Patent ID: 7935283

Claim:
A method of producing a high strength polyethylene multi-filament fiber comprising the steps of: a) forming an intimate blend of a composition comprising about 50 to about 90 percent by weight of an UHMWPE having an intrinsic viscosity of from about 6 to about 15 dl/g; about 10 to about 50 percent by weight of an HDPE having an intrinsic viscosity of from about 0.75 to about 3 dl/g; and about 0.1 to about 1 percent by weight of a material comprising quasi-spherical particles having a weight average particle size of from about 0.05 to about 10 micrometers and a Mohs' hardness of at least about 4, said particles comprising at least 50 percent by weight of inorganic non-metallic materials; wherein the polyethylene portion of said blend has an intrinsic viscosity of from about 2.4 to about 5 dl/g and a ratio of weight average to number average molecular weight of at least about 7, with all said intrinsic viscosities being measured in decalin at 135° C. by ASTM D1601-99; b) spinning a melt of said blend through a spinneret at an apparent shear rate at least about 250 sec −1 to form a plurality of substantially smooth melt filaments; c) stretching said melt filaments to a stretch ratio of x:1; d) rapidly quenching said melt filaments to form solid filaments; and e) stretching said solid filaments to a stretch ratio of y:1; wherein y is at least about 2 and the product x times y is at least about 10.