aviation, automotive even in
households? Besides satisfying very high standards
(flammability etc.) these products must have aes-
thetic appearance. Special clothing for protection
against hazardous material in addition to maintain-
ing a high degree of safety must provide a high
level of comfort and good design since one should
wear it everyday without discomfort.
1.1. Field of application
It might sound surprising that technical textile
is all around us. One should only scratch under the
surface of surrounding things to realize that they
are products of the technical textile [5, 6].
To start with conventional garment: Interlin-
ing is built into garment to preserve the shape and
firmness and improve aesthetic look. It is attached
to the fabric by bonding of dispersed thermoplastic
polymer coatings. Wading, felts and shoulder pads
contribute to bulk and shape of the garment. There
are a lot of textile products built into shoes, such as:
lining and insoles (nowadays manufactured from
long-life bacteria killing fibres), that keep the feet
fresh especially during vigorous physical activity.
The layer under the roof of the houses is
made of felt, earlier made of jute scrim impreg-
nated with bitumen. Nowadays glass/polyester
nonwoven fabric is used for such application. The
walls in modern buildings are covered with spun-
bonded nonwoven that prevents moisture penetra-
tion while allowing "breathing" of the walls.
Floorcoverings have backing fabric made of
woven PP or nonwoven PET [7]. Nonwoven filters
are used in vacuum cleaners, in kitchen exhaust
hood and in air conditioners [8].
Upholstery manufacturing is also an area of
broad application of technical textiles. Metal
springs are now replaced with textile elastic web-
bings. The harmful foams with toxic fumes are
being replaced with wadding and lining fabric
made of flame retardant fibres. Header tapes for
curtains sliding, pull strings on the blinds and seal-
ing strips on double glazed windows are products
of technical textile. Nonwovens are broadly used
for production of cleaning cloths and impregnated
wipes almost in every household.
Automobiles are the products that consume a
lot of technical textile. A car utilizes on average 14
kg of textile. Beside the obvious application in the
interior: carpets, upholstery, bodyliners and safety
belts, textile structures are applied as flexible rein-
forcement for tires, water hoses, break pipes,
bumpers and various types of belts [9, 10]. Re-
cently, the Chrysler's group (USA) reveals a com-
posite body and a chassis car concept, based on a
carbon fibre [11]. Glass fibre reinforced compos-
ites are broadly utilized for hood parts and the sus-
pension arm system. Heat resistant and sound
insulation textile is used for insulation of various
parts of the car. Oil and fuel filters are made of
nonwoven while there is an expectation of new
application of nonwovens for air filtration in the
passenger compartment. A broad application of
textile is for air bag manufacturing which is
recently a standard car equipment in the USA, as
well as in Europe.
A geotextile is built under the layers of the
highways to provide a firm base and prevents
cracks of the asphalt surface layer. Another appli-
cation is for reinforcement of roads, railroad and
river embankments as prevention from slippage of
steep slopes [12].
Artificial cover made of PP fiber is used for
sports playgrounds. Golf rods, tennis rackets and
fishing rods are made of glass fibre reinforced
composites. The fabrics for sport garments are
specially designed to provide protection against
injuries, cold or excessive overheating [13]. Such
fabrics are primarily applied for the special ski
garment where the price of such items enables it.
There are special fabrics for heat insulation and for
heat retaining, as well as the newest materials that
change the color with temperature variation.
The field of medicine is a great consumer of
technical textile. Surgical gowns and drapes must
provide total protection against body fluids be-
cause of infection possibility with diseases such as
AIDS and hepatitis [14]. Artificial veins, arteries,
ligaments and other parts of implants are made of
Textile structures for technical textiles. I part: Fibres as raw materials for technical textile 69
Bull. Chem. Technol. Macedonia, 24, 1, 6775 (2005)
technical textile [15]. The filters for dialysis are
made of hollow fibres. Textile bandages and
gauzes are extensively used for wound dressings,
while fine sutures earlier used to be made of silk
but nowadays thay are made of biocompatible
polymers [16]. Biodegradable fibres are also used
in medicine. An example is polylactic acid-based
fibre that has properties between those of PA and
PET. These yarns can be texturized, and the staple
fibres can be used in spunbonded nonwoven end
uses [17].
We could finish with (although it is not all
since the list of products is constantly expanding)
reinforcements for ductile optical cables, ultra
light fishing nets, ropes for sport climbing, cloth-
ing for personal protection, protective helmets, etc.
Polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene and polycar-
