FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and other high molecular weight polyolefin materials useful for ballistic applications and more particularly to a novel and highly economical process for their production. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The processing of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), i.e. polyethylene having a molecular weight in excess of about 2 million, is known in the polymer arts to be extremely difficult. Products made from such materials are, however, very strong, tough and durable. 
         [0003]    In the following series of U.S. patents filed by Kobayashi et al and assigned to Nippon Oil Co., Ltd. a number of inventions related to the fabrication of fibers and films of polyolefins generally and UHMWPE specifically, are described: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,011, 5,002,714, 5,091,133, 5,106,555, 5,200,129, and 5,578,373. The processes described in these patents generally describe the continuous production of high strength and high modulus polyolefin films by feeding polyolefin powder between a combination of endless belts disposed in an up and down opposing relationship, compression molding the polyolefin powder at a temperature below its melting point between the endless belts and then rolling and stretching the resultant compression molded polyolefin into an oriented film. As compression molded, the sheet is relatively friable thus requiring the subsequent calendaring or drawing operations to provide an oriented film that exhibits very good strength and durability properties. In fact, the strength of such materials produced by these processes can be 3 times that of steel on a weight basis and they exhibit very low creep. 
         [0004]    Enhanced processes for the production of such materials have also been described in the following U.S. patents and patent applications: U.S. Pat. No. 7,348,053 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/217,279 filed Sep. 1, 2005. 
         [0005]    A common element of all of these prior art processes is that they require compaction of an UHMWPE powder as the initial step in the production process. Until now, it has been the thinking of the UHMWPE manufacturing community that such powder compaction was necessary in order to place the material in a form that it could be subsequently rolled and drawn as described in the referenced prior art. Stated differently, it has been the thinking that in order to produce the product in a process involving the subsequent rolling and drawing steps to obtain the orientation required for the production of ballistically useful UHMWPE, the powder had to first be placed in the form of a sheet that demonstrated sufficient tenacity to be successfully processed in such subsequent rolling and drawing processes. In the prior art, such a form was obtained by compacting the powder into a relatively friable sheet that could be introduced into the rolling operation for subsequent processing. 
         [0006]    The performance of this compaction process step, particularly in the production of UHMWPE sheets wider than 1-2 inches in width, requires the use of relatively massive, quite complex and very expensive equipment (measured in the millions of dollars for installed such equipment). Such equipment thus requires high levels of capital expenditures for installation and due to its complexity ongoing high operating and maintenance expenses. 
         [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,682 to Knopp, issued Mar. 13, 1984 describes a process for compacting polymer powders into fully dense products. According to this patent, a polymer powder is fed from a hopper into the nip between two rolls, compacted therein at a temperature below the melting point of the polymer powder and withdrawn from the nip under tension to form a “fully dense” polymer sheet. According to Knopp, when his process is applied to an UHMWPE powder, the resulting sheet has a density of about 0.82 g/cc which he designates as “substantially fully dense”. It is well known that the density of UHMWPE is on the order of above 0.945 g/cc. Hence, the product of Knopp&#39;s process is hardly “fully dense” and is unsuited to further processing by calendaring or drawing, since it will tear or break when subjected to such processes. 
         [0008]    It would thus be of great benefit to the producer of such UHMWPE materials, particularly in widths greater than a couple of inches, if a much simpler, smaller and less expensive first process step could be substituted for the powder compaction step, without negatively affecting the either the product thus produced or significantly affecting the kinetics of the process, i.e. it did not, for example, slow production to an uneconomical rate. 
       OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an enhanced process for the production of UHMWPE sheet that eliminates the need for the previously described compaction step and uses a much more cost effective and simpler process for the production of a high tenacity UHMWPE sheet that can undergo subsequent processing by drawing. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    According to the present invention, there is provided a process for the production of virtually full density polyolefin suitable for further processing by drawing to form a high tenacity, highly oriented polyolefin sheet comprising: a) feeding a metered amount of polyolefin powder into the nip between two heated calendar rolls initially set at a gap smaller than the size of the smallest polyolefin powder particle and at a temperature above the melting point of the powder; b) rolling the powder through the nip under these conditions until a coherent sheet of polyolefin is produced: and c) once a coherent sheet of polyolefin exits the nip lowering the temperature in the nip to a temperature below the melting point of the polyolefin powder and increasing the gap to a desired level above the thickness of the largest powder particle. Such a process not only eliminates the need for a separate and costly compaction step, but yields a coherent polyolefin sheet that is ready for drawing in accordance with prior art processes for the production of a high tenacity, highly oriented polyolefin sheet having a high heat of fusion. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polyolefin of choice is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of the production processes of the prior art. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus used to implement the drawing portion of the preferred process of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of the apparatus used to produce coherent UHMWPE sheet in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    In the description that follows, operating parameters, material properties etc. are presented in the context of those for ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), but it will be readily understood by the skilled artisan in the polymer field that the invention described herein is readily applicable to other polyolefin polymers such as high molecular weight polypropylene through the judicious selection of materials and process conditions appropriate for these other polyolefin materials. 
         [0015]    The term “tape” as used herein refers to products having widths on the order of or greater than about ½ inch and preferably greater than 1 inch. The term “fiber” as used herein is meant to define a “narrow” tape, i.e. an element narrower than about ½ inch. The term “slit film fiber” refers specifically to a “fiber” or narrow tape made in accordance with the present invention that exhibits a generally rectangular cross-section and smooth, i.e. non-serrated or ragged edges. The terms “sheet” and “film” as used herein is meant to refer to thin sections of the materials of the present invention in widths up to and exceeding 160 inches in width as could be produced in large commercial equipment specifically designed for production in such widths. According to a preferred embodiment, such sheets and tapes have a generally rectangular cross-section and smooth edges. Hence, the fundamental difference between a “tape”, a “slit film fiber”, a “fiber”, a “film” and a “sheet” as used to describe the products of the processes described herein relates to the width thereof and is generally independent of the thickness thereof. 
         [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the processes described in the prior art and depicted schematically in  FIG. 1  comprised the continuous production of high strength and high modulus polyolefin films by feeding polyolefin powder between a combination of endless belts disposed in an up and down opposing relationship, compacting the polyolefin powder at a temperature below its melting point between the endless belts and then rolling and stretching the resultant compression molded polyolefin into an oriented film. To the extent of their relevance to the modified processes described herein, the aforementioned prior art descriptions contained in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,996,011, 5,002,714, 5,091,133, 5,106,555, 5,200,129, and 5,578,373. are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
         [0017]    A major difference between the processes of the prior art and those of the present invention is that the present invention obviates the need for the compaction step and its related high cost entirely. Thus, the method described herein begins with heated polyolefin powder introduced as described hereinafter directly into a pair of heated, counter rotating calendar rolls under very specific temperature and gap conditions to produce a coherent polyolefin sheet suitable for subsequent further drawing to orient the polyolefin and to produce a ballistically useful high tenacity, highly oriented polymeric material. 
         [0018]    According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the polyolefin processed in accordance with the process of the present invention is an UHMWPE that exhibits high crystallinity (above about 80% as determined by differential scanning calorimetry), a heat of fusion equal to or greater than 220 joules/gram and low levels of entanglement. Thus, it is preferred that the input starting material UHMWPE possess the degree of crystallinity and heat of fusion and meet the low entanglement requirements stated above. Such commercially available materials as Ticona X-168 from Ticona Engineeing Polymers, 2600 Updike Road, Auburn Hills Mich. 48236 and type 1900 CM from Basell Corp. 2801 Centerville Road, Wilmington, Del. 19808 are useful in the successful practice of the present invention. 
