ABSTRACT
High temperature fibers provide useful mechanical property levels at elevated temperatures or after prolonged exposure at high temperatures in air. The structural features favoring high-temperature stability frequently coincide with those for flame resistance or high tensile strength and modulus. Apart from flame protection applications, high-temperature fibers must maintain mechanical and chemical integrity up to high temperatures. Most promising were the ladder polymers consisting solely of fused aromatic or heterocyclic rings. Gains in high-temperature performance were almost invariably accompanied by increasing difficulty in forming the polymer into fibers, and increasing costs. An appreciation of the properties and applications of high temperature fibers in general may be best gained by a review of aramid technology, which represents the major focus of today's high-temperature fiber market. Fiber blending is widely applied for adapting alternative flame-retar-dant fibers, such as polyamide-imide, polyimide, melamine-formaldehyde, or phenol formaldehyde to flame-protective clothing uses.