bonate are used for the production optical fibres
(for the core of the fibres), besides different types
of glass fibres [18].
1.2. Classification of the technical textile products
Since a broad range of products exists, there
are many subclassifications of technical textile
products. At the biggest technical textile exhibi-
tions in Frankfurt and Osaka [19], the products are
classified according to the application in twelve
main fields: Agrotech (agriculture, gardening and
forestry); Buildtech (construction); Clothtech
(technical components for clothing and shoes);
Geotech (geotextile and road construction), Hom-
etech (furniture components, upholstery and floor-
coverings); Indutech (filtration, cleaning and other
industrial applications); Meditech (medical and
hygienic textile); Mobiltech (automotive industry,
marine construction, railroad and aviation); Oeko-
tech (products for environment protection); Pack-
tech (packing); Protech (protection of people and
property) and Sporttech (sport and leisure) [20].
1.3. Attractiveness of the production
of technical textile
Developed industrial countries are more and
more interested in investing in the production of
technical textile. The example of the USA is a
typical one. The USA textile industry is one of the
largest and employs about 2.3 million workers in
basic and apparel production. The market con-
sumption is about 10 billions for apparel and 120
billions for other textile products (household, up-
holstery, carpets etc.) [1]. Great car manufacturers
spend about 16.5 million meters textile fabrics. To
stay competitive textile industry invests about 2
billions per year in purchasing textile machines,
paying 10 million dollars for customs duty. Read-
ing these figures we can consider that the textile
industry is very powerful, but the case is quite op-
posite. Despite this massive production, in 1988
the USA created 20 billions deficit in textile im-
port, which is the second ranking deficit (the larg-
est deficit of 55 billions was created in car import-
ing). And while many manufacturers of conven-
tional textile attempted to get out of problems, the
companies with vision have already started to get
benefit from application of new fibres and materi-
als in the production of high-tech products of tech-
nical textile.
Many of those companies don't see them-
selves as textile producers and would rather con-
sider themselves as car part manufacturers, filters,
medicinal products etc. There exist several inter-
pretations about the technical textile attractiveness.
High criteria and standards of manufacturing and
the broad range of end users and markets, prevent
these products from becoming commodity items
[21]. Second, these products are less sensitive to
economy changes. For example, in the last reces-
sion, the demands for textile products which are
not of high priority (carpets and upholstery fabric)
dropped for 30 40 %. On the contrary, the de-
mand for technical textile was far less concerned
and dropped only 3 5 %. Third, the technical
textile products consume 1 million tone fibres or
20 % of the whole consumption [4]. This number
does not include polyolefine tapes used for weav-
ing geotextile, technical sacks, backing fabrics for
carpets and many other items such as: filament
fibres from glass, ceramic, jute, sisal, steel and
other materials that can be processed and assem-
bled into flexible structures via textile techniques.
If these quantities are included, we reach the figure
of 2 million tones fibres or about 45 % of the
whole consumption, with tendency to reach the
shear of 50 %. From this, one should not draw a
conclusion that technical textile is a very safe field
for business. This market experiences disturbances
regarding demand accompanied by a high competi-
tion among manufacturers. It is characteristic that
the demand increases for standard products with
clearly defined markets and specifications. The
products are under the influence of the situation in
industry, which is a major consumer of technical
textile. For example, recession in the automotive
70 G. Demboski, G. Bogoeva-Gaceva
I(ac. xc+. cxuo(. Matc0ouuja. 24. 1. 6775 (2OO5)
industry contributed to the substantial drop of
technical textile production. But, after getting out
of the crisis, the demand for airbags increased so
much that created the shortage on the market and
rise of the price of the polyamide. For a successful
response to market changes, customer demands
and creatia of the more sophisticated products, in
some fields of the production integrated chains of
purchasers have been created vertically and hori-
zontally [22].
1.4. World trends in the production
of technical textile
It is typical for the technical textile that the
production is concentrated in highly developed
countries, where the production of technical textile
is increasing on the account of conventional textile
products. For example, in Germany the largest
percent of the whole textile production (37 %) ac-
counts for technical textile followed by textile for
clothing and textile for household (Fig. 1) [23].

