Teijin has developed a polyester fibre with a unique, highly modified cross-section with eight projections aligned in a radial pattern around a hollow core.

The new fibre, named Octa, offers rapid moisture absorption and drying, low weight, high heat shielding and insulation and useful bulk. It will be commercially available from April 2012 for both textile and nonwovens applications.

The voids between the eight projections are responsible for the fibre’s properties that will also allow it to create hollow yarns of roughly half the weight others of similar thickness. Octa can also be used in combination with other fibres through false twisting, combined filament processing and two-strand yarn spinning.

Modified cross-section fibres enable new functions to be added and the appearance and texture of original fibres to be altered. Teijin’s exisiting line up includes polyesters with triangular cross-sections offering a glossy appearance, hollow, thin-walled types that trap large quantities of non-flowing air for thermal insulation, a version with a cross-section of four flat peaks for superior absorption and quick drying, and a false-twisted type with an irregular cross-section.

The increased modification and thinness can decrease fibre strength, but Teijin says it has overcome this problem with Octa.