FIBRES

• DEFINITION : A fibre is a material which is several

hundred times as long as it is thick.
(length/diameter=100)
• By the textile institute as:
• TEXTILE FIBRE :
“Units of matter characterized by flexibility ,
fineness and a high ratio of length to thickness. ”
(The length/diameter ratio is atleast 1000/1 .)
 TEXTILE FIBRES
Textile fibres are the materials of natural or
artificial origin which can be converted into
yarn and fabric for clothing and also for
domestic and industrial purposes.
• EXAMPLES :
FIBRE TYPICAL TYPICAL LENGTH/DIA
LENGTH(mm) DIAMETER METER
(micro)
COTTON 25 17 1500
WOOL 75 25 3000
FLAX 25 20 1250
RAMIE 150 50 3000
 FILAMENT
A filament is a very long fibre. The length of filament
may range from a few hundred meters , as in case of
silk, to several kilometers in the case of man-made
fibres. The thickness of filaments tends to be similar to
that of fibres.
 Properties of textile fibre

Essential properties Desirable properties

The essential properties

1. Staple length
2. Tensile strength
3. Elasticity
4. Uniformity
5. Spinnability
Length & Length Variation:

Length is an important parameter which

determines the usefulness of textile fibers.
The fibre must be long and fine enough. The
length must be considerably higher (1000
times) then the width of the fibre. Longer the
fibre, stronger & finer is the yarn. Most
apparel fibres, range in length from about
15mm-150mm & 10µm-50µm in thickness.
 Tensile Strength

Strength of any material is determined by

the breaking strength which is expressed as
force per unit cross-sectional area. The
tensile strength when expressed as force per
unit linear density is called tenacity.
The load required to break the fibre is called
breaking load, expressed in terms of grams
per denier(gpd)\ grams per tex(gpt). The
strength of the fabric is more influenced by
the strength of the fibre present in it.
In case of describing the strength of
individual fiber the term tenacity is generally
used.
Tenacity of Some Common Fiber:

Fiber Grams Per Denier

Raw cotton 3.0 - 4.9
Jute 3.0 - 5.8
Flax 2.6 - 7.7
Ramie 5.5
Silk 2.4 - 5.1
Wool 1.1 - 1.7
Hemp 5.8 - 6.8
 Elasticity

The ability of any material to regain original shape after being

deformed by application of force.

The textile material should have a higher elasticity i.e. higher

recovery from deformation.

Elasticity is generally influenced by three factor:

1. The extent of stretch.
2. Time during which material is kept in stretch condition.
3. Time provided to recover.

NOTE: Tenacity alone is not sufficient to form an opinion about

the strength of the fibre. The fibre should also have good
elasticity so as to enable it to withstand sudden impacts & not to
break easily when it is bent or pulled.
 Uniformity

• There should be limited variation in length

and diameter between fibre to fibre. So that
uniform threads or yarn can be produced. The
more uniform the yarn, more stronger the
yarn.
 Spinnability
• It indicates that the individual fiber must be capable of
being converted into a yarn and then into a fabric with
sufficient strength. For better Spinnability the fiber must
have better cohesiveness i.e. fiber must hold together to
prevent slippage.

• External scales in wool & twist & irregularity in cotton fibre

contributes to the ability of such fibres to hold together.

• In case of man-made (fibre) manufacturing process, it

indicates whether a continuous filament can be produced
from a viscous material by extrusion, & the filament can be
solidified.
The desirable properties

1. Crimp
2. Density
3. Absorbency
4. Resilience
5. Colour
6. Luster
7. Porosity or capillarity
8. Static electrical resistance
• Crimp: It is the waviness of fibre. Natural quality of wool
fibre. It is measured by the difference between the length of
the crimped fibre at rest and the length of the same fibre
when it is stretched until it is perfectly straight.

• Density: It is mass per unit volume, expressed in gram per

centimeter cube. For some fibre true density is very difficult
to determine & specific gravity is generally preferred. Specific
gravity is the ratio of the mass weighed in air to the mass of
an equal volume of water at 4°C.

• Moisture absorbency: Amount of moisture present expressed

as the percentage of their original weight of fiber or its oven
dry weight. The fibre that absorbs moisture are more
comfortable than those with low absorbency, especially in hot
humid weather.
 .

• Colour: Most natural fibres have some colures. For e.g.

A) Silk is yellow to tan.
B) Cotton is creamy white.
C) Wool is brownish.
Therefore, they must be bleached or boiled by some chemical
processes to produce white fibre.

• Lusture: Generally a certain amount of lusture is desirable.

It depends on the amount of light reflected form a fibre
surface.

• Resilience: It is the springing back or recovery of a fibre

when it is released from the state of deformation. This is a
desirable property of filling fibres for pillows & mattresses.
Static Electrical Resistance: This creates a
problem in the spinning & other processing
methods of textile fibres especially in rooms with
low RH. The problem is more severe in case of
synthetic fibres which have low electrical
conductivity & low moisture.