Fig. 1. The structure of textile production [23]
The biggest manufacturers and consumers of
technical textile are the countries of North Amer-
ica and Western Europe, but East European and
Far East countries announce as significant mar-
kets. At the moment, Western Europe, North
America and Asia, contribute to 86 % of the world
production. Predictions are that in future Asia will
be the region of the greatest share in the produc-
tion of the technical textile. Predictions of the
world's consumption of technical textile in 2005
by region and product type are given in table 1
[24].
T a b l e 1.
The consumption of technical textile
in 2005 by region and product type
Consumption in 2005 by region Consumption in 2005 by product type

10
3

tones
$
millions

10
3

tones
$
millions
Western Europe 2690 15730 Fabrics 4100 29870
Eastern Europe 420 3260 Nonwovens 4300 19250
North America 3450 18920 Composites 2580 9160
South America 350 2270 Other textiles 2710 14060
Asia 3560 25870
Rest of the World 870 6820
All textile products 13690 72340

2. TEXTILE FIBRES IN DEVELOPMENT OF TECHNICAL TEXTILE
The development of technical textile is closely
associated to advancements in fibre production. The
creation of polyamide fibre (Carothers, 1930),
gave a direction for development of polymer tech-
nology, followed by the invention of polyester,
polyethylene, polypropylene and carbon fibres. In
recent time, high-performance fibres as Aramid,
UHMW-polyamide, HP-polyethylene, that had an
extraordinary significant influence for develop-
ment of technical textile were obtained [25].
2.1. Natural fibres
In the beginning of manufacturing technical
textile (early in the 20
th
century) natural fibres like
cotton, flex, jute and sisal were utilized. The most
common products had been linens, ropers, and
threads. It is typical that those were heavy weight
products with limited resistance to moisture, mi-
crobes, fungus and low flame resistance. Natural
animal fibres as wool and silk had limited applica-
tion. The wool fibre was used in some cases for
production of protection clothing because of good
insulation properties and flame resistance. Silk
fibre had limited and very narrow application in
manufacturing of sutures in medicine [3].
2.2. Synthetic fibres
Viscose fibre. Viscose is the first commercial
"man made" fibre (1910) used as reinforcing mate-
rial for tires and other rubber products like safety
belts, conveyor belts and hoses. The fibre has rela-
tively high uniformity, tenacity (16 30 cN/tex)
and modulus, especially if impregnated with rub-
ber. Its moisture content is about 3 % and 16
37% 27%
36%
TEXTILE FOR
CLOTHING
TECHNICAL
TEXTILE
HOUSEHOLD
TEXTILE
Textile structures for technical textiles. I part: Fibres as raw materials for technical textile 71
Bull. Chem. Technol. Macedonia, 24, 1, 6775 (2005)
22 % extension at brake. The viscose fibre ob-
tained by a special process of spinning has tenacity
up to 40 cN/tex and elongation of 1117 %. Due to
good temperature resistance this fibre has been
proven ideal for the automotive industry, which at
the time viscose fibre was discovered, announced
rapid expansion. Much later, as a result of high
moisture content, the fibre has been employed in
production of hygienic and sanitary products via
nonwoven technology.
Polyamide fibre. Polyamide fibre (first intro-
duced in 1939) is characterized by high tenacity
(35 90 cN/tex), elasticity (15 60 %), resistance
to abrasion and moisture (3 5 %). Capability of
energy resilience is a condition for an application
in manufacturing climbing ropes and linen for
parachutes and sail fabrics. The typical application
of polyamide is for reinforcing tires for use at low
quality roads and of road vehicles. The tires de-
signed for high quality roads still employ viscose
fibre due to better thermal resistance [26]. Regard-
ing the spinnerets profile it is possible to produce
fibres of various cross section (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Polyamide fibres of various cross section
Polyester fibre. Production of polyester
(commercialized during 1950's) made possible to
get fibre for technical application at a lower price
compared to PA and viscose fibre. Great world
producers of PET fibre are Japan, developed Asian
countries and China, where polyester is employed
for some technical applications, like geotextile and
floorcoverings, i.e. in cases where more usual
polyolefine would be employed [3]. The need for
light and soft water repellent fabric without water-
proof coating and improved manufacturing proc-
esses, lead to development of ultra-fine or microfi-
bres. The fibres of linear density equal or less than
1,0 dtex are defined as microfibres. Division of
microfibres on fine, extra-fine and micro-fine cor-
responds to linear densities of 3,0 to less than 0,1
dtex. Microfibres are usually made of PET and
PA, but other polymers have been introduced in
