I am currently working on my bachelor thesis in the field of back injection molding of textiles made of polyester fibers. We have achieved quite good results with thermal treatments to restore the surface structure that has been flattened by the back injection process.
I would now be interested in the physical or chemical background that causes the fibers to straighten up again and the surface structure to return to its original state
Is it mainly relaxation processes or the entropic elastic behavior of polymers? Perhaps rearrangements or shifts also take place within the polymer chains.
I would be happy if someone has experience in this area and can perhaps even recommend some articles in which these causes have been researched.