An interferometric prediction of the intrinsic optical properties for cold-drawn iPP, PTFE and PVDF fibres

Abstract

Interference polarizing (Pluta and Interphako) microscopes have been used to measure the birefringence and refractive indices during the cold-drawing of isotactic poly(propylene) (iPP), poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) fibres. The intrinsic birefringence (Δn0) and refractive indices (niso, and ) of iPP, PTFE and PVDF fibres were interferometrically predicted using affine and pseudo-affine models. In terms of these intrinsic values, a new way of calculating the orientation parameter is discussed. A selection of microinterferograms is given for illustration.