RELATION BETWEEN FIBER STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES

Fiber:- Fibres are thread-like structures that are long, thin and flexible. These may be spun into yarns
and then made into fabrics. There can be different types of fibres. On the basis of their origin, fibres
are classified as natural fibres and synthetic fibres. Synthetic fibres can be produced in laboratory
and can be cheaper compared to natural fibres but natural fibres are much more comfortable.

Natural Fiber:-

Natural fibres are the fibres that are obtained from plants, animals or mineral sources. Some
examples are cotton, silk, wool etc. Natural fibres can again be divided into two types based on their
source i.e. plants and animals.

Examples of Natural Fibres

1. Animal fibres: These are the fibres that are obtained from animals. For example Wool, silk etc.

Wool: Wool is a natural textile fibre obtained from sheep, goats and camels. It traps a lot of air. Air is a
bad conductor of heat. This makes clothes made from wool useful in winter.

Silk: Silk is also a natural textile fibre which is obtained from silkworms. The rearing of silkworms to
obtain silk is known as sericulture. Silk is mainly used for manufacturing clothes. Woven silk fibres are
used for the construction of parachutes and bicycle tires

2. Plant fibres: These are the ones that are obtained from plants. These fibres are extracted from
the plants to make fabrics.
Cotton: It is one of the plant fibres that are used to make clothes. It is a soft staple fibre that is found as
a balls around the seeds in a cotton plant. Cotton is used to make soft, breathable, and durable textile.

Jute: It is a vegetable fibre that is soft, shiny and spun into coarse strong threads. Jute fibre is used for
packaging a wide range of agricultural and industrial commodities that require bags, sacks, packs, and
wrappings

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF COTTON FIBER

Each cotton fiber is composed of concentric layers. The cuticle layer on the fiber itself is separable from
the fiber and consists of wax and pectin materials. The primary wall, the most peripheral layer of the
fiber, is composed of cellulosic crystalline fibrils. [9] The secondary wall of the fiber consists of three
distinct layers. All three layers of the secondary wall include closely packed parallel fibrils with spiral
winding of 25-35o and represent the majority of cellulose within the fiber. The innermost part of cotton
fiber- the lumen- is composed of the remains of the cell contents. Before boll opening, the lumen is
filled with liquid containing the cell nucleus and protoplasm. The twists and convolutions of the dried
fiber are due to the removal of this liquid. The cross section of the fiber is bean-shaped, swelling almost
round when moisture absorption takes place.
Properties of cotton fiber:

Tensile strength – cotton is moderately strong fibre. The tenacity of cotton fibre is lies between 3-5

Gm/denier

Breaking elongation – 8-10%

Specific gravity – 1.54 gm/cc

Moisture regain – the standard is 8.5

Colour – normally the colour of cotton is creamy white.

Cotton Fiber Tensile Strength:-

properties of jute fiber:

Fibre length – 50 to 300 mm

Fibre diameter – 0.035 to 0.14 mm

Specific gravity – 1.48 gm/cc

Fibre denier – 6 to 50
Tenacity – 2.7 to 5.3 gm/tex

Breaking elongation – 0.8 to 1.8 %

Moisture regain – 13 %

L:D – 110 to 140

Unit cell length of 0.8 to 6 mm

Traverse swelling in water – 20 to 22 %.

Properties of silk fiber:

Length – silk is the longest fibre of about 1000 mt ( unbroken filament.

Diameter – 0.013 to 0.08 mm

Denier – 2.3 ( raw state ) and 1 to 1.3 ( Boiled state )

Microscopycross-section – Elliptical

Longitudinal view – Rough surface

Moisture regain – 11% at 65 % R.H and 27 c

Tensile strength – 3 to 4.5 gram per denier

Elongation – 18 to 22 %

The electrical property-poor conductor of electricity and accumulation of static charge.

Density – 1.33 gm/cc ( Raw state ) and 1.25 gm/cc ( Boiled state )
Synthetic Fibres

Synthetic fibres are man-made polymers designed to make a fabric. Polymers are obtained when many
small units are joined together chemically.

Some of the examples of synthetic fibres are:

Rayon: It is made from wood pulp. It is also known as artificial silk as it has characteristics resembling
silk. Rayon is mainly used in clothing, carpets, medical dressings and for insulation.

Nylon: It was the first synthetic fibre. It is used in the making of ropes, sleeping bags, parachutes,
different types of clothes, etc. It is one of the strongest fibres known to us.

Properties of acetate fiber:

Tenacity: 9.7-11.5 cN/tex

Elongation: (wet) 35-45 %, (dry) 23-30%

Elastic recovery: 48-60 %

Specific gravity: 1.30

Melting point: 232oC

Moisture regain: 6.5 %

properties of carbon fiber:

Tenacity = 1.7 – 1.85 mpa

Density = 1.75 – 1.96 gm/cc

Elongation break = 0.3 – 1.8%

Moisture regain = 0%

Melting point = 3650-3700°C

Glass transition temp = 250°C.

LOI = 18.3 – 31.5%.

properties of viscose fiber:

Tenacity: 2.4 -3.2 gm/den

Density: 1.64 – 1.54 gm/cc

Elongation at break: 13%

Elasticity: Good

Moisture Regain (MR %): 11 – 13%

Melting point: This fiber becomes weak when it heated above 150°C.

Ability to protest friction: Less

Color: White.
Viscose Fiber structure:-

Properties of modal fiber:

Specific gravity: 1.53 grams/cc

Tenacity: 22-40 grams/denier (dry)3.8-50 grams/denier (wet))

Moisture Regain: 11.8%

Elongation at Break: 7% (dry), 8.5% (wet)