Nature of fibres and origin

Natural fibres- Plant origin

Animal origin
Mineral origin
Man made fibres-Regenerated
Fully synthetic

Natural fibres
Fiber, also spelled fibre, is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete
elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.
Vegetable fibres are generally based on arrangements of cellulose, often with lignin: examples
include cotton, hemp, jute, flax, ramie, and sisal. Plant fibers are employed in the manufacture of
paper and textile (cloth), and dietary fiber is an important component of human nutrition.

Animal fibers consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool
and hair such as cashmere, mohair and angora, fur such as sheepskin, rabbit, mink, fox, beaver,
etc.

Mineral fibers comprise asbestos. Asbestos is the only naturally occurring long mineral fiber.
Short, fiber-like minerals include wollastonite, attapulgite and halloysite.

Man made fibres

Synthetic or man-made fibers generally come from synthetic materials such as petrochemicals.
But some types of synthetic fibers are manufactured from natural cellulose, including rayon,
modal, and the more recently developed Lyocell. Cellulose-based fibers are of two types,
regenerated or pure cellulose such as from the cupro-ammonium process and modified or
derivitized cellulose such as the cellulose acetates.

Fiber classification in reinforced plastics falls into two classes: (i) short fibers, also known as
discontinuous fibers, with a general aspect ratio (defined as the ratio of fiber length to diameter)
between 20 to 60, and (ii) long fibers, also known as continuous fibers, the general aspect ratio is
between 200 to 500[1].

Regenerated fibres are those fibres which are regenerated from nature example viscose, modal,
lyocell.
Fully syntetic fibres are those fibres which are fully manufatured from chemical products
example nylon, polyester, acrylic, aramid, polyethylene
Fibre structure

Amorphous region 
disorderly arranged 

Crystaline region 
Orderly arranged 

Differences between crystaline and amorphous regions

- The crystaline region is densely pack whereas in the amorphous region the chains are
loosely pack.
- The interchain forces are stronger in the crystaline region than in amorphous region, the
forces of attraction are inversely proportion to the square of distance.
- Accessibility to water and chemical are much higher in the amorphous region.

Properties of fibres

1. Density
Mass = mass
Volume area x length

The denser a material is, the less of it is needed to weight a certain mass.

2. Tensile Strength
It is the ability to resist tensionÆacts on the longitude of the textile fibres

Tensile strength is the maximum load that a material can withstand without breaking.
-unit that is use to measure tensile strength is centi Newton.

To compare the strength of two fibres, you must compare light to light not light to thick.
It has to bring down to the same finess.

3. Tenacity
Tenacity is the breaking load, that is the maximum or minimum load that cause a fibre to
break.
 Tenacity = tensile strength
Tex
Only by comparison of tenacity that we can conclude that a fibre is stronger than an other
fibre.

4. Extensibility/Elongation
- When subjected to a load, by what amount the fibre can be extended without breaking.
- The elongation at which the material breaks is known as the elongation at break.

Lo Extension = Lf - Lo

Lf Elongation = extension
Elongation at break initial length

= е Lo

E.g Lycra has got good elongation whereas glass has got very low elongation.

5. Elasticity
- A recovery from extension
Lo
Note: the more elastic a material is the most it will recover. L1
Rubber is the most elastic material.
e

e1

e1 is the elastic recovery of the material

6. Malleability
It is the ability of a material to withstand deformation by compression before cracking.

7. Ductility
- It is the ability of a material to be deformed under tension before it damages.
- The ductility of material decreases as the temperature increases, making them weaker at
high temperature.

8. Toughtness
It is the ability of a material to withstand sudden impact without fraction and also the ability to
withstand bending.
9. Plasticity
It is the ability of a material to be permanently changed in shape or form by external forces or
casting.

10. Hardness
It is the ability of a material to resist abrasive wear, indentation or deformation.

11. Durability
It is the ability of a material to withstand wear and tear weathering and corrosion.

12. Stability
- It is the ability of a material to resist changes in size and shape due to environment.
- It is also known as dimensional stability.

13. Strength
It is the ability of a material to resist force without breaking.

Different force requires different types of strength to resist them.

- Tensile strength
It is the ability of a material to resist stretching or pulling forces.

