STRENGHTH OF FIBRES

The strength of a textile material ultimately depends upon the strength of the individual
fibres from which it is made . Consequently, fibres must have a certain level of strength if
they are to be useful. A high strength is clearly more important in fibres used for
reinforcement of the rubber in a tyre than for the fibres used in a knitted jumper.
FIBRE TENSILE PROPERTIES
Tensile stress is the pull along the direction of the major axis of the fibre.
Stress = Load / area of cross section
In textiles when we use tensile stress, they are generally comparing the tensile stress in two
(or more) samples rather than being interested in an absolute measure of stress. It is
relatively difficult to measure or define the cross- section area of a fibre because of the
shape and the possibility of air spaces down the centre of fibres (cotton and wool).
Also, strength for the same mass of material is a normal reference between samples of yarn
or fabric.
Therefore, in textiles we use specific tensile stress, defined as:
Specific tensile stress = Load / mass per unit length
The units of specific tensile stress are therefore N tex -1 or mN tex -1
Tensile Strain
When a load is applied to a fibre, there will also be a deformation which will result in some
change in length, called strain. The elongation is the change in length (final length minus
original length); so that the tensile strain is given by:
Tensile strain = elongation/original length
This is a dimension less quantity. It is just a number, because a length term is divided by
another length term.
The tensile strain is more often expressed as percentage extension:
Extension % = tensile strain*100%
Stress/Strain Curves
A stress/strain curve is graphical representation of the relationship between stress and
strain in a specimen(fibre) as either the load or the extension is increased up to the break
point.
The values associated with the curve for particular textile material may depend on: the type
of specimen (single fibre, fibre bundle, yarn or fabric); the dimensions of the sample; the
atmospheric condition in the testing laboratory; the mechanical details and the speed of the
testing machine in particular whether the machine uses the principle of constant rate of
loading or constant rate of extension.
Breaking strength and tearing strength
For fabrics, breaking strength is tested by stretching many warps or filling yarns in a
specimen at once. Another type of action that is applicable for performance testing is
tearing strength. This is the ability of a fabric to withstand a tearing force where yarns are
broken one or few yarns at a time. Fabrics that have a high tearing strength usually have a
lower breaking strength. Under a breaking force, many yarns in the test direction are
gripped at once and subjected to the tensile force; therefore, they are all contributing to the
resistance to the force. For tearing, yarns are subjected to an applied tensile force one or
two at a time. In a loosely woven construction and those with fewer interlacing, where the
yarns can easily move and bunch together, there is a higher resistance to the applied force
because several yarns must be broken simultaneously. Consequently, these fibres have a
higher tearing strength.
Fabric characteristics effecting tensile properties
A number of structural properties are important factors in determining the strength of a
textile material. Of primary importance is the inherent stretch of the fibres that make up the
fabric. Rayon, acetate, acrylic, wool have low strength; cotton has moderate to low strength;
silk has moderate strength; and flax, nylon, polyester, and olefin generally have higher
strength. The strength of fibres depends on polymer length and rigidity, intermolecular
bonding within the fibres, and the relative amounts of crystalline and amorphous regions.
High strength fibres, such as aramid and carbon fibres are crystalline.
Yarn type, yarn twist, and yarn size greatly affect fabric strength. Staple yarns are weaker
than filament and textured filament yarn. When staple yarns are subjected to a tensile
force, some fibres are broken, but also the frictional forces holding the fibres in the twisted
structure are overcome and the yarn is pulled apart. In filament yarns, however, all the
fibres in the yarn must break for the yarn to rupture. Consequently, the strength is higher.
Ply and cord yarns should have higher strength than single yarns and are often used in ropes
and cables.
The degree of yarn twist is also important for spun yarns. A more tightly twisted yarn
inhabits a higher frictional force between the constituent fibres and is stronger. However,
there is an optimal degree of twist after which strength starts to decline. Finally, the size or
count of yarns is a factor in fabric strength. The larger the yarns, the more they are able to
bear tensile loads and the stronger they are in the absolute terms.
Two specific fabric properties are important in tensile behaviour: fabric construction and
fabric count. Woven fabrics have lower elongation than knitted fabric, although ultimate
strength is more dependent on fibre characteristics and yarn structure The particular weave
in woven fabrics affects both breaking strength and tearing strength. Plain eaves have high
breaking strength, but lower earing strength. Satin weaves, conversely, have higher tearing
strength because there are fewer interlacing and therefore, more opportunities for yarns to
move together to resist tearing. Satin weaves may also have a lower breaking strength
because there are fewer interlacings and fewer opportunity to share the applied force.
TEST METHODS
FIBER AND YARN TESTING
Testing of fiber and yarn strength is often of more interest for research and development
and for textile processing. Fiber and yarn test methods, however, are frequently referenced
and results are correlated with fabric tensile properties; therefore, several of these methods
are included here.
FIBER TEST METHODS
Fibers can be tested in bundles or as single fibres. The bundle methods are often used for
shorter fibers that may be difficult to mount singly in a tensile tester. In these test methods
(ASTM Standard 1445for cotton and ASTM Standard D 2524for wool), bundles of fibers are
combed until they are parallel , mounted in specially designed clamps with a spacer to set
the gage length at 3.2 mm, and then any fiber ends protruding beyond the clamps are
shredded off. The clamps holding the fiber bundles are inserted in the tensile machine and
the breaking force is determined. After the specimen is broken the fibers are weighed.
Because they are cut to a specified length, the linear density of the fibers can be calculated
and the average tenacity for the bundle is expressed in mN/tex or gf/tex. Inclined plane or
or pendulum machines development for fiber bundle testing are recommended in the test
methods, although CRE tensile testers can be used when special holders for the clamps are
constructed. Bundles of wool fibres can also be mounted between tabs of masking tape at a
longer gage length and broken on a CRE machine (ASTM Standard 1249). All of these bundle
tests yield only breaking force and elongation.
To obtain further information on tensile behaviour, a single fiber test, ASTM Standard D
3822, can be used both for natural and manufactured fibers that are long enough for
mounting in CRE or CRT machines. Longer fibers can be mounted directly in fiber grips, while
those that are short may need to be glued to plastic or cardboard tabs. Modulus and
toughness, as well as breaking values, can be determined. The method also includes
directions for testing a fiber in a knotted configuration, or looped around another fiber. The
reduction in breaking strength compared to fibers mounted straight in the grips is an
indication of the brittleness of the material.
It is often of interest to test both dry and wet strength of fibers because, moisture content
can affect strength. Test methods recommended that the fibers be mounted in clamps and,
before testing, the whole assembly submerged in water containing a wetting agent.
YARN TEST METHODS
Yarn strength can be measured on either single yarns (ASTM Standard 2256) or on yarn
skeins (ASTM Standard 1578). As is the case for single fibers, one yarn standard can be
placed in the grips of a CRE or CRT tensile tester and the test performed to obtain tensile
properties. The linear density of the yarn must also be measured to calculate specific values.
Specimens for the test of yarn skein strength are prepared by winding a prescribed length of
yarn on a reel. The resulting skein is mounted on spools, instead of in clamps, for testing.
Breaking strength is divided by yarn linear density to obtain tenacity. For indirect yarn
numbering systems, breaking force is multiplied by yarn count to give a break factor.