Bicomponent fiber explained

Bicomponent fiber is made of two materials, utilizing desired properties of each material.^{[1] [2]}

Such fibers can be created by extrusion spinning.^{[3] [4] [5]}

One or both materials may remain in the finished product, or one material may be dissolved, leaving only one material remaining. For example, DuPont created the highly coiled elastic fiber called cantrese having two different nylon polymers side-by-side.

Formats

Formats of bicomponent fibers include:^[6]

Side-by-side

Extrusions are side-by-side within a single filament

Core-sheath

Extrusions with one material surrounding another

Segmented

Segmented like sections of a pie

Islands-in-the-sea

Islands-in-the-sea extrusions are also called matrix-fibril, because fibrils of one polymer are distributed in the matrix of another polymer. The matrix is known as the "sea", and the fibrils are known as islands.^[7] The matrix is a soluble material that is washed away by a suitable solvent at some point in the manufacturing process. What remains at the microscopic level are bundles of thin parallel fibers, resulting in a fabric that is very soft and flexible.

Applications

Islands-in-the-sea can be melt blown to produce fabric such as Alcantara.

External links

• needle-punching nonwovens

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bicomponent Fibers—Classification of Bicomponent Fibers—Production of Bicomponent Fibers—Application of Bicomponent Fibers . August 1, 2019 . Textile Learner.
2. Specialty Markets — Bicomponent Fibers . Jeffrey S. Dugan . July–August 2010 . Textile Industries Media Group . Textile World . August 1, 2019.
3. Islands-in-sea type composite fiber and process for producing the same . 7622188. US. Teijin Fibers Ltd.. Kamiyama. Mie. Numata. Miyuki.
4. Quality Fabric Of The Month: A Sea Change For Microfibers . September 16, 2013 . Janet Bealer Rodie . Textile Industries Media Group . Textile World . July 31, 2019.
5. Soltani . Iman . Macosko . Christopher W. . 2018 . Influence of rheology and surface properties on morphology of nanofibers derived from islands-in-the-sea meltblown nonwovens . Polymer . 145 . 21–30 . 10.1016/j.polymer.2018.04.051. free .
6. Web site: MODULE 7. SMART/FUNCTIONAL SPECIALITY FIBRES—7.3 Bicomponent and Micro Fibres (2 Lectures)—Bicomponent Fibres . National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) . July 31, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190603091710/https://nptel.ac.in/courses/116102006/19 . June 3, 2019 . dead .
7. Splitting of Islands-in-the-Sea Fibers (PA6/COPET) During Hydroentangling of Nonwovens . Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics . Mbwana Suleiman Ndaro . Xiang-yu Jin . Ting Chen . Chong-wen Yu . 34868300 . 2 . 4 . 2007. 10.1177/155892500700200402 . free .