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STUDY THE EFFECT OF ACIDS

AND BASES ON THE TENSILE
STRENGTH
OF A FIBRE.
A Project Report
Submitted by

HYDER QAID JOHAR

In partial fulfillment of the

CBSE GRADE XI - B
IN
Chemistry
AT

INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

ROLL NO:-11214
2016-17
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BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that HAIDER KHOKHAWALA of
Grade XI-B, INDIAN PUBLIC SHOOL with Roll
Number 14 has compiled this Chemistry project in
partial fulfillment of the requirements as prescribed
by CBSE in the year 2016-17.

Signature of the
Teacher In-charge
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I warmly acknowledge the continuous
encouragement and timely suggestions offered by
our dear Principal Mr.K.A.Rodrigues. I extend my
hearty thanks for giving me the opportunity to
make use of the facilities available in the campus
to carry out the project successfully.
I am highly indebted to Mrs. Rachel Thomson & my
lab teacher Mrs. Julie sam for the constant
supervision, providing necessary information and
supporting in completing the project. I would like to
express my gratitude towards them for their kind
co-operation and encouragement.
Finally I extend my gratefulness to one and all who
are directly or indirectly involved in the successful
completion of this project work.

Signature of the
Candidate
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INDEX

S.NO NAME REMAR Pg No.

K
1. BONAFIDE 2
CARTIFICATE.
2. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 3

3. INTRODUCTION. 5-6

4. THEORY 7-8

5. AIM 9

6. APPARATUS REQUIRED 10

7. PROCEDURE. 11

8. OBSERVATIONS 12

9. CONCLUSION. 13

10. PRECAUTIONS 14

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
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INTRODUCTION

Fibre is a class of materials that are continuous

filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces,
similar to lengths of thread. A fiber is an elongated
tapering thick-walled plant cell that imparts
elasticity, flexibility, and tensile strength. Tensile
strength of fibres can be determined by hanging
weights tied to it and comparing the weight a
string can hold. Traditionally, natural fibers have
been used in all cultures for making utilitarian
products. Different parts of the plant are used.
Fibers can be extracted from the bark (banana,
jute, hemp, and ramie), stem (banana, palm, and
bamboo), leaf (palm, screw pine, sisal, agave),
husk (coir), seeds (cotton), and grass (sikki,
madhurkati, benakati, munj). Animal fibers are
obtained from a variety of animal coats, and insect
fibers from cocoons.
Even before the arrival of man-made fibers,
manufacturers could create hundreds of different
kinds of fabrics, differing mainly by fiber content,
weight, style of weave, or sheen. Here are just a
few of these historic fabrics, along with the natural
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fiber from which they were originally made (nearly

all can be made now with other fibers, either
natural or synthetic).They are very important in the
biology of both plants and animals, for holding
tissues together.
Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can be
spun into filaments, string, or rope, used as a
component of composite

materials, or matted into sheets to make products

such as paper or felt. Fibers are often used in the
manufacture of other materials. The strongest
engineering materials are generally made as fibers,
for example carbon fiber and Ultra-high-molecular-
weight polyethylene. The history of man-made
fibers is less than a century old; until 1910, there
were no synthetic or chemical fibers. Today, by
mixing different components, manufacturers can
take the basic fibers listed below and make them
more waterproof or more absorbent, warmer or
cooler, thicker or thinner, stiffer or more supple.
Some, like polyester and spandex, combine well
with natural fibers, making fabrics that wrinkle less
or are more form-fitting.
Synthetic fibers can often be produced very
cheaply and in large amounts compared to natural
fibers, but for clothing natural fibres can give some
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benefits ,such as comfort ,over their synthetic

counterparts.

THEORY

Depending upon the source, various fibres can be categorized as:

1. Animal fibre(e.g., silk and wool)
2. Vegetable fibre(e.g., cotton and linen)
3. Synthetic fibre(e.g., nylon and rayon)

Natural fibres can be classified according to their origin. The

vegetable, or cellulose-base, class includes such important fibres
as cotton, flax, and jute; the animal, or protein-base, fibres
include wool,mohair, and silk; an important fibre in the mineral
class is asbestos.

