Book Review: New Fibers
When I first received this book, I thought I would only read a few of the sections. After all, most of the book deals with fibers for clothing and other non-composite applications. I found the material so interesting, however, that I read the book cover-to-cover.
"New fibers," as defined by the authors, include both "high-tech" fibers and "super-fibers." High-tech fibers are produced using high technology processes--the term has nothing to do with their ultimate use. Super-fibers, on the other hand, have one or more outstanding properties (such as tensile modulus or strength).
The coverage of traditional composite fibers (carbon, aramid, and polyethylene) is rather brief. The chapter on fiber development gives an interesting history on the race to develop aramid super-fibers. As stated in the preface, the authors approach the fiber industry from a Japanese perspective, so this history gives a broader view of aramid development than many other texts.
The only other mention of structural fibers are a few brief sections on their use in space, sporting goods, and construction applications. Much broader coverage is given to these topics in other references, so I wouldn't recommend this book if your only interest is in the structural use of fibers.
However, if you're interested in the history of fiber development, or the manipulation of fiber structure to achieve desired properties, then this is a good introductory reference.
Synthetic fibers were originally developed about 100 years ago as a replacement for natural silk. The first successful fiber was rayon, produced in 1891. Nylon followed in 1938. The methods used to manufacture these fibers allowed the eventual development of structural fibers. Rayon, for example, is one of several precursors for carbon fibers.
Nylon is not a complete replacement for silk. It doesn't have the same feel, weight, color, or sound ("scroop"). Many developments in fiber science were a result of trying to make nylon more silk-like. Silky polyesters were gradually developed by altering the fiber cross-section (silk is triangular), applying various surface treatments, producing finer fibers, and blending fibers of various properties.
The description of synthetic fibers isn't limited to artificial silk. Other desired effects in clothing fibers include: chameleonic fabrics that change color as temperature changes; scented fibers that gradually release a perfume; power fibers that store solar energy; and iridescent fabrics that mimic the colors of a butterfly. In addition to clothing, the authors also discuss skin- and leather-like fabrics, biomedical fibers, and cellulosic fibers.
There are a few areas that need improvement. Some basic textile definitions would be useful. Count and denier are defined early on, but the definition of denier is not complete. Tenacity is used frequently but is never defined (it is the strength per unit size, usually force per denier). An entire chapter is devoted to shin-gosen, but the term is never explicitly defined.
The editing is also a little rough in places. For example, mm is used in one spot instead of nm, and a section on the use of carbon fibers compares the Boeing 767 and 777 but refers to the wrong aircraft several times.
Finally, the second edition was published seven years after the first edition, but many of the references have not been updated. Statistics about fiber capacity in the early '80s are interesting from a historical perspective, but they don't really say anything about the current state of the industry.
Although the book is meant as a broad overview, some knowledge of polymer chemistry is necessary if you want to follow all of the details. However, if you need to skip over some of the technical information, the book still makes interesting reading. And if you are loooking for a good overview of non-structural fibers, you won't be disappointed.
Details: New Fibers second edition, by Tatsuya Hongu and
Glyn O. Phillips, published by Woodhead Publishing, 1997, ISBN
1-85573-334-X.
1. Birth of new fibers; 2. The super-fiber with new performance;
3. High-touch fibers; 4. Biomimetic chemistry and fibers;
5. Biopolymer frontiers; 6. Progression of high-tech fibers; 7. New
high-tech fibers and Shin-gosen; 8. Cellulosic fibers;
9. Fibers for the next millenium