Dry‐jet‐wet spun polyurethane fibers. I. Optimization of the spinning parameters

This study examined the spinning of polyurethane‐based elastomeric fibers with the dry‐jet‐wet spinning method. The three important spinning variables that were chosen were the coagulation bath ratio (dimethylformamide/water), the bath temperature, and the stretch ratio. A three‐variable factorial design method, proposed by Box and Behnken, was used to optimize these process parameters. The spinning process was further fine‐tuned by the variation of the stretch ratio and the dope solid content. The effect of the dry‐jet length on the fiber properties was also studied. The tenacity and elastic recovery properties of the fibers were found to be optimum at a bath ratio (dimethylformamide/water) of 60 : 40, a bath temperature of 15°C, and a stretch ratio of 2.5. The density and sonic modulus were measured to determine the effect of varying the process variables on structural parameters such as the density and orientation. The surface morphological features, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy, were correlated to the fiber properties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010