Diameter variations of irregular fibers under different tensions

The cross-section area of animal fibers varies along the fiber length, and this geometrical irregularity has a major impact on the mechanical properties of those fibers. In practice fibers are often subjected to tensile stresses during processing and application, which may change fiber cross-section area. It is thus necessary to examine geometrical irregularity of fibers under tension. In this study, scoured animal fibers were subjected to different tensile loading using a Single Fiber Analyzer (SIFAN) instrument. The 3D images of the fiber specimens were first constructed, and then along-fiber diameter irregularities of the specimens were analyzed for different levels of tensile loading. The changes in effective fineness of the fiber specimens were also discussed. The results indicate that for the wool fibers examined, there is considerable discrepancy in the fiber diameter results obtained from the commonly used single scan along fiber length and that from multiple scans at different rotational angles, and that the diameter variation along fiber length increases as fiber tension increases. The results also show that when diameter reduction treatments are applied to wool by stretching, the reduced average fiber diameter is associated with an increase in both within-fiber and between-fiber diameter variations. So in terms of effective fineness, the change is much smaller than the difference between the average diameters of the parent and treated wool. These results have significant implications for improving the accuracy of fiber diameter measurement and evaluation.     

Effect of strand spacing and twist multiplier on structural and mechanical properties of Siro-spun yarns

The effect of strand spacing and twist multiplier on strength of Siro-spun yarns with reference to the yarn structural parameters was investigated. Of the various structural parameters for staple yarns, fiber migration has a crucial influence on the yarn strength, which in turn to a considerable extent is influenced by the strand spacing and twist multiplier. Achieving the objectives of this research, the yarns were produced from lyocell fibers at five strand spacings and four different twist multipliers. Tracer fiber technique combined with image analysis were utilized to study the yarn migration parameters. Afterwards, the yarns were subjected to uniaxial loading by a CRE tensile tester. The measured results are presented in forms of diagrams and tables. The findings reveal that, as strand spacing is increased, yarn tenacity increases up to strand spacing of 8 mm beyond which it reduces. Analysis of the results indicates that the higher tenacity values at the strand spacing of 8 mm can be attributed to the higher mean fiber position, higher migration factor, higher proportion of broken fibers and lower hairiness.     

The limiting irregularity of single wool fibers

Fiber irregularity affects fiber mechanical properties. This study has, for the first time, introduced the concept of limiting irregularity to single wool fibers. The limiting irregularity is the minimum variation in fiber cross sectional area that can be expected of a single wool fiber, assuming a random length-wise distribution of its constituent cortical cells. Cortical cells were extracted from merino wool fibers and their dimensions were measured from SEM images to calculate their cross sectional area variations both between cortical cells and within cortical cells, and to work out the average number of cortical cells in the cross section of wool fibers of a given diameter. Single wool fibers were also measured at 5 μm interval along length for fiber diameter variations. These variations were found to be larger than that based on fiber limiting irregularity.     

Structural analysis of finer cotton yarns produced by conventional and modified ring spinning system

Yarn structure plays an important role in determining the properties of spun yarns. Recently, a modified spinning technique has been developed for producing a low torque and soft handle singles yarn by modifying the fiber arrangement in a yarn. Comparative studies revealed that the finer modified yarns possess significantly higher strength and lower hairiness over the conventional yarns of the same twist level, implying a different structure of finer modified yarn. Thus this paper aims to quantitatively study the structures of the finer conventional and modified cotton yarn (80 Ne) produced at the same twist level. Various measuring techniques, namely the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), cross section technique and tracer fiber technique, are adopted to analyze their structural characteristics, including fiber configuration, fiber spatial orientation angle, fiber packing density, yarn surface appearance, and fiber migration behavior. Results showed that finer modified yarns exhibit a smoother surface and much more compact structure with less hairiness. The fibers in the finer modified yarn have a complicated fiber path with relatively lower fiber radial position, larger migration frequency and magnitudes. In addition, it was noted that 73% of fibers in the finer conventional yarn follow concentric conical helix, which is contrary to those in the coarser conventional yarn. The analyses conducted in this paper provide deep insights into the mechanism of modified spinning technique and evidential explanations on the difference of properties between the finer conventional and modified yarns.     