- Compressive strength
It is the ability of a material to resist pushing forces.

- Bending strength
It is the ability of a material to withstand bending forces

- Shear strength
It is the ability of a material to resist sliding forces acting against each other.

- Tortional strength
It is the ability of a material to withstand twisting force under tortion or tork.
Physical properties

Physical properties refer to the matter that forms the material.

- Fusibility
It is the ability of a material to change into molten or liquid state when heated to a certain
temperature.

- Density
It is defined as mass per unit volume..d=m/v
It is essential for calculating mass and volume.

- Electrical insulator
They are materials that are resistant to the flow of electricity.
They are known as insulators.

- Thermal expansion
It relates to the expansion and contraction of a material due to heating and cooling.

Optical properties

It refers to how a material reacts to light, heat, reflection, radiation and absorption.

A material can be translucent, transparent and opaque.

Opaque- does not allow light to pass through it and vision also.

Transparent- it allows light and vision to pass through it.

Translucent- it allows only light to pass through.

Identification of fibres

- Morphology: - the study of forms.

- Form of cross section
- Longitudinal shape…how does the structure look like?

- Solubility in acids, bases and solvents.

- Burning tests- ignition, form after burning, flame color and smell.
Technical Tests for Fiber Identification

There are two types of methods that are used for identifying different fibers - the nontechnical
tests and the technical tests. The nontechnical tests include the feeling test and the burn test. The
technical tests include microscope test and chemical test. The technical tests for fiber
identification are carried out in laboratories and require technical knowledge and skills. As such,
they are much more reliable methods for testing end product as compared to the non technical
tests.

The Nontechnical Tests- Feeling Test and Burning Test

Feeling test involves touching a fabric and feeling the fabric to know its component fibers. For
example, wool fabrics will feel warm when touched because the heat generated by wool, which
is a nonconductor of heat, will remain in the touched area itself. On the other hand, the fabrics
made up of plant fibers such as cotton fabrics, linen fabrics and even the rayon fabrics, that are
made from the cellulose of wood pulp or cotton fiber, feel cool to touch. As they are conductors
of heat, the heat generated by the finger passes off making the fabric cold. However, it requires a
long experience of handling different fabrics over a period of time for such skillful perception.
Also, it is difficult to examine and compare the fabrics made of different fiber contents with the
feeling test.

The other nontechnical test for fiber identification by the burn test- involves burning a sample of
fabric and observing the various characteristics shown by it after burning in order to determine
its fiber content. The burning test is more efficient than the feeling test but it also has its
limitations. For example, fabrics made of biconstituent fibers, that are combination of two
different textile polymers, can not be identified with this test.

NATURAL FIBERS (ANIMAL)

Fiber Smell Ember and Flame

Small flickering flame,
brittle ash, no smoldering
Wool Burning Hair
(will not burn after flame is
removed).
Calm flame, no smoldering.
(Will not burn after flame is
Silk Burning Feathers
removed). Black beads,
crushable.

NATURAL FIBERS (VEGETABLES)

Fiber Smell Ember and Flame

Rayon Rapid burning flame, slow
Burning Wood
(Synthetic) burning embers, no ash, no
 bead.
Flame amber or yellow,
Cotton Burning Paper slow burning; fluffy grayish
ash.

SYNTHETIC FIBERS (MAN-MADE)

Fiber Smell Ember and Flame

Dissolves and forms an
Boiling green vegetables
Nylon effervescent flame; produces
(string beans or celery)
a hard, amber-beaded ash.
Melts and produces a
Olefin Asphalt scorching flame; forms a
hard tan bead.
Acrilan Sharp, pungent, unpleasant Hard, black residue. Burns
(Acrylic) odor quickly.
Burns rapidly; produces a
Polyester Sweetish
black, hard, rounded ash.

The Technical Tests- Microscope Test and Chemical Test

The technical tests for fiber identification done with the help of laboratory equipment are far more
reliable than the nontechnical tests. However, technical knowledge and skill, particularly while
handling chemicals, are the basic requirements for conducting these tests.

