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

1609694 PI：Ellison标题：反应纤维纺丝：开发基本的预测性工艺能力和工艺-结构-性能分析非织造纤维行业是一个价值数十亿美元的全球性行业，其生产的纤维用于广泛的应用，如过滤、个人卫生和一次性医疗服装。纤维生产技术的最新进展促进了先进纤维材料在不同领域的新应用，例如光电子学、再生医学、压电学、陶瓷等。随着这些先进应用的发展，需要开发技术来生产具有高性能和多功能能力的更广泛的纤维材料。反应性纤维纺丝是一种无溶剂、低能耗的技术，为大规模生产聚合物纤维提供了熔喷和静电纺丝的有吸引力的替代方案。该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，对反应性纤维纺丝工艺有一个基本的了解。Ellison小组最近开发了一种制造纤维的方法，该方法使用光来引发非挥发性液体单体混合物中的光聚合反应，该方法已经在商业上流行在工业上可用。通过毛细管以高速挤出非挥发性液体单体混合物，然后施加拉伸力并同时在飞行中光固化，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喷生产线生产的最小纤维竞争，这是制造热塑性非织造纤维的最流行的商业方法。拟议的研究将调查各种工艺和单体混合物参数之间的相互作用，以揭示引起纤维形成的基本机制，并控制形态变化和性能（热，机械和结构），在聚合物纤维的反应性纤维纺丝。最终的目标是开发一个预测性和通用的工艺操作图，涉及固化动力学，单体混合物的特性，和工艺相关参数。 所提出的反应性纤维纺丝技术具有与聚合物纤维的绿色化学和可持续制造相关的显著潜在影响。PI提出了一个强有力的推广计划，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。建议的研究将受益于教师的参与者，而教师将成为科学和工程计划的倡导者，以K-12学生。 互动模块的开发和参与计划，如探索UT和介绍一个女孩到工程，将使PI和他的研究生从事和教育的K-12学生和公众对现代聚合物材料的广泛的横截面。

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.