Preparation and strength of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber bundles for model synthetic tendons.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers suited for model synthetic tendons were prepared on a pilot-plant scale by additional drawing (postdrawing) of commercial textile fibers texturized by false twist. The modified fibers have a tensile modulus of 7-9 GPa, a one-minute creep modulus of 5-6 GPa, tensile strength 0.55-0.63 GPa, and strain at break of 16-19%. It is essential for their application in synthetic tendons that plastic deformation was reduced to about 0.5%, which could be completely eliminated by subsequent mechanical conditioning of fibers. Since the strength of model tendons consisting of 20 vol % of fibers and of a hydrogel matrix is primarily determined by the strength of the fibers, some aspects of the theory of strength of fiber bundles are briefly recapitulated. The prediction is compared with earlier experimental results obtained for the synthetic tendons. Such an approach, taking into account the fiber-strength distribution in the bundle, predicts a strength of model tendons lower by 20-40% than does the rule of mixtures.