INDEX

Sr.no contents Page.no

1 Cover page
2 Index
3 aim
4 Certificate
5 Acknowledgement
6 Introduction
7 Theory
8 requirements
9 Procedure
10 Observation
11 Result
12 Precautions
13 Bibliography
 AIM
To study the effect of acid and bases on the tensile strength of
fibers.
 INTRODUCTION
• Depending upon the sources, the various types of fibres can be
classified into the following three main categories :
• (i) animal fibres e.g. wool & silk.
• (ii) vegetable fibres e.g. cotton & linen.
• (iii) synthetic fibres e.g. nylon & polyester.
• Besides their chemical composition and properties, most important
property of these fibers is their tensile strength. Tensile strength
mean the extent to which a fiber can be stretched without breaking
and it is measured in terms of minimum weight required to break the
fiber.
 Theory
• since peptide bonds are more easily hydrolyzed 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 fibers (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 hydrolised by acids and not by bases therefore,
vegetable fibers are affected by acids but not by bases. in other words acids
decreases the tensile strength of vegetable fibres. in contrast, synthetics fibers
such as nylon & polyester practically remains unaffected by both acids and bases.
• The glycosidic bond in cellulose is chemically an acetal group, and acetals are
hydrolyzed by acid. Treatment by acid will partially hydrolyze the polymer chains
in cellulose, in effect shortening them and thus decreasing the tensile strength.
Acetals are stable to bases, so cellulose fibers retain their properties when
treated with bases.
 REQUIREMENTS :

a) Apparatus :
• Hook
• Weight hanger
• weights
• Beaker
b) Materials :
• Cotton fibers
• Silk fibers
• Nylon fibers
• dilute solution of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide
Procedure
Cut out identical lengths of a cotton fiber, nylon fiber and silk fiber
from the given sample of almost same diameter.
Tie one stop of cotton fiber to a hook which has been constant in a
vertical plane. Tie a weight hanger to the other end. The thread get
straight.
Put a weight to the hanger and examine the thread stretch. Then,
increase the weights progressively on the hanger till the breaking
point reaches and notice the minimum weight wished for breaking
the cotton fiber.
Repeat the above test by way of tying nylon and silk fibres to the
hook one after the other and note it.
Now again, Cut out identical lengths of wool, cotton and nylon threads from given
pattern of almost equal diameter.
Determine the tensile power of every fiber as defined as earlier . Soak the cotton
thread in a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide for 5 minutes. Take it out from
hydroxide solution and wash it very well with water after which dry either by
retaining it inside the sun or in an over maintained at a temperature of about
400C. Determine its tensile power again as explained.
Now take another piece of cotton thread of the identical size and diameter and
soak it in a dilute solution of hydrochloric acid for 5 minutes. Take it out, wash
very well with water, dry and decide the tensile strength again.
Repeat the above system for the samples of woolen and nylon fiber and note it.
 Observation
Sr.no Types of fibers Wt. required to break the Wt. required to break the Wt. required to break
untreated fiber fiber after soaking in dil. the fiber after soaking
HCL in NaOH solution

1 Cotton 75g 50g 75g

2 Woolen 750g 750g 700g

3 nylon 375g 375g 37g

 Result
o The tensile strength of woolen fiber decreases on soaking in base but
practically remains unaffected on soaking in acids.
o The tensile strength of cotton fiber decreases on soaking in acids but
remains practically unaffected on soaking in base.
o The tensile strength of nylon fibres remain practically unaffected on
soaking either in acids or in base.
 Precautions
• Thread must be of identical diameters.

• Always take the same length of the threads.

• Add the weights in small amounts very slowly.

 Bibliography
• www.google.com