Porosity: Accept or hold a dye, a finish (or a

lubricant). Liquids passes rapidly through small
cracks or breaks in the outer surface of a fibre
bringing about absorption of a liquid through
porosity.
 Textile fibre

Modified
Cellulosic Polyamide
cellulosic
Polyester
Semi PAN
Natural synthetic Natural Synthetic
Miscellaneous PVA
Cotton Viscose Wool Nylon 66
Alginate Modacrylic
Flax rayon Natural Nylon 6
Silk
Cupra polymer Polyolefin
Jute
rayon Vicara
Hemp Polyurathene
Ramie Ardil
Casein
 TECHNOLOGY OF TEXTILE
PROCESSING
• Textile fibres – Professor V.A. Shenai
• A textile book of Fibre Science & Technology :
S.P. Mishra
• Textile science : Gohl & Vilensky
• Fibre science : R.Gopala krishnan
 MONOMERS & POLYMERS
MONOMER POLYMER
MONO=ONE POLYMERISATION POLY=MANY
MER=UNIT MER=UNIT

• The basic unit of the textile fibre is a molecule, also

known as monomer.
• Many of these basic units are connected to form long
chain which are called polymer.
NOTE : The process of chemically joining monomers to
form polymer is called polymerisation. And the length
of such chains is referred as the DEGREE OF
POLYMERISATION.
 DEGREE OF POLYMERISATION
• The degree of polymerisation of natural fibres
are determined by nature . For example ,
cotton has a degree of polymerisation about
5000 i.e. number of basic units in a chain or
length of polymer of cotton.
NOTE : The degree of polymerisation of all man-
made fibres is determined during the
production of these fibres .
 TYPES OF POLYMER
• Polymer : It is formed from same monomers .
• Copolymer : If the polymer is formed from two or more
different monomers , it is called a copolymer .
• Grafted polymer : If side chains , side groups or
branches are grafted onto a polymer , it is called
grafted polymer .
Monomer : or or
Polymer :
Copolymer :
Grafted polymer :
 THE POLYMER SYSTEM
The development of man-made fibres occurred
when it was realized that natural fibres
consisted of polymers held together by
various links or bonds or forces .

1 step: Development of regenerated fibres

Next step was to produce chemicals which had

the ability to form links giving rise to polymer.
The chemical which have this ability can be broadly
divided into two categories :
1. Those which join with each other to form a
polymer, with the loss of a small compound such as
water or HCl . This process is called condensation
polymerisation . Example PET , Nylon.
2. Those which polymerises with themselves without
any small molecule being removed during
polymerisation . This process is called addition
polymerisation. Example Acrylics , PE , PP , PVA etc .
Only few chemicals (polymers) have been used in
the production of synthetic fibre .

Why ?

What properties are required ?

 REQUIREMENTS OF FIBRE FORMING
POLYMERS
• Hydrophilic
• Chemically resistant
• Linear
• Long
• Orientation
• Able to form high melting point polymer
system
The polymer system of commonly used apparel fibres
like cotton , wool , silk , flax , viscose , acetate ,
nylon , polyester and acrylic consists of polymers
which do meet the above requirements to a very
large extent.
On the other hand , Man-made fibres such as PE , PP
and chloro-fibres are restricted in their apparel use
because they do not satisfactorily meet the 1st , 5th &
6th requirements listed above.
Natural cellulosic fibres such as coir , hemp , ramie ,
jute , kenaf and sisal have very restricted apparel use
because they are very stiff . (Their polymers are far
too well oriented.)
Cashmere & mohair are relatively rare , so they are
expensive and rarely used .
 PROPERTIES
• HYDROPHILIC PROPERTIES: This means that the
polymer should be polar , enabling them to attract
water molecules.
*comfortable to wear
*static electricity is discharged to the
surrounding atmosphere

• CHEMICALLY RESISTANT : For a reasonable length of

time against the common degrading agents such as
sunlight and weather , common types of soiling ,
body exudation , laundry liquors and dry-cleaning
solvents.
•LINEARTY : Fibre polymer should be linear (i.e. not
branched) only linear polymer allows adequate
polymer alignment to bring into effect sufficient
interpolymer forces of attraction to give a cohesive
polymer system and hence , useful textile fibre.

•LENGTH : Fibre polymer should be long(more than

100nm) . So that they can readily be oriented .

Longer the polymers More cohesive the

polymer system Stronger the fibre
•ORIENTATION : means polymers can
be arranged or aligned into more or
less parallel order in the direction of
the longitudinal axis of the fibre or
filament.
(MM fibres drawing)
 Forms of orientation
AMORPHOUS & CRYSTALLINE REGIONS
• In amorphous region the polymers are
arranged or aligned at random , i.e. display no
particular order of arrangement.

• In crystalline region the polymers are arranged

or aligned longitudinally into more or less
parallel order.
 OWING TO RANDOM
ORIENTATION
The polymers are further apart,
hence,
• Formation of inter polymer
force of attraction will be
less effective.
• Permits easier entry of
water and dye molecules as
well as molecules of
degrading agents.
• Allows the polymers to be
more readily displaced
when the fibre is subjected
to stresses and strains
during their use.
OWING TO MORE OR LESS PARALLEL
ORIENTATION
The polymers are often closer together,
hence ,
• Formation of inter polymer
force of attraction will be
more effective.
• Restricts easier entry of
water and dye molecules as
well as molecules of
degrading agents.
• Doesn’t allows the polymers
to be more readily displaced
when the fibre is subjected
to stresses and strains
during their use.
 .

• MORE AMORPHOUS • MORE CRYSTALLINE FIBRES

FIBRES ARE ARE
a) More absorbent a) Less absorbent
b) Weaker b) Stronger
c) Less durable c) More durable
d) More easily degraded by d) Less degraded by
chemicals chemicals
e) More easily dyed e) Less dyed
f) More pliable , softer f) Less pliable , stiffer handle
handle g) Resist being distorted , less
g) More easily distorted , plastic
plastic
•FORMATION OF HIGH MELTING POINT POLYMER SYSTEM:
•A fibre consisting of a high melting point polymer system
tends to have adequate heat resistance to enable it to
withstand the various heat treatments of textile finishing ,
laundering and ironing as a garment.

In general , longer the polymer & better the orientation

More inter-polymer forces of attraction will be

formed

Giving a more cohesive polymer system

Higher melting point