Opto‐thermal properties of fibers XVIII—Skin‐core structures variations in nylon 6 fibers due to different annealing conditions

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Abstract
Nylon 6 fibers (Amilan) were annealed at constant temperature 140 ± 1°C for different time durations (1–10 h). Refractive indices have been previously measured interferometerically. Two independent techniques were used to study the optical anisotropy and density in these fibers. The first was the application of a multiple‐beam to determine the skin and core “mean” refractive indices and birefringence of the samples. The technique used multiple‐beam Fizeau fringes in transmission. The second technique was an acoustic method for measuring the density of the investigated fibers. The optical results were used to calculate the optical orientation factors for skin and core. The values of (Δα/3α0), which depend upon the molecular structure of the polymer, remain constant and in agreement with the previous published data. The density results were used to calculate the degree of crystallinity of nylon 6 fibers. In addition, the results were used to calculate the mean square density fluctuation, the harmonic mean polarizability of the dielectric, specific refractivity of the isotropic dielectric and the virtual refractive index. Also, the number of monomer units per unit volume, and n1 and n2, which are the refractive indices of fully oriented fiber, were calculated and found to be (1.606 and 1.534). Hermans optical orientation functions have been compared with the generalized Lorentz‐Lorenz equation given by de Vries. Microinterferograms and curves are given for illustration. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 3349–3360, 2001