High-Performance and Specialty Fibers: Concepts, Technology and Modern Applications of Man-Made Fibers for the Future PDF

Contents

Preface
The Society of Fiber Science and Technology, Japan (SFSTJ) was established in 1943 by merging the Cellulose Association (founded in 1924) and the Society of Industrial Fiber Technology (founded in 1935). Since then, SFSTJ has been contributing not only to research and education on fiber science and technology but also to the development of the fiber and textile industries. In December 2013, SFSTJ celebrated its 70th anniversary and held a commemorative ceremony for the anniversary on September 29, 2014. The ceremony was followed by the International Symposium for Fiber Science and Technology (ISF2014), looking back at its previous activities and looking ahead to the fiber science and technology of the future. For this purpose, many prominent scientists and important leaders from government, academia, and industry around the world were invited. In addition, SFSTJ made plans to publish this book commemorating the 70th anniversary by compiling the whole of fiber science and technology that have been developed thus far. In particular, new technologies for manmade fibers that have recently been industrialized in Japan are highlighted to shed light on the future technologies that will be needed in the fiber and textile industry of this century.

Manmade fibers have a long history, and their current developments ought to have their own historical backgrounds. We therefore succeeded in reviewing the historical origins of the newly developed fibers in addition to the concepts and processes for their development, as well as their key technologies and excellent characteristics. Recently, the production center of many low-cost manmade fibers such as polyester has shifted from Japan to China after the past drift from the Western countries, including the United States, to Japan. Such transition has forced Japanese fiber companies to change their business strategy from mass production to small-size production of high-quality, high-performance fibers. Currently, many of the specialty fibers are industrialized in Japan. For example, Zylon and Dyneema from Toyobo are the strongest organic and super high-elastic-modulus fibers, respectively. Technora from Teijin and Vectran from Kuraray are high-strength fibers. Torayca is the most famous carbon fiber produced by Toray. These fibers having outstanding properties constitute the main subjects of this book.

We are proud to have been able to invite the inventors or specialists from both industry and academia as authors who write about the various fibers. They describe in detail the design concepts and key technologies used for the respective manmade fibers in the chapters for which they were responsible. These chapters have been effectively compiled into a book that can be used not only as a good textbook for university teachers and students to learn basic concepts of modern fibers, but also as a review or a reference book for researchers in academic organizations and companies to overview the recent statuses of manmade fibers, particularly specialty fibers that have been developed in Japan to date. This book is therefore presented as a record of the outcome of important research by Japanese scientists and engineers who have been involved in the development of manmade fibers in Japan. It also has the distinction of being the first English book authorized by The Society of Fiber Science and Technology, Japan.

In the initial publication plan for this book, Springer explained to us that they now publish not only printed books but also ebooks, which readers can access through the Internet. This on-line publishing system is convenient for readers in that the books they need are readily available whether in the office or at home. Readers who are interested in having a hard copy of a book can order a printed version which will be mailed to them. On-line publications in principle keep on sailing forever, and no book ever goes “out of print”. In other words, if a book is continuously revised, it will not lose contemporary value as a reference book and as a data and information source. This feature is especially attractive for authors and editors although continued revision may not always be easy. Therefore, revisions must be made in an organized manner from generation to generation by leaving it to scientific societies or organizations where the most capable authors can be nominated from among many eminent members at the time of revision in order to update the descriptions and data. Based on this concept, SFSTJ decided to edit this book and to continue its revision to maintain the contemporary quality of the book in the future. The present volume is therefore to be considered only a first version leading to a comprehensive treatise on fiber science and technology that will be accomplished after several revision steps.

Here, we express our deep appreciation to the many authors who devoted themselves to writing their respective chapters, sacrificing their valuable time. We also acknowledge the section directors who arranged the important sections by inviting excellent authors and sometimes editing the manuscripts submitted. Finally, Ms. Taeko Sato and Dr. Shin’ichi Koizumi at Springer Japan are gratefully acknowledged for their valuable support for the publication of this book. Without their initial proposal and their follow-up arrangements, this book would not have appeared.