Reactive Fiber Spinning: Developing Fundamental Predictive Process Capabilities and Process-Structure-Property Relationships

标题：活性纤维纺丝：发展基本的预测工艺能力和工艺结构性能关系非织造纤维行业是一个价值数十亿美元的全球行业，生产用于广泛应用的纤维，如过滤，个人卫生和一次性医疗服装。近年来纤维生产技术的进步促进了先进纤维材料在光电子、再生医学、压电、陶瓷等各个领域的新应用。随着这些先进的应用，需要开发技术来生产更广泛的高性能和多功能纤维材料。反应纤维纺丝是一种无溶剂、低能耗的技术，是一种有吸引力的替代熔喷和静电纺丝大规模生产聚合物纤维的技术。本研究旨在通过研究各种工艺参数之间的相互作用以及控制纤维形成和性能的基本机制，对活性纤维纺丝过程有一个基本的了解。从大自然中汲取灵感，埃里森小组最近开发了一种制造纤维的方法，该方法利用光在非挥发性液体单体混合物中引发光聚合反应，这种反应已经在工业上普遍存在并商业化。通过毛细管高速挤压非挥发性液体单体混合物，然后施加拉伸力，同时在飞行中进行光固化，产生平均直径小至1微米的固体光滑纤维。这些纤维与几乎所有商业熔体吹制线生产的最小纤维具有竞争力，熔体吹制线是制造热塑性非织造纤维最流行的商业工艺。该研究将研究不同工艺和单体混合物参数之间的相互作用，以揭示聚合物纤维反应纺丝过程中纤维形成的基本机制，以及控制形态变化和性能（热、机械和结构）的基本机制。最终目标是开发一个预测性和通用的过程操作图，涉及固化动力学，单体混合物特性和过程相关参数。活性纤维纺丝技术对高分子纤维的绿色化学和可持续制造具有重要的潜在影响。PI提出了一项强有力的外展计划，将研究生与高中教师（教学研究员）配对，共同进行研究和开发高中课程。提议的研究将受益于教师参与者，而教师将成为K-12学生科学和工程课程的倡导者。互动模块的开发和参与项目，如探索UT和介绍女孩工程，将使PI和他的研究生能够参与和教育广泛的K-12学生和公众有关现代聚合物材料的知识。

1609694 PI: EllisonTitle: Reactive Fiber Spinning: Developing Fundamental Predictive Process Capabilities and Process-Structure-Property RelationshipsThe nonwoven fiber industry is a multi-billion dollar global industry that produces fibers for a broad spectrum of applications, such as filtration, personal hygiene and disposable medical apparel. Recent advancements in fiber production techniques have facilitated new applications for advanced fibrous materials in diverse fields, such as optoelectronics, regenerative medicine, piezoelectrics, ceramics, etc. With these advanced applications, a need exists to develop techniques to produce a wider range of fibrous materials with high performance and multifunctional capabilities. Reactive fiber spinning is a solvent-free, low-energy technique that presents an attractive alternative to melt-blowing and electrospinning for large-scale production of polymer fibers. The proposed research aims to develop a fundamental understanding of the reactive fiber spinning process by studying the interactions between various process parameters and the fundamental mechanisms that control fiber formation and properties.Drawing inspiration from nature, the Ellison group recently developed a method for making fibers that uses light to trigger a photopolymerization reaction in nonvolatile liquid monomer mixtures that are already prevalent and commercially available in industry. Extrusion of the nonvolatile liquid monomer mixtures through a capillary at high speed is followed by the application of a drawing force and simultaneous photocuring in flight, producing solid smooth fibers with average diameters as small as 1 micron. These fibers are competitive with the smallest fibers produced by almost all commercial melt blowing lines, the most popular commercial process for manufacturing thermoplastic nonwoven fibers. The proposed research will investigate the interactions between various process and monomer mixture parameters to uncover the fundamental mechanisms that give rise to fiber formation, and control morphological variations and properties (thermal, mechanical, and structural), during reactive fiber spinning of polymer fibers. The ultimate objective is to develop a predictive and universal process operating diagram that relates curing kinetics, monomer mixture characteristics, and process related parameters. The proposed reactive fiber spinning technique has significant potential impact related to green chemistry and sustainable manufacturing of polymer fibers. The PI proposes a strong outreach program that pairs graduate students with high-school teachers (Teaching Fellows) to jointly conduct research and develop high-school curricula. The proposed research will benefit from the teacher participants, while the teachers will become advocates of science and engineering program to K-12 students. The development of interactive modules and participation in programs, such as Explore UT and Introduce a Girl to Engineering, will enable the PI and his graduate students to engage and educate a broad cross-section of K-12 students and the general public about modern polymeric materials.