Chemistry

Investigatory Project
AIM: To determine the tensile strength
of different fibres in different PH

Rimjhim Mathur
XII A
DPS Dwarka
Roll No._____________ 

 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my chemistry teacher , M/s

Ashu Malik for giving me the opportunity to
perform the project and constantly guiding me. I
would also like to thank Mr. Rajesh ,our lab
teacher who constantly provided us with the
resources required to perform the experiment.
-Rimjhim Mathur .
 Delhi Public School, Dwarka

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Rimjhim Mathur , a student of

class XII A of CBSE Board Roll No.___________ has
successfully completed the investigatory project on the
topic “Study the effect of acids and bases on tensile
strength of fibres ” under the guidance of M/s Ashu
Malik (PGT Chemistry) during the year 2019-20
towards the fulfilment of chemistry practical
examination conducted by CBSE .

_________________
M/s Ashu Malik
PGT
Chemistry
 Introduction
Fibre is a natural or synthetic substance that is
significantly longer than it is wide.
Fibres are often used in the manufacture of other
materials. The strongest engineering materials often
incorporate fibres, for example carbon fibre and ultra-
high-molecular-weight polyethylene.\

Natural fibres
Natural fibres develop or occur in the fibres shape, and
include those produced by plants, animals, and
geological processes.
A) Vegetable fibres
 They can be classified according to their origin:are
generally based on arrangements of cellulose, often with
lignin: examples include cotton, hemp, jute, flax, ramie,
sisal, bagasse, and banana. Plant fibres are employed in
the manufacture of paper and textile (cloth), and dietary
fibres is an important component of human nutrition.

Mineral fibre :
Includes the asbestos group. Asbestos is the only
naturally occurring long mineral fibres. Six minerals have
been classified as "asbestos" including chrysotile of the
serpentine class and those belonging to the amphibole
class: amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and
actinolite. Short, fibres-like minerals include wollastonite
and palygorskite.

Biological fibres
also known as fibrous proteins or protein filaments
consist largely of biologically relevant and biologically
very important proteins, mutations or other genetic
defects can lead to severe diseases. Instances are
collagen family of proteins, tendon, muscle proteins like
actin, cell proteins like microtubules and many others,
spider silk, sinew and hair etc.

Wood fibre
distinguished from vegetable fibres, is from tree sources.
Forms include ground wood, lacebark, thermo-
mechanical pulp (TMP), and bleached or unbleached kraft
or sulphite pulps. Kraft and sulphite (also called sulphite)
refer to the type of pulping process used to remove the
lignin bonding the original wood structure, thus freeing
the fibres for use in paper and engineered wood products
such as fibre - board.

Animal fibre

consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are

silkworm silk, spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool, sea silk and
hair such as cashmere wool, mohair and angora, fur such
as sheepskin, rabbit, mink, fox, beaver, etc.

Man made fibre

Man-made or chemical fibres are fibres whose chemical

composition, structure, and properties are significantly
modified during the manufacturing process. Man-made
fibres consist of regenerated fibres and synthetic fibres.

Semi-synthetic fibres
Semi-synthetic fibres are made from raw materials with
naturally long-chain polymer structure and are only
modified and partially degraded by chemical processes,
in contrast to completely synthetic fibres such as nylon
(polyamide) or Dacron (polyester), which the chemist
synthesises from low-molecular weight compounds by
polymerisation (chain-building) reactions. The earliest
semi-synthetic fibres is the cellulose regenerated fibres,
rayon. Most semi-synthetic fibres are cellulose
regenerated fibres.
Cellulose regenerated fibres

Cellulose fibres are a subset of man-made fibres,

regenerated from natural cellulose. The cellulose comes
from various sources: rayon from tree wood fibres,
bamboo fibres from bamboo, sea cell from seaweed, etc.
In the production of these fibres, the cellulose is reduced
to a fairly pure form as a viscous mass and formed into
fibres by extrusion through spinnerets. Therefore, the
manufacturing process leaves few characteristics
distinctive of the natural source material in the finished
products.
Some examples of this fibres type are:
Rayon

Bamboo fibres
Lyocell
Modal
Di-acetate fibres
triacetate fibres.
Historically, cellulose Di-acetate
and -triacetate were classified under the term rayon, but
are now considered distinct materials.