Microscope Test
Microscopes having magnification of at least 100 power, can be successfully employed for testing and
identifying the fiber contents of a fabric. Microscope test is very effective for testing the natural
fabrics. Difficulties can be faced while testing synthetic fabrics as many of them have similar
appearance. However, one must know, what the fibers look like under a microscope as many finishing
processes like mercerizing and delustering, change the appearance of fibers under microscope. Apart
from it, dark colored fabrics also cannot be tested with microscope as light cannot pass through dark
substances. For such fabrics, either the textile dyes haveto be removed by stripping, bleaching etc. or
they have to be chemically tested.

Natural fibers have their own peculiar structures, spots, lines and other marks that help in identifying
them. Following are some examples of natural fibers and how they look like under a microscope:

Cotton: The cotton fiber is a single elongated cell. Under a microscope, it looks like flat, spirally
twisted ribbonlike tube with rough granular surface. However, mercerized cotton doesn't have natural
twist. The finishing process makes them swollen, straight, smooth and round with a shining surface.

Linen: Linen fiber, under a microscope, looks like having multiple sided cylindrical filaments with fine
pointed edges. The filaments show nodes at intervals. It, in fact, looks like a bamboo stick having
joints that results into a little unevenness.

Wool: Wool fiber has irregular, roughly cylindrical, multi cellular structure with tapered ends. Under a
microscope, three basic layers are shown- epidermis (outer layer), cortex (middle layer) and medulla
(inner layer). Medulla is seen only in coarse and medium wool fibers and that too under a highly
powerful microscope.

Silk: Raw silk fiber, composed of two filaments, has elliptical shape under the microscope. The two fine
and lustrous filaments are shown clearly looking like transparent rods with triangular shape. Wild silk
or tussah fiber has different appearance than the cultivated silk. It is flattened, coarse, thick and
broader fiber having fine, wavy lines all across its surface whereas cultivated silk is narrower fiber with
no marks on it.

Manmade fibers are difficult to identify through microscope because of similar appearance of many
fibers. However, their certain distinguishable characteristics under a microscope have been mentioned
below.

Rayons: Rayon fiber has uniform diameter with glass like shine. If delustered then
rayon fiber shows marks similar to pepper, when viewed cross sectionally. Viscose
fiber of rayon looks irregular when viewed cross sectionally.

Acetate: Acetate fiber looks lesser irregular than viscose rayon when viewed cross
sectionally. It has indentations that look like occasional marks when viewed longitudinally.

Nylon: There are many variants of nylon fiber. However, generally it appears fine, round, smooth and
translucent. Sometimes it has shiny appearance. If it looks dull, it will also be dotted under the
microscope.

Aramid: If viewed longitudinally, aramid fiber looks smooth and straight. If viewed cross sectionally, it
may be round or like peanut's shape.

Polyester: Generally, polyester fiber is smooth, straight. It looks round cross sectionally. However, with
various finishing processes, its appearance changes in context of texture and luster.

Spandex: Spandex fiber have the outstanding characteristic of appearing like groups of fibers fused
together. However, different variants of spandex show different characteristics too. The Lycra fiber
looks like fused multifilaments cross sectionally. Individual fibers are dotted and in shape like that of
dog-bone. If viewed longitudinally, they appear straight.

Polypropylene: When viewed cross sectionally, polypropylene fiber looks somewhat round but it looks
straight and smooth when viewed longitudinally.

Glass: The glass fiber looks smooth, round, translucent, shiny and flexible.

Chemical Tests
Chemical tests for fiber identification can only be conducted in well equipped laboratories. There are
two primary methods to conduct chemical testing- stain and solvent.
 hod: Stain tec
Stain Meth chnique uses acid
a and alka
ali on differen
nt fabrics to identify
i theirr
fiber conttents. Most off the fibers have two colo or reactions when
w treated with stain. A
ned with dilute acetic acid
fiber stain d turns to a specific
s color. The same fiiber when
stained with
w mild alkali like soda caarbonate turn ns to a different color aga
ain specific
to that fib
ber only. Ace
etate changess to light gree en color when n acetic acid is used and
turns orannge when diluute carbonate e of soda is used. Likewisee, nylon turnss beige in
one and bright
b red in other.
o As dou
uble testing iss done in this method, it iss sometimes
referred to
t as double-barreled stain identification.