Modeling the tensile strains of non-uniform fibers

The maximum strain experienced by the thinnest segment of a non-uniform fiber governs fiber breakage, yet this maximum strain can not be obtained from a normal single fiber test. Only the average strain of the whole fiber specimen can be obtained from a normal single fiber tensile test. This study has examined the relationship between the average strain, the maximum strain and the degree of fiber non-uniformity, expressed in coefficient of variation (CV) of fiber diameters along fiber length. The tensile strain of irregular fibers has been simulated using the finite element method (FEM). Using this method, average and maximum tensile strains of non-uniform fibers were calculated. The results indicate that for irregular fibers such as wool, there is an exponential relationship (i.e.ɛ _ave ɛ _max=ae ^{−b CV} ) between the ratio of average breaking strain and maximum breaking strain (ɛ _ave ɛ _max) and the along-fiber diameter variation (CV). The strain ratio decreases with the increase of the along-fiber diameter variation.     

Mechanical properties of wool fiber in the stretch breaking process

Short wool fibers obtained by the stretch breaking process can be blended with cotton fibers and processed in a cotton spinning system, which has a high production rate. For the structural property of the wool fiber after stretch breaking, the diameter and length of the wool fiber were measured as a function of time. The diameter of the broken fibers was finer than the diameter of untreated fibers. The fiber diameter at the break point was the finest and was more irregular than the original fiber. The broken fiber showed mechanical properties of increased modulus, decreased breaking strain, and increased breaking strength.     

The variability of mechanical properties and molecular conformation among different spider dragline fibers

Spider dragline fiber is a high-performance biomaterial that has received much attention. To screen the outstanding spider dragline fibers, the mechanical properties and microstructures of dragline fibers collected from Nephia clavata, Nephia pilipes, Argiope bruennichi and Argiope amoena were investigated. It was found that the mechanical properties of spider dragline fiber were variable. Among the four different species, the larger spiders did not always extrude thicker dragline fibers and produce fibers with the maximum breaking force. The dragline fibers could sustain one to three times the body weight of the spider at a reeling speed of 20 mm/s. N. clavata dragline fiber showed a stronger breaking stress and initial modulus than that of N. pilipes, A. bruennichi and A. amoena. With an increasing reeling speed, the breaking strain decreased; the initial modulus increased in N. clavata, N. pilipes and A. bruennichi, but the breaking stress exhibited a different tendency. The results also revealed that dragline fiber of N. clavata contained the most β-sheet polypeptides and an excellent orientation of β-sheet molecular chains.     

Influence of the draw ratio on the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of nanofilled thermoplastic polyurethane fibers

Electrically conducting textile fibers were produced by wet-spinning under various volume fractions using thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) as a polymer and carbon black (CB), Ag-powder, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), which are widely used as electrically conducting nanofillers. After applying the fiber to the heat drawing process at different draw ratios, the filler volume fraction, linear density, breaking to strength, and electrical conductivity according to each draw ratio and volume fraction. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images were taken. The breaking to strength of the TPU fiber containing the nanofillers increased with increasing draw ratio. At a draw ratio of 2.5, the breaking to strength of the TPU fiber increased by 105 % for neat-TPU, 88 % for CB, 86 % for Ag-powder, and 127 % for MWCNT compared to the undrawn fiber. The breaking to strength of the TPU fiber containing CB decreased gradually with increasing volume fraction, and in case of Ag-powder, it decreased sharply owing to its specific gravity. The electrical conductivity of the TPU fiber containing CB and Ag-powder decreased with increasing draw ratio, but the electrical conductivity of the TPU fiber containing MWCNT increased rapidly after the addition of 1.34 vol. % or over. The moment when the aggregation of MWCNT occurred and its breaking to strength started to decrease was determined to be the percolation threshold of the electrical conductivity. The heat drawing process of the fiber-form material containing the anisotropic electrical conductivity nanofillers make the percolation threshold of the electrical conductivity and the maximum breaking to strength appear at a lower volume fraction. This is effective in the development of a breaking to strength and electrical conductivity.     