Synthetic fibres
Synthetic come entirely from synthetic materials such as
petrochemicals, unlike those man-made fibres derived
from such natural substances as cellulose or protein.
Fibres classification in reinforced plastics falls into two
classes: (i) short fibres, also known as discontinuous
fibres, with a general aspect ratio (defined as the ratio of
fibres length to diameter) between 20 and 60, and (ii)
long fibres, also known as continuous fibres, the general
aspect ratio is between 200 and 500.

Metallic fibres

Metallic fibres can be drawn from ductile metals such as

copper, gold or silver and extruded or deposited from
more brittle ones, such as nickel, aluminium or iron. See
also Stainless steel fibres.

Carbon fibres

Carbon fibres are often based on oxidised and via

pyrolysis carbonised polymers like PAN, but the end
product is almost pure carbon.

Silicon carbide fibres

Silicon carbide fibres, where the basic polymers are not
hydrocarbons but polymers, where about 50% of the
carbon atoms are replaced by silicon atoms, so-called
poly-carbo-silanes. The pyrolysis yields an amorphous
silicon carbide, including mostly other elements like
oxygen, titanium, or aluminium, but with mechanical
properties very similar to those of carbon fibres.

Fibre-glass

Fibre glass, made from specific glass, and optical fibres,

made from purified natural quartz, are also man-made
fibres that come from natural raw materials, silica fibres,
made from sodium silicate (water glass) and basalt fibres
made from melted basalt.
Mineral fibres

Mineral fibres can be particularly strong because they are

formed with a low number of surface defects, asbestos is
a common one.

Polymer fibres
Polymer fibres are a subset of man-made fibres, which
are based on synthetic chemicals (often from
petrochemical sources) rather than arising from natural
materials by a purely physical process. These fibres are
made from:

polyamide nylon
PET or PBT polyester
phenol-formaldehyde (PF)
polyvinyl chloride fibres (PVC) vinyon
polyolefins (PP and PE) olefin fibres

acrylic polyesters, pure polyester PAN fibres are used to

make carbon fibres by roasting them in a low oxygen
environment. Traditional acrylic fibres is used more often
as a synthetic replacement for wool. Carbon fibres and PF
fibres are noted as two resin-based fibres that are not
thermoplastic, most others can be melted.

aromatic polyamides (aramids) such as Twaron, Kevlar

and Nomex thermally degrade at high temperatures and
do not melt. These fibres have strong bonding between
polymer chains
polyethylene (PE), eventually with extremely long
chains / HMPE (e.g. Dynema or Spectra).
Elastomers can even be used, e.g. spandex although
urethane fibres are starting to replace spandex
technology.
polyurethane fibres

Elastolefin
Coextruded fibres have two distinct polymers forming the
fibres, usually as a core-sheath or side-by-side. Coated
fibres exist such as nickel-coated to provide static
elimination, silver-coated to provide anti-bacterial
properties and aluminium-coated to provide RF
deflection for radar chaff. Radar chaff is actually a spool of
continuous glass tow that has been aluminium coated.
An aircraft-mounted high speed cutter chops it up as it
spews from a moving aircraft to confuse radar signals.

Microfibres
Microfibres in textiles refer to sub-denier fibres (such as
polyester drawn to 0.5 denier). Denier and D-tex are two
measurements of fibres yield based on weight and
length. If the fibres density is known, you also have a
fibres diameter, otherwise it is simpler to measure
diameters in micrometers. Microfibres in technical fibres
refer to ultra fine fibres (glass or melt blown
thermoplastics) often used in filtration. Newer fibres
designs include extruding fibres that splits into multiple
finer fibres. Most synthetic fibres are round in cross-
section, but special designs can be hollow, oval, star-
shaped . The latter design provides more optically
reflective properties. Synthetic textile fibres are often
crimped to provide bulk in a woven, non woven or knitted
structure. Fibres surfaces can also be dull or bright. Dull
surfaces reflect more light while bright tends to transmit
light and make the fibres more transparent.
Very short and/or irregular fibres have been called fibrils.
Natural cellulose, such as cotton or bleached kraft, show
smaller fibrils jutting out and away from the main fibres
structure.
Besides their chemical composition and properties, most
important property of these fibres is their tensile
strength. Tensile strength mean the extent to which a
fibre can be stretched without breaking and it is
measured in terms of minimum weight required to break
the fibre. To determine the tensile strength of any fibre, it
is tied to a hook at one end and weighted are slowly
added to the other end until the fibre break.