recent time. The small fibre diameter allows pro-
ducing weaving fabrics of densities up to 30000
filaments per cm
2
. Such fabrics are practically wa-
terproof while allowing at the same time water and
air transportation. The other field for application
of microfibres is in manufacturing weaving fabrics
for bacterial protection in medicine.
Polyolefine fibres. Polyethylene and particu-
larly polypropylene fibre (commercial production
1940 50's) represented a substantial contribution
to the development of technical textile. Advan-
tages of polyolefine fibres are low price, low spe-
cific gravity (0.90 0.96 gcm
3
), good abrasion
resistance, and low moisture content (0 %). Such
properties have determined their use in a range of
technical application [27]: packing equipment,
ropes, base fabric for floorcoverings, linings for
upholstery, technical nets etc. In the beginning,
natural fibres such as jute, had been employed for
such application, but with the time, polyolefine
fibres overtook the market. Everyday new oppor-
tunities for applications emerge such as base fab-
rics for sport courts. Low melting temperature of
polyolefines is an advantage for application in
manufacturing of nonwoven by thermal bonding.
High water repellency of PP finds application in
manufacturing of diapers [28] and special thermo-
physiological clothing, where two employed layers
are: hydrophobic and hydrophilic, and the wicks
made of PP enable transport of the liquid. Produc-
tion capacities for polypropylene are mainly con-
centrated in Europe and North America, but with
the increase of the demand investments in new
geographic regions have been made.
High-performance fibres
The fibres discussed so far, natural or syn-
thetic represent 95 % of the employed organic fi-
bres in the production of technical textile. Due to
the market demand some of these fibres have been
modified for special purposes, which lead to pro-
duction of high-performance or high-tech fibres.
Aramid fibre. 30 years ago in Du Pont,
Stephanie Kwolek working on an aromatic poly-
amide processed crystal liquid solution of PA.
Upon dissolving the polymer when increasing con-
centration, at one moment viscosity began to drop
rather than increase. At this point the dissolution
became iridescent, which she supposed to be at-
tributed to close association of these more linear
polymer into clusters or liquid crystals. This way
Kwolek processed PA fibre of high regularity of
polymer chains, which resulted in strength of 200
cN/tex, i.e. ten times more than cotton and other
72 G. Demboski, G. Bogoeva-Gaceva
I(ac. xc+. cxuo(. Matc0ouuja. 24. 1. 6775 (2OO5)
natural fibres [29]. Since then the industrial appli-
cation of aramide fibre into the products where
high strengths and modulus are required, like in
ballistic for life safe waists, in the automotive in-
dustry for lorry tires and in protection clothing
industry for cutting resistant gloves started. Ara-
mid fibre used in ballistic is known under the trade
name Kevlar and Twaron [30]. The characteristic
property of aramid fibre is a high melting tempera-
ture of 370 C (compared to 248 C at conven-
tional polyamide). Due to such a property the use
of aramid fibre is extended to high temperature
applications. For example, the seats in aircraft hav-
ing polyurethane foam as wadding use lining of
aramid fibres due to its fire retardant properties.
The other use of aramid is as asbestos substitution
in automotive breaks. The aramid fibre intended
for a high temperature application is known under
trade name Nomex. For example, the special cloth-
ing for formula 1 pilots is made of woven fabric
and thread made of this fibre.
UHMW
1
Polyethylene fibre. In the mid of
1970's reports of producing strong and stiff PE
fibres started to appear. In the process of spreading
UHMW-PE from a solution, it was possible to
control the production of polymer of extremely
high orientation and continuation among a crystal
and amorphous region and of an increased degree
of an extended chain structure into forming a
laminar structure. The conventional PET is a
flexible macromolecule that usually crystallizes by
chain folding. The folding spot does not contribute
to higher fibre strength. On the contrary, polyeth-
ylene processed by extended highly oriented chain
structure has got much higher strength. The exten-
sion of polymer chains and high longitudinal ori-
entation is a precondition for accomplishing high
mechanical properties. The result of this treatment
is production of high-performance polyethylene
fibre (HPPE), of so far the highest strength of 400
cN/tex, i.e. two times higher than aramid fibre
[31]. The Fig. 3 schematically depicts difference in
morphology of the conventional PE and HPPE fi-
bre [3]. The fibre is later commercialized under
several versions of which the most known are
Dynema and Spectra. In the commercial version
Spectra 1000 has strength of 230315 cN/tex and
modulus as high as 200 GPa.