The vegetable fibres can be divided into smaller groups, based

on their origin within the plant. Cotton, kapok, and coir are
examples of fibres originating as hairs borne on the seeds or
inner walls of the fruit, where each fibre consists of a single,
long, narrow cell. Flax, hemp, jute, and ramie are bast fibres,
occurring in the inner bast tissue of certain plant stems and made
up of overlapping cells. Abaca, henequen, and sisal are fibres
occurring as part of the fibro vascular system of the leaves.
Chemically, all vegetable fibres consist mainly of cellulose,
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although they also contain varying amounts of such substances

as hemicellulose, lignin, pectins, and waxes that must be
removed or reduced by processing. The animal fibres consist
exclusively of proteins and, with the exception of silk, constitute
the furor hair that serves as the protective epidermal covering of
animals. Silk filaments are extruded by the larvae of moths and
are used to spin their cocoons.

With the exception of mineral fibres, all natural fibres have an

affinity for water in both liquid and vapour form. This strong
affinity produces swelling of the fibres connected with the
uptake of water, which facilitates dyeing in watery solutions.

Unlike most synthetic fibres, all natural fibres are

nonthermoplastic—that is, they do not soften when heat is
applied. At temperatures below the point at which they will
decompose, they show little sensitivity to dry heat, and there is
no shrinkage or high extensibility upon heating, nor do they [15
become brittle if cooled to below freezing. Natural fibres tend to
yellow upon exposure to sunlight and moisture, and extended
exposure results in loss of strength.
All natural fibres are particularly susceptible to microbial
decomposition, including mildew and rot. Cellulosic fibres are
decomposed by aerobic bacteria (those that live only in oxygen)
and fungi. Cellulose mildews and decomposes rapidly at high
humidity and high temperatures, especially in the absence of
light. Wool and silk are also subject to microbial decomposition
by bacteria and molds. Animal fibres are also subject to damage
by moths and carpet beetles; termites and silverfish attack
cellulose fibres. Protection against both microbial damage and
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insect attacks can be obtained by chemical modification of the

fibre substrate; modern developments allow treatment of natural
fibres to make them essentially immune to such damage.

AIM

To find the effect of acids and alkalies on tensile strength of

cotton, silk and wool fibres.
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Apparatus Requirements:-
Cotton, wool, silk, polyester, hook, weight hanger, weights.

Chemical Requirement:-
Hydrochloric acid( M/10) and sodium hydroxide(M/10 ).
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Procedure:-

1. Cut out equal length of cotton, wool and silk

threads from given samples. The threads should be
nearly the same thickness.
2. Determine the tensile strength of each fibre as
explained in experiment 1.
3. Soak a given thread into a dilute solution of
sodium hydroxide for about 5 minutes.
4. Take it out of NaOH solution and wash it
thoroughly with water and dry it in sun or oven at
40°C.
5. Determine again the tensile strength of woolen
thread as explained in experiment 1
6. Now take another piece of wool thread and soak
it in hydrochloric acid for about 5 minutes. Take it
out and wash thoroughly with water. Dry it and
again determine its tensile strength.
7. Repeat the above procedure for the sample of
cotton and nylon fibres.
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Observations:-

SI.N Type of Tensile strength of fibre(N)

O fibre. Before after soaking after
soaking
Soaking. in NaOH.
HCL.
1. cotton
2. wool
3. silk
4. polyester
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CONCLUSION.

Conclusions drew from the experiment are:-

1. Alkalies decrease the tensile strength of woolen fibers.

2. Acids practically do not affect this fiber.
3. Tensile strength of cotton thread is decreased by acids and
it remains unaffected by alkalis.
4. Nylon fiber is practically unaffected by both acids and
alkalies.
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PRECAUTIONS:-

1. Thread must be of identical diameters.

2. Always take the same length of threads.
3. Add the weights in small amount very slowly.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Comprehensive practical chemistry-XI

 Wikipedia
 Encyclopedia - Britannica Online
Encyclopedia
 www.textileschool.com
 www.meritnation.com.
 http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/

pdf/