Design and fabrication of tubular scaffolds via direct writing in a melt electrospinning mode

Flexible tubular structures fabricated from solution electrospun fibers are finding increasing use in tissue engineering applications. However it is difficult to control the deposition of fibers due to the chaotic nature of the solution electrospinning jet. By using non-conductive polymer melts instead of polymer solutions the path and collection of the fiber becomes predictable. In this work we demonstrate the melt electrospinning of polycaprolactone in a direct writing mode onto a rotating cylinder. This allows the design and fabrication of tubes using 20 μm diameter fibers with controllable micropatterns and mechanical properties. A key design parameter is the fiber winding angle, where it allows control over scaffold pore morphology (e.g. size, shape, number and porosity). Furthermore, the establishment of a finite element model as a predictive design tool is validated against mechanical testing results of melt electrospun tubes to show that a lesser winding angle provides improved mechanical response to uniaxial tension and compression. In addition, we show that melt electrospun tubes support the growth of three different cell types in vitro and are therefore promising scaffolds for tissue engineering applications.     

Effect of twist level on tyre cord performance

The effect of twist level on the mechanical and thermal properties of nylon 66 and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tyre cords has been studied. Effects of the twist on some critical cord properties such as tensile properties, shrinkage, shrink force, adhesion and fatigue have been evaluated. Breaking strength was decreased between 3.1 and 7.3 twist factor values, whereas breaking elongation was increased, on both nylon 66 and polyester cords. The tensile behaviour of high twist factor PET is similar to that of low twist factor nylon cords. This is an advantage for the possibility to get closer the properties of different materials by adjusting theirs twist factors. The shrinkage values increase with increasing twist factor, whereas shrinks force values decrease for greige nylons and polyester cords. Adhesion and fatigue resistance is increased with increasing twist factors.     

An investigation on the comparison of wet spinning and electrospinning: Experimentation and simulation

Polysulfonamide (PSA) has been widely used in many fields because of its excellent thermodynamic properties. In this study, PSA fibers were prepared separately via two different spinning ways, including conventional wet spinning and electrospinning. Fluid motion of wet spinning and electrostatic field of electrospinning were modeled using finite element analysis to investigate the spinning process. The properties of fabricated PSA fibers were characterized systematically by scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravity analysis (TGA) and electronic strength tester. Based on the simulation and theoretical analysis of spinning process, it was found that the extruding force of the wet spinning is larger than that of the electrospinning. The larger extruding force makes the alignment of macromolecules inside fiber relatively uniform, and a higher proportion of crystallization happens. Accordingly, the mechanical properties and thermal stability of PSA fibers could be improved due to a higher proportion of crystallization. The experimental results of mechanical strength and TG test are coincided with the simulation results. PSA fiber prepared by wet spinning has better thermal stability and mechanical properties than that fabricated by electrospinning.     

Comparison of artificial neural network and linear regression models for prediction of ring spun yarn properties. I. Prediction of yarn tensile properties

In this study artificial neural network (ANN) models have been designed to predict the ring cotton yarn properties from the fiber properties measured on HVI (high volume instrument) system and the performance of ANN models have been compared with our previous statistical models based on regression analysis. Yarn count, twist and roving properties were selected as input variables as they give significant influence on yarn properties. In experimental part, a total of 180 cotton ring spun yarns were produced using 15 different blends. The four yarn counts and three twist multipliers were chosen within the range of Ne 20–35 and α _e 3.8–4.6 respectively. After measuring yarn tenacity and breaking elongation, evaluations of data were performed by using ANN. Afterwards, sensitivity analysis results and coefficient of multiple determination (R²) values of ANN and regression models were compared. Our results show that ANN is more powerful tool than the regression models.     

Modeling the Fibrillation of Kevlar® KM2 Single Fibers Subjected to Transverse Compression

In this work, fibrillation is introduced as an energy absorbing mechanism in the modeling of Kevlar® KM2 single fibers subjected to quasi-static transverse compression. Fibrillation is simulated using a finite element model of the fiber cross-section containing discrete fibrils connected by interfibrillar cohesive zones. Model predictions of nominal stress-strain response for an assumed bilinear cohesive traction-separation interfibrillar behavior are compared to experimental data. Analysis shows that modeling of the microstructural fibril network, represented by a distribution of strong cohesive interactions, is necessary to capture the experimental response. The model provides valuable insight into the unique deformation mechanisms governing fiber fibrillation under transverse compression.     