1
Ultra-high molecular weight

a)

b)
Fig. 3. Morphology of conventional (a) and high-
performance polyethylene fibre (b)
The advantages of HPPE are low specific
gravity (0.396 g/cm
3
), almost about the half less
than a high modulus carbon fibre and about one
third less than the aramid fibre. This is the reason
why HPPE has much higher specific gravity than
the other high-performance fibres. The fibre has
low melting temperature (150 C), which restricts
the possibility for the high temperature applica-
tion. Chemical inertia is also a disadvantage and
can be handicap for composite production because
it lowers adhesion between fibre and matrix.
Carbon fibre. Carbon fibre is a good example
of renewed actualization of older technology,
which did not find its place after its appearance on
the market. The demand for carbon fibre was un-
der stagnation almost for 80 years, when the de-
velopment of the space program demanded the
materials of excellent thermal resistance, high
modulus, acceptable textile processability and ex-
cellent ablative properties [32]. These properties
were required for space vehicles, which on the re-
turning to the earth at the contact with atmosphere
experienced extremely heat generation. Carbon
fibre can be manufactured from several precursors,
of which rayon and acrylic are the most usually
employed. Today, the field of application of car-
bon fibre is spread onto the civil aviation, special
sport and industrial goods, such as: turbine parts
for generators and reinforced fuel tanks. The next
generation of carbon fibres could consist of a
composite of the copolimer PAN and single-welled
carbon nanotubes. [33]. PAN-nanotube composite
fiber will lead to a fiber with a modulus higher
than 500 GPa, without sacrificing compressive
strength [34].
The classification of carbon fibre is based on:
a) magnitude of final heat treatment (HTT) and
carbon content of the final product and b) on the
mechanical characteristic of the fibres. Regarding
the first classification carbon fibres may be subdi-
vided into three classes: partially carbonized fibres
Textile structures for technical textiles. I part: Fibres as raw materials for technical textile 73
Bull. Chem. Technol. Macedonia, 24, 1, 6775 (2005)
(HTT 500 C, carbon content up to 90 wt.%); car-
bonized fibres (HTT 500 1500 C, carbon con-
tent 91 99 wt.%) and graphitized fibres (HTT
2000 3000 C, carbon content over 99 wt.%).
The most generally recognized classification re-
garding mechanical properties divides carbon fi-
bres into four types: 1. HMT-high modulus, high
tensile (M = 400 450 GPa, T = 1700 2500
MPa); 2. HM-high modulus (M = 300 700 GPa,
H = 2000 2500MPa); 3. HT-high tensile (M =
200 250 GPa, H = 2500 3200 MPa) and 4. LM-
low modulus (M = 50 150 GPa, H = 500 MPa).
In Japan using physical approach to classification,
carbon fibres are divided into high quality fibres
and low quality (low grade ones). The high quality
PAN-based fibres are classified into a) high strength
carbon; b) high modulus graphite and c) carbon
fibres with enhanced strength and elasticity [35].
Glass fibre. Glass fibre represents the first
"synthetic" fibre product of the human intelli-
gence. Soon after discovering the art of glass, an-
cient Egyptians discovered the value of glass fibre,
which had strength for reinforcing the vases and
amphorae found in the tombs of pharaohs. After
that the glass fibre has connected milleniums: from
the Roman empire of Tiberius, via Italian renais-
sance of Murano, Napoleon and pre-industrial era,
for at last to occupy its rightful place in a modern
world of high technology. Thanks to the Saint-
Gobain group of companies, heirs of the famous
Manufacture Rojale des Glaces, founded in 1665
and bearer of three centuries tradition of glass pro-
duction, the first production capacities for glass
fibre had been founded in Europe in 1938 [36].
For years the glass fibre has been used as
cheap insulation material and reinforcement for
plastic of average properties. Today, the applica-
tion of glass fibre is remarkably increased because
of the knowledge of a glass fibre as superior engi-
neering material with excellent thermal resistance.
Today, the glass fibre is at great extent accepted in
the production of high-performance composite ma-
terials, including protective materials, various fil-
ters, protective clothing and packing. The greatest
opportunity for application of glass fibre is in the
field of automotive industry for large-scale
production of fibre reinforced car parts because of
great weight savings. The glass fibre is manufac-
tured in several types: E, R, D, AR, and S [37]. E-
glass fibre is most often used particularly for tex-
tile industry and composite production where it is