Since peptide bonds are more easily hydrolysed by bases

than acids therefore wool and silk are affected by basis
not by acids. It is because of this reason that wool and silk
threads breakup into fragments and ultimately dissolve
in alkaline.
In other words alkaline decreases the tensile strength of
animal fibres (wool & silk).
Vegetable fibres (cotton & linen), on the other hand,
consist of long polysaccharide chains in which the various
glucose units are joined by ethers linkage.
Since ethers are hydrolysed by acids and not by bases
therefore, vegetable fibres are affected by acids but not
by bases.
 In other words acids decreases the tensile strength of
vegetable fibres. In contrast, synthetics fibres such as
nylon & polyester practically remains unaffected by both
acids and bases.
 Procedure
(i) Cut out equal lengths of a cotton fibre, nylon fibre and
silk fibre from the given sample of nearly same diameter.

(ii) Tie one end of cotton fibre to a hook which has been
fixed in a vertical plane. Tie a weight hanger to the other
end. The thread get straight.

(iii) Put a weight to the hanger and observe the thread

stretch. Then, increase the weights gradually on the
hanger until the breaking point reaches and note the
minimum weight needed for breaking the cotton fibre.
Soak the woollen thread in a dilute solution of sodium
hydroxide for five minutes. Take it out from hydroxide
solution and wash it thoroughly with water and then dry
it.

(iv) Now take another piece of woollen thread of the same

size and diameter and soak it in a dilute solution of
hydrochloric acid for five minutes. Take it out, wash
thoroughly with water, dry and determine the tensile
strength again.

(v) Repeat the above procedure for the samples of cotton

and nylon fibre.

 Result
(i) The tensile strength of woollen fibre decreases on
soaking in alkalies but practically remains unaffected
on soaking in acids.

(ii) The tensile strength of cotton fibre decreases on

soaking in acids but remains practically unaffected on
soaking in alkalies.

(iii) The tensile strength of nylon and polyester fibres

remain practically unaffected on soaking either in acids or
in alkalies.

Precautions
(i) Thread must be of identical diameters.
(ii) Always take the same length of the threads.
(iii) Add the weights in small amounts very slowly.
 Follow up

Rayon
This is a type of synthetic fibre obtained from wood pulp.
Rayon is soft, absorbent and comfortable.
It is easy to dye in a wide range of colours.
Rayon is mixed with cotton to make bedsheets.
Rayon is mixed with wool to make carpets.
Nylon
This type of synthetic fibre is obtained from coal, water
and air.
Nylon is very lustrous, easy to wash and elastic.
It dries quickly and retains its shape.
Nylon finds its application in seat belts of car, sleeping
bags, socks, ropes, etc.
Nylon is also used in ropes for rock climbing, making
parachutes and fishing nets.
Polyester
This type of synthetic fibre is obtained from coal, water,
air and petroleum.
Polyester is made from repeating units of a chemical
known as esters.
Polyester is easy to wash and it remains wrinkle-free and
it is quite suitable in making dress material.
Polyester retains its shape and remains crisp.
Polyester is used in making ropes, nets, raincoats, jackets,
etc.
 Advantages of Synthetic fibres
Synthetic fibres are very durable and do not wrinkle easily
They are elastic and can be easily stretched out
They are strong and can sustain the heavy load.
They are soft and hence used in clothing material.
They are cheaper as compared to natural fibres.
Disadvantages of synthetic fibres
Most synthetic fibres do not absorb moisture.
Synthetic fibre can be affected if washed using hot water.
They catch fire easily as compared to natural fibre.

 Bibliography
www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.stringsandfibres.com