Experimental and numerical analysis of fiber characteristics effects on fiber dispersion for wet-laid nonwoven

Dispersion and separation of fiber bundles into individual fibers, requires exposing them to a shear stress field to overcome inter-fiber frictional forces. To this end, fiber-mixing tanks are usually used to enhance shear and agitation in water and help the dispersion process. The required time and necessary agitation to separate and disperse fibers depend on fibers’ characteristics. It is well known that excessive agitation will give rise to the formation of rope defects in the output because of the high-energy vortices and optimizing the break up time is important in wet-lay process. In this work, experimental and numerical studies were done to investigate the effects of fiber characteristics on their dispersion in water for wet-laid nonwoven. The effective forces were analyzed using a one-way modeling of fiber behaviors in a stirred mixing tank. Results show that when the fiber diameter is increased, the required time for breaking up of fiber bundles and clumps is increased. The effects of fiber types on fibers break up and dispersing time, were also investigated. In the experimental work, an on-line vision system was designed to observe the dispersion behavior of polyester fibers. The effects of fiber length and fineness on the created defects (i.e. logs and ropes) in dispersion process, as well as on the dispersion speed, were studied. The results confirm that defects are increased by rising fiber length and fineness. It is also shown that increasing fiber length and fineness, decreases the required time for fiber clumps to be opened and reach a maximum number of individual fibers. On the other hand, when fiber length and fineness is increased, the dispersion speed increases.     

Enzymatic treatment on cotton fibers: degradation kinetics of pectin and influence of shape change on adsorption

Alkaline pectinase was one of the most effective enzymes to treat cotton as alternative agent to replace the conventional alkaline method. Removal of pectin and cutin was considered the explanation for improvement of wettability as well as water adsorption on cotton fiber. However, degradation kinetics of pectin is unclear, and the influence of fiber shape on property changes after enzymatic treatment was ignored. The main objective of this work was to reveal interactions between pectinase and cotton fiber for mechanism study. A heterogeneous catalysis kinetic equation, which is associated with Langmuir adsorption model and enzyme deactivation, was used to describe the heterogeneous catalysis. The enzymatic process conditions were optimized. Raw cotton fibers, pectinase-treated and alkali-treated fibers were characterized by impurities content determination, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Mechanism of water adsorption enhancement on treated fibers was discussed. In addition to elimination of the outer impurities, flat fibers with less twist and shape changes of lumen were also obtained to ensure better accessibility and water adsorption after enzymatic treatment.     

Effects of sodium hydroxide treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of lotus fibers

Lotus fibers were prepared from lotus stems through being treated with sodium hydroxide. The lotus fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermal analysis (TG and DTA). The results indicate that the length of lotus fibers ranges from 3.52 cm to 5.80 cm and the width of lotus fibers ranges from 50 μm to 90 μm. Lotus fibers belong to celluloses fiber with cellulose I structure and the crystallinity of lotus fibers is 48.50 %. The lotus fibers consist of cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, pectin, lipid and water-soluble substances. The effect of concentration of sodium hydroxide, time and temperature of treatment on removal of impurities, fineness and breaking strength of lotus fibers were investigated. The results suggest that the removal of impurities and breaking strength increase with the rise of concentration of the sodium hydroxide, time and temperature of treatment, respectively. However, the fineness of lotus fibers decreases with an increase in concentration of the sodium hydroxide, time and temperature of treatment. The results are expected to provide valuable guidance for preparation of lotus fibers through simple treatment with sodium hydroxide, which can be applied in textile industry.     