         [0019]    Referring now to the accompanying drawings, as depicted in  FIG. 3 , the initial step in the process of the present invention utilizes a direct roll apparatus  10  comprising a polymer powder hopper  12  that feeds a metered amount of polymer powder  14  into a vibratory chute  16  via a metering device  18  and thence to a containment plate  20 . At containment plate  20  the powder is introduced into the gap  22  between two counter rotating heated calendar rolls  24  and  24 A rotating in the directions shown by arrows  26  and  26 A. A heater  27  preferably an infrared heater, imparts heat to powder  14  as described more fully below. Heater  27  is preferably located from about 2 to about 8 inches above powder  14  in vibratory chute  16  and set at a temperature of between about 160 and 220° F. These distances and temperatures will, of course, be variable depending upon the particular polymer powder  14  being processed, and the type of heater used, but have been found suitable for the processing of the preferred UHMWPE. As powder  14  cascades down vibratory chute  16  onto containment plate  20  it builds to a point where it is drawn into gap  22 . 
         [0020]    The successful practice of the present invention requires that at the start of the direct roll process, gap  22  be set narrower than the size of the smallest individual polymer powder particle, for example at about 50μ. Gap  22  may, of course, be widened if the minimum particle size of polymer powder  14  is greater than 50μ. Similarly, at start up of the direct rolling process described herein, heated calendar rolls  24  and  24 A are heated to a temperature above the melting point of polymer powder  14 . While this melting point will be dependent upon the particular material being processed, in the case of the preferred UHMWPE starting materials described elsewhere herein this initial temperature is about 149° C. or about 3° C. above the melting point of the preferred UHMWPE. Lower temperatures could, of course, course be appropriate for lower melting polyolefin materials. At this point, rolling of powder  14  is initiated. As soon as a coherent sheet of polymer  28  begins to emerge from gap  22  the temperature of calendar rolls  24  and  24 A is reduced to below the melting point of polymer powder  14  and gap  22  is increased to that desired for the final product thickness for coherent sheet  28 . As used herein, the term “coherent sheet” is meant to define a polymer sheet that is suitable for further processing by drawing without tearing, ripping or otherwise becoming unusable in such additional processing. For all practical purposes, such a sheet will be virtually fully dense such as in the case of the preferred UHMWPE materials described herein having a density above about 0.945 g/cc. For the preferred UHMWPE powders  14  described elsewhere herein the operating temperature (the temperature after formation of a coherent sheet  28  is in the range of from about 136 to about 144° C. and preferably between about 139 and about 141° C., and the operating gap is on the order of 100μ and 230μ and preferably at about 140μ. It should be noted that the initial and operating temperatures recited herein are not necessarily set points for the polymer powder/sheet in nip  22 , but rather surface temperatures of heated calendar rolls  14  and  24 A. 
         [0021]    While the operating speed of the apparatus just described will vary with the particular polyolefin being processed, using the preferred UHMWPE materials described above, start up roll speeds of between about 1.9 to about 4.0 meters per minute have been found acceptable. Steady state operation of the apparatus is generally within the range of between about 2.0 and about 12.0 meters per minute. It should be noted that these operating speeds are based primarily on ones ability to take up coherent sheet  28  and the size of heated calendar rolls  24  and  24 A, since larger rolls will generally tend to increase the surface in contact with the polymer in nip  22 . Thus, if downstream operations or take up apparatus are capable of faster speeds, or larger diameter rolls are used, higher operating speeds for the direct roll process just described are possible. 
         [0022]    The product of the just described process is a virtually full dense and translucent UHMWPE sheet, i.e. an UHMWPE sheet having a density of about 0.95 to about 0.98 g/cc. 
         [0023]    While the apparatus used to practice the process of the present invention is depicted herein as horizontally oriented, the process will operate equally well in a vertical configuration, i.e. with the polymer powder being fed to gap  22  between two horizontally parallel calendar rolls  24  and  24 A. In this orientation, powder  14  is metered from a heated hopper located above horizontally parallel calendar rolls  24  and  24 A so that powder  24  is fed from above into gap  22  and the product sheet  28  is drawn from below gap  22 . All other operating procedures, i.e. temperature control and gap setting variations remain the same. 
         [0024]    While not critical to the successful practice of the present invention, and clearly variable depending upon the particular polyolefin being processed, roll surface roughnesses of from about 4 to about 8 RMS have been found suitable for the processing of the preferred UHMWPE materials described herein. 
