Properties of Polypropylene Conductive Fiber from Sheath-Core Bicomponent Fiber

Abstract

This is the study of a conductive sheath-core bicomponent fibers. The intentions of the experiments were to investigate feasibility of conductive sheath-core bicomponent fiber forming, using selected materials, and the fibers’ properties. The trails were to extrude the bicomponent fibers with conductive materials in sheath section and supporting materials in core section. The conductive carbon black was selected as conductive material to compound with polypropylene. The virgin polypropylene was chosen as core material in the fibers. It was problematic to form fibers using the conductive carbon black polypropylene compound alone, therefore, the virgin polypropylene was used as the core section in the fibers to promote production stability. The sheath-core carbon black compound bicomponent fibers were steadily produced with designated machine settings. The produced fibers were tested for their physical and mechanical properties and electrical conductivity. The results shows that the fibers with the carbon black polypropylene compound as the fibers’ sheath section and the virgin polypropylene as the fibers’ core section, have conductive property. The conductivity of the fibers increased when their sheath sections were thicker as the ratio of the carbon black compound become higher. Even though, thicker sheath section of the fibers (40% and over) have higher conductivity, the physical properties of the fibers become weaken and less applicable as textile fibers.