ethod: Various solvents are

Solvent Me e used in thiss method to distinguish
d one kind of fibe
er from anoth
her.
However, there is no single
s solventt or chemical that can be used on all fibers. Additioonally, differe
ent
solvent prrocedures are e adopted to separate and d identify the
e fibers that are
a combined together. It
becomes very
v difficultt to use solvent methods in ers that have similar chem
n view of fibe mical
characterristics. Also, when
w more fibers are mixe ed to producee blended fabbric, then also it becomess
tough to identify
i the fibers
f with the help of solvvent method.. However, itt is a very effe
ective metho od for
cross checcking but in order
o to have
e accurate repports, the fabbric has to be
e cleaned thoroughly and the
t
finishing chemicals
c shoould also be removed
r commpletely. The fabric has to o be unraveledd, yarns havee to
be untwissted and the fibers
f have to
o be put in th
he solutions in
n as loose a condition
c as
is possible
e.

As an example of solve ent method, consider

c diffe
erentiating annimal fibers from
f plant
fibers witth alkali. If wool or silk fib
ber has to be eliminated frrom a blende ed fabric
then stron ng alkalies caan be used be ecause animal particles are e destroyed in
i it. Five
percent ofo caustic soda or sodium hydroxide
h is used
u in waterr. The action of the
chemical is hastened by b boiling the e solution beffore immersinng the sample e fabric in it.
The wool or silk fiber gets
g completely dissolved in it. The pla ant fibers rem
main unaffectted. For
differentiating them, acid
a has to be e used as the
e dilute acids destroy plant fibers. A drrop of sulfuricc acid
has to be put on the sa ample fabric which, in turrn, is placed between
b twoo blotters andd pressed withh hot
iron. If it contains cottton, linen or rayon then th he fabric getss charred at the
t spot.

Basic spiinning proccess

Principlees of ring an
nd open-end
d spinning

Ring spinning is a method

m of spinning fibress, such as cootton, flax orr wool, to maake a yarn. The
T
ring fram
me developed d from the thhrostle framee, which in itts turn was a descendantt of Arkwrigght's
water fraame. Ring sp pinning is a continuous
c p
process, unlikke mule spinnning which uses an
intermitteent action. In
n ring spinniing, the roving is first atttenuated by using drawiing rollers, thhen
spun andd wound arou und a rotatinng spindle whhich in its tuurn is containned within ann independeently
rotating ring
r flyer. Trraditionally ring frames could only be b used for the
t coarser counts-
c but thhey
could be attended by y semi-skilledd labour.
Open end spinning is a technology for creating yarn without using a spindle. It was invented
and developed in Czechoslovakia in Výzkumný ústav bavlnářský / Cotton Researching Institute
in Ústí nad Orlicí in the year 1963. It is also known as break spinning or rotor spinning. The
principal behind open end spinning is similar to that of a clothes dryer spinning full of sheets. If
you could open the door and pull out a sheet, it would spin together as you pulled it out. Sliver
from the card goes into the rotor, is spun around into yarn and comes out, wrapped up on a
package, all ready to go to the next step. There is no roving stage or re-packaging on an auto-
coner. This system is much faster than ring spinning with rotor speeds up to 140,000rpm , and
less labour intensive. Several design of rotors are used by different manufacturers; designed for
different fibres.

The first open end machines in the UK, were placed under great secrecy, in Maple Mill, Oldham
in 1967.

The disadvantage is mainly that the open end is limited to coarse counts, cloth made from open-
end yarn having a 'fuzzier' feel and poorer wear resistance.

System of spinning based on putting twist into the yarn without turning the bobbin. This is done
by rotating the yarn end at a gap or break in the flow of fibers between the delivery system and
the yarn take-up (bobbin). Open end spinning is usually not as smooth and soft as ring spinning.

The production of spun yarns by a process in which the sliver (q.v.) or roving (q.v.) is opened or
separated into its individual fibres or tufts and is subsequently reassembled in the spinning
element into a yarn.

A Spinning System In Which Sliver Feedstock Is Highly Drafted, Ideally To Individual Fibre
State, And Thus Creates An Open End Or Break In The Fibre Flow. The Fibres Are
Subsequently Assembled On The End Of A Rotating Yarn And Twisted In. Various Techniques
Are Available For Collecting And Twisting The Fibres Into A Yarn, The Most Noteworthy
Being Rotor Spinning And Friction Spinning.