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A novel methodology for designing thermal processes in order to optimize stabilization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers
Author(s) -
Soulis Spyridon,
Dragatogiannis Dimitris A.,
Charitidis Costas A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.4870
Subject(s) - polyacrylonitrile , materials science , thermal decomposition , thermal , fiber , annealing (glass) , simulated annealing , process engineering , composite material , computer science , polymer , algorithm , thermodynamics , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , engineering
Abstract The aim of this work is to describe a novel methodology for optimizing the stabilization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers, through designing of proper thermal treatment. The methodology is based on a set of design rules and the procedure for implementing them, utilizing the time‐temperature‐transition (TTT) and the maximum permittable stress (max.stress) plots. The proposed approach is implemented in order to optimize the stabilization of commercial PAN fibers, resulting in a series of multistage thermal treatments. The changes of both physical and chemical structures of PAN during the progress of the multistage treatments were investigated and showed that the fibers were progressively converted into completely stabilized material; this gradual transformation permitted improvement of fiber annealing and minimized the effect of the decomposition reactions. The proposed methodology can be universally applied for achieving the global optimum of the stabilization process for any PAN precursor.