used as reinforcement in 90 % of cases. R glass
fibre is used for special applications, such as, avia-
tion, space program, and defense due to its special
performances regarding fatigue, temperature and
moisture. AR type is used for cement reinforce-
ment, with high content of zirconium oxide, which
gives excellent resistance to alkaline compounds
generated during drying. The cement reinforced
with AR glass fibre has improved modulus and
good durability. S type has high stiffness and finds
its application where high mechanical properties
are required.
Immediately after the drawing, the sizing is
applied on the fibre surface in the form of aqueous
dispersion of main organic compounds. With the
sizing (besides fibre cohesion and protection
against abrasion) glass fibre receives necessary
properties for successful processing operations.
The fibres intended for resin reinforcement receive
plastic sizing which contains: film-forming bind-
ing products, antistatic products, plasticizers and
coupling agents, which enable a good performance
during mouling and provide a high degree of com-
patibility between glass and resin.
The fibres intended for purely textile process-
ing (weaving, knitting, braiding etc.), obtain textile
sizing consisting of softening agents, bonding
agents and lubricants, which provide the necessary
lubricity and abrasion resistance, essential for fur-
ther textile processing. The manufacturers offer
several types of sizing for more appropriate end
use. For example, glass yarns for textile processing
from Vetrotex receive four types of finishing:
T3/T15 (Starch based sizing for finer yarns-de-
sizable); T6 (Starch based sizing for high tensile
strength yarns, compatible with phenols-latex);
T8S (Starch based sizing for intermediate and
coarse yarns, de-sizable) and TD22 (Plastic based
sizing with bonding agents. It does not require de-
sizing or finishing and it compatible with epoxies,
polyesters and phenols) [36].
2.3. Development of the high-performance fibres
After the appearance, the high-performance
fibres accomplished remarkable penetration on the
market and opened new opportunities for the prod-
ucts of technical textile. The effects they had on
the development of new products are often de-
scribed as revolutionary. High temperature resis-
tant meta-aramid and the high strength and
modulus para-aramid made the first and most im-
portant effect. Since their commercial introduction
74 G. Demboski, G. Bogoeva-Gaceva
I(ac. xc+. cxuo(. Matc0ouuja. 24. 1. 6775 (2OO5)
their demand has been growing constantly, reach-
ing almost 40000 tones for p-aramids and 18000
for m-aramids per year by 2000. The success of
aramid influenced the development of carbon fibre
which production was bound to high value markets
because of high material and manufacturing costs.
New manufacturing techniques, great economies
of scale and a larger scale of application started to
bring prices down. As a result, the carbon fibre
consumption is expected to reach 19000 tones per
year by 2005.
It is to expect that the knowledge gained so
far from manufacturing high-performance fibre
would be of benefit in realizing the predetermined
goal of processing technical fibre of fantastic te-
nacity of 900 cN/tex (100 grams per denier). This
would mean that a great number of products the
metals and other traditional constructive materials
would be replaced. The typical properties of some
high-performance fibres are depicted in table 2 [38].
T a b l e 2.
Mechanical properties of high-performance fibres
Fibre Type Tensile
srength
Failure
strain
Tensile
modulus
Density
MPa % GPa g/cm
3

Vectran HS (PET) 3210 2.3 135 1.41
Aramid 34503620 1.96.2 112
179
1.441.47
HPPE 3090 1.8 172 0.97
Carbon 29006000 0.71.8 230390 1.741.81
E glass 3448 3.5 72.4 2.54

Numerous multifunctional fibres are nowa-
days available on the market, offering a diversity
of improved functional properties. In addition to
thermally adaptable fibres (e.g. hollow high-loft
PET fibres; PP/PET blend fibres; hollow fibres
containing water soluble phase change materials,
etc,), a new generation of fibres based on a multi-
property holistic concept are developed for the use
in automotive interiors, battery warmer, outdoor
architectural structures, protective clothing for bul-
let proof vests, geotextile, agricultural etc. [39].
Aforementioned novelty and many new fibres
that appear on the market have not reached the
sales volume near to those of aramids or even car-
bon fibres. The turbulence on the market and in-
dustrial recession influenced manufacturers to
analysis expansion strategies and focus upon nar-
rower range of products and markets.
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