苎麻单纤维断裂强力统计特征研究

为了研究苎麻单纤维断裂强力的全貌与分布规律,通过采用等速伸长法测得其断裂强力,根据断裂强力的频数直方图的分布趋势,用正态分布的偏度、峰度等参数对其进行分析,用Q-Q图与Kolmogorov-Smirnov（以下简称K-S）检验法检验苎麻单纤维强力的正态性,总体上服从正态分布规律,但有一定偏差,不对称,为右偏尖峰态。同时提出了建立在统计基础上的苎麻单纤维断裂强力指标体系,即运用主体断裂强力、品质断裂强力、平均断裂强力、弱强纤维断裂强力和超强纤维强断裂力五个指标来表征单纤维断裂强力。     

Effect of fiber friction, yarn twist, and splicing air pressure on yarn splicing performance

The impact of fiber friction, yarn twist, and splicing air pressure on mechanical and structural properties of spliced portion have been reported in the present paper. The mechanical properties include the tensile and bending related properties and, in the structural properties, the diameter and packing density of the splices are studied. A three variable three level factorial design approach proposed by Box and Behnken has been used to design the experiment. The results indicate that there is a strong correlation between retained spliced strength (RSS) and retained splice elongation (RSE) with all the experimental variables. It has been observed that RSS increases with the increase in splice air pressure and after certain level it drops, whereas it consistently increases with the increase in yarn twist. The RSE increases with the increase in both fiber friction and yarn twist. It has also been observed that the yarn twist and splicing air pressure have significant influence on splice diameter, percent increase in diameter and retained packing coefficient, but the fiber friction has negligible influence on these parameters. Yarn twist and splicing air pressure has a strong correlation with splice flexural rigidity, where as poor correlation with retained flexural rigidity.     

The mechanism and/or prediction of the breaking elongation of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns

In this study, an analysis on the breaking elongation mechanism of the polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns has been carried out. In addition, a back propagation multi layer perceptron (MLP) network and a mixture process crossed regression model with two mixture components (polyester and viscose blend ratios) and two process variables (yarn count and rotor speed) are developed to predict the breaking elongation of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns. Seven different blend ratios of polyester/viscose slivers are produced and these slivers are manufactured with four different rotor speed and four different yarn counts in rotor spinning machine. In conclusion, ANN and statistical model both have given satisfactory predictions; however, the predictions of ANN gave relatively more reliable results than those of statistical models. Since the prediction capacity of statistical models is also obtained as satisfactory, it can also be used for breaking elongation (%) prediction of yarns because of its simplicity and non-complex structure. In addition, it is also found in this study that yarn count, rotor speed and breaking elongation of polyester-viscose fibers and the blend ratios of these fibers in the yarn have major effects on yarn breaking elongation.     

Low-temperature pyrolysis on jute fibers as a thermochemical modification method

Low-temperature pyrolysis up to 200, 250, 300 °C was conducted in order to remove non-cellulosic compounds without damaging the structure of the cellulose in jute fibers. The chemical, morphological, and mechanical aspects of prepared low-temperature pyrolyzed jute fibers were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, the wettability test in water/dichloromethane system, moisture content measurement, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and tensile test using universal testing machine (UTM). It was confirmed that hydrophilic compounds including absorbed water, low molecular weight compounds such as waxes, hemicellulose, and lignin were largely removed from the fibers. Increasing amounts of non-cellulosic compounds were removed as the maximum pyrolysis temperature was increased. The degree of hydrophilic nature of jute fibers were reduced by low-temperature pyrolysis and thus water absorptivity of pyrolyzed jute fibers was reduced as maximum pyrolysis temperature increased. Furthermore, XRD analysis and morphological studies by SEM indicated that the crystalline structure of native cellulose was rarely damaged after pyrolysis up to 300 °C. In case of mechanical properties, breaking tenacity and breaking strain of the fibers decreased with increasing maximum pyrolysis temperatures because flaws formed on the surface of pyrolyzed jute fibers acted as weak-links. In agreement with predictions made according to Weibull’s weakest-link theory, it was found that shortened pyrolyzed jute fibers could have higher breaking tenacities compared with raw jute fibers of the same length. In addition, the compatibility with hydrophobic matrix was investigated by the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) reinforced with jute fibers. Consequently, it was hypothesized that low-temperature pyrolysis could be used to process raw jute fibers for use as short fiber reinforcements in fiber-polymer systems or be a simple and effective pretreatment method for a wide range of further chemical treatments.