Effects of Draw Ratio and Additive CaCO3 Content on Properties of High-Performance PE Monofilament

The effect of draw ratio (8, 10, 12, 14 times) and additive CaCO3 content (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 wt%) on the properties of high-performance PE monofilament was investigated in this study. As the draw ratio increased (8– 14 times), the melting enthalpy (ΔHf), crystallinity, specific gravity, and tensile strength increased significantly. However, the draw ratio had little effect on the melting temperature (Tm) and crystallization temperature (Tc). The seawater fastness (stain and fade) of the hydrophobic PE monofilament prepared in this study showed an excellent grade of 4–5 in all draw ratios. To investigate the effect of the additive CaCO3 content on the properties of high-performance PE monofilament, the draw ratio was fixed at 14 times. It was found that the tensile strength of the PE monofilament sample containing 0.5 wt% of CaCO3 was much greater compared to the sample without CaCO3, but the elongation of the sample containing 0.5 wt% of CaCO3 was much less than the sample with 0 wt% CaCO3. However, in the case of the sample containing more than 0.5 wt% CaCO3, the tensile strength slightly decreased and the elongation slightly increased as the CaCO3 content increased. The seawater fastness (stain and fade) of the hydrophobic PE monofilament showed excellent grades of 4–5, regardless of the amount of additives. From the above results, it was found that the maximum draw ratio of 14 times with an additive of 0.5 wt% CaCO3 are the optimal conditions for manufacturing high-performance marine fusion materials with various fineness (denier) with high strength and low elongation.