         [0025]    Post-processing of coherent sheet  28  to obtain a highly useful UHMWPE ballistic sheet, film, tape or fiber is performed in much the same fashion as and in apparatus similar to that described in issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,348,053, issued Mar. 25, 2008, i.e. by drawing coherent sheet  28  which are referred to and incorporated herein in their entirety. 
         [0026]    Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the drawing apparatus utilized to achieve the thickness reductions of the coherent sheet produced as just described that result in production of the preferred UHMWPE products of the present invention  10  comprises: 
         [0027]    a payoff  42 , a godet stand  44  including heated godet rolls  16  (to anneal the product) and nip rolls  48  for establishing and maintaining tension in the line, a first draw zone  50 , a first in-line tension sensor  52 , a second godet stand  54 , a second draw stand  56 , a second in-line tension sensor  58 , a third godet stand  60  and according to the preferred embodiment, a fibrillation unit  62 , a nip roll stand  64  for maintaining tension and godet station  66  comprised of unheated take-up rolls  68 . As seen from  FIG. 1 , the input or starting material of this process is generally the thick, compacted and rolled but unoriented product of the compaction step of the prior art production process. According to the preferred process of the present invention, the input or starting material in the drawing/calendaring process steps described below is, of course, coherent sheet  28  that emerges from gap  22  in the process described above. 
         [0028]    Each of the elements of the apparatus just described and utilized in the successful practice of the present invention are well known in the film and fiber drawing arts as is their combination in a line of the type just described. Consequently, no detailed description of such a line is required or will be made herein and the reader is referred to the numerous design manuals and descriptions of such apparatus commonly available in the art. 
         [0029]    Maintaining a constant tension of between about 0.5 and about 5 g/ denier, and preferably between about 0.8 and 3 g/denier during drawing is also important to the production of product having the required “thinness” and other enhanced properties specified herein. The term “denier” as used herein is defined as the weight in grams of 9000 meters of the product film, tape, sheet or fiber. At tension levels below 0.5 g/denier no significant drawing or reduction will be obtained while at tension levels above about 5 g/denier the material will tend to separate. In the case of drawing, tension is a function of the feed polymer and can vary broadly depending thereon and the ranges just specified refer to those found useful with particular preferred UHMWPE commercial starting materials. 
         [0030]    Total reductions achieved during drawing and calendaring will generally be between about 50:1 and about 170:1 or more depending again upon the input raw material and the end use to which the product is to be applied. Such total drawing and calendaring is computed as the multiple of each of the individual reductions achieved by each of the combined process steps. 
         [0031]    According to a highly preferred embodiment of the present invention, drawing is performed in line with direct rolling as described hereinabove. In such a continuous process, calendar rolls  24  and  24 A become payoff  72  of drawing apparatus  70 . Such an arrangement provides a highly efficient method for practicing the novel production process of the present invention. 
         [0032]    After thickness reduction by drawing in the apparatus shown in  FIG. 2  according to the processing parameters just described, the UHMWPE films, sheets, fibers or tapes thus produced exhibit heats of fusion at or above about 243 joules/gram, tenacities in the range of from about 18 and 20 g/, tensile moduli between about 1200 and about 1800 g/d and elongations in the range of from about 1.6 to about 2.0 percent. 
         [0033]    There has thus been described a novel process for the production of coherent polyolefin, preferably UHMWPE, sheet and high tenacity, highly oriented polyolefin, preferably UHMWPE, sheet, film, tape or fiber that eliminates the need for the prior art compaction step which, until the development described herein, was considered necessary for the successful production of such materials. 
         [0034]    As the invention has been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the same may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Any and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
A process for the production of virtually full density polyolefin suitable for further processing by drawing to form a high tenacity, highly oriented polyolefin sheet comprising: a) feeding a metered amount of polyolefin powder into the nip between two heated calendar rolls initially set at a gap smaller than the size of the smallest polyolefin powder particle and at a temperature above the melting point of the powder; b) rolling the powder through the nip under these conditions until a coherent sheet of polyolefin is produced: and c) once a coherent sheet of polyolefin exits the nip lowering the temperature in the nip to a temperature below the melting point of the polyolefin powder and increasing the gap to a desired level above the thickness of the largest powder particle. Apparatus for the performance of such a process is also described.