Bulk development of air-textured poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) bulk continuous filaments was studied by varying two texturing parameters, yarn preheating and texturing hot air temperatures. The yarns were subsequently heat treated from 80 to 160degreesC. Bulk was found to go through a maximum with increasing heat-treatment temperature because of two competing mechanisms. Upon heat treatment, the fiber shrunk and developed bulk; heat treatment also simultaneously induced structural reorganization through annealing and stabilized the fiber against shrinkage. When the later mechanism became dominant, bulk development decreased with further increase of heat-treatment temperature. The temperature at which the maximum occurred increased when the yarn preheating or texturing air temperatures were increased. Depending on the extent of annealing and structural reorganization during yarn preheating and during texturing, fibers with equivalent bulk measured at a single temperature did not behave the same way over a range of heat-treatment temperatures. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, lnc.