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Semi-synthetic fibers
Semi-synthetic fibers 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 fibers such
as nylon (polyamide) or dacron (polyester), which
the chemist synthesizes from low-molecular
weight compounds by polymerization (chain-
building) reactions. The earliest semi-synthetic
fiber is the cellulose regenerated
fiber, rayon. Most semi-synthetic fibers are
cellulose regenerated fibers.
Cellulose regenerated fibers
Cellulose fibers are a subset of man-made fibers,
regenerated from natural cellulose. The cellulose
comes from various sources: rayon from tree
wood fiber, Modal from beech trees, bamboo
fiber from bamboo, seacell from seaweed, etc. In
the production of these fibers, the cellulose is
reduced to a fairly pure form as a viscous mass
and formed into fibers by extrusion through
spinnerets. Therefore, the manufacturing process
leaves few characteristics distinctive of the
natural source material in the finished product.
Some examples are:
Rayon
Bamboo fiber
Lyocell, a brand of rayon
Modal, using beech trees as input
Diacetate fiber
Triacetate fiber.
Historically, cellulose diacetate and triacetate
were classified under the term rayon, but are now
considered distinct materials.
Synthetic fibers
Synthetic come entirely from synthetic materials
such as petrochemicals, unlike those man-made
fibers derived from such natural substances as
cellulose or protein.
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.
Metallic fibers
Metallic fibers can be drawn from ductile metals
such as copper, gold or silver and extruded or
deposited from more brittle ones, such as nickel,
aluminum or iron. See also Stainless steel fibers.
Carbon fiber
Carbon fibers are often based on oxydized and
via pyrolysis carbonized polymers like PAN, but
the end product is almost pure carbon.
Silicon carbide fiber
Silicon carbide fibers, 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 fibers.
Fiberglass
Fiberglass, made from specific glass, and optical
fiber, made from purified natural quartz, are also
man-made fibers that come from natural raw
materials, silica fiber, made fromsodium
silicate (water glass) and basalt fiber made from
melted basalt.
Mineral fibers
Mineral fibers can be particularly strong because
they are formed with a low number of surface
defects, asbestos is a common one.[8]
Polymer fibers
Polymer fibers are a subset of man-made
fibers, which are based on synthetic chemicals
(often from petrochemical sources) rather than
arising from natural materials by a purely
physical process. These fibers are made from:
Polyamide nylon
Phenol-formaldehyde (PF)
Microfibers
Microfibers in textiles refer to sub-denier fiber
(such as polyester drawn to 0.5
denier). Denier and Dtex are two measurements
of fiber yield based on weight and length. If the
fiber density is known, you also have a fiber
diameter, otherwise it is simpler to measure
diameters in micrometers. Microfibers in
technical fibers refer to ultra-fine fibers (glass
or meltblown thermoplastics) often used in
filtration. Newer fiber designs include extruding
fiber that splits into multiple finer fibers. Most
synthetic fibers are round in cross-section, but
special designs can be hollow, oval, star-shaped or
trilobal. The latter design provides more optically
reflective properties. Synthetic textile fibers
are often crimped to provide bulk in a woven, non-
woven or knitted structure. Fiber surfaces can
also be dull or bright. Dull surfaces reflect more
light while bright tends to transmit light and
make the fiber more transparent.
Very short and/or irregular fibers have been
called fibrils. Natural cellulose, such as cotton or
bleached kraft, show smaller fibrils jutting out
and away from the main fiber structure.
Tensile Strength Of
Fibers
Depending upon the sources, the various types of
fibers can be classified into the following main three
categories:
Animal Fibers
Vegetable Fibers
Synthetic fibers
Nylon
Procedure
Cut out equal lengths of a cotton fiber, nylon
fiber and silk fiber from the given sample.
Tie one end of cotton fiber to a hook which has
been fixed in a vertical plane. Tie a weight hanger
to the other end. Let the thread get straight.
Put a weight to the hanger and observe the
thread stretch. Then, increase the weights
gradually on the hanger until the breaking point is
reached. Then note the minimum weight needed
for breaking the cotton fiber.
Repeat the above experiment by tying nylon and
silk fibers to the hook separately and determine
the tensile strength of each fiber.
Soak the woolen 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 by keeping it in the sun.
Determine the tensile strength again.
Now take another piece of woolen thread of the
same size and diameter and soak it in a diluter
solution of hydrochloric acid for five minutes.
Take it out, wash thoroughly with water, dry and
determine the tensile strength agin.
Repeat the above procedure for the samples of
cotton and nylon fiber.
Observation Table