A Few Notes About Fiber Chemistry

1. All fibers are formed from polymers, are not the only products containing polymers

2. Polymer means many units. Each individual molecule is known as monomer and the process of joining all the monomers together to form long chain molecules (polymers) is known as polymerisation.

3. The degree of polymerisation is the number of monomers units in the polymer. These may be of same type ( a homopolymer ) or two different randomly arranged monomers ( a copolymer)

4. There are two types of polymerisation: addition polymerisation, where all the atoms present in the monomers are also present in the polymer and condensation polymerisation where some small molecules are eliminated during polymerisation.

5. Polypropylene and acrylic polymers are produced by addition polymerisation.

6. Polyester, polyamide, wool, silk, cotton, flax, jute and viscose polymers are produced by condensation polymerisation.

7 There are three types of intermolecular forces. In decending order of strength: they are hydrogen bonds, polar bonds and Van der Waal's forces.

8. The properties of polymers for good fiber formation are: high degree of polymerisation, good intermolecular forces, linear and regular arrangement of monomers, high orientation of molecules and an inflexible repeat unit.

9. Crystalline regions are highly ordered areas within the fibers. They give the fiber its tensile and rigidity properties.

10. Amorphous regions are where the molecules are not closely packed within the fibers. They give the fiber its flexibility, extensibility and elasticity.

11. In natural fibers, crystalline regions develop as the fiber grows. In MMF, the ratio of crystalline to amorphous regions can be altered by drawing and heat setting.

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Cloth setting and Fabric Geometry Theories

1. Fractional Cover is defined as d/p where d is the diameter of the yarn and p is the thread spacing.

2. There are various theories for calculation of yarn diameter. According to Law yarn diameter d is equal to 1/ sqrt (Fn) where F is 500 for worsted yarn, 800 for cotton yarns, 530 for woolen n being worsted and cotton and Yorkshire count respectively. According to Ashenhurst yarn diameter d = 1/(F sqrt(N)), where F is .95, .9,.84 for cotton, worsted and woolen yarns respectively and n= yds/lb. According to Pierce, yarn diameter is 1/(28 sqrt(N) where N is the English count.

3. Ashenhurst Diameter  intersection theory says that when the count of warp and weft are the same, it is assumed that an intersection takes up as much space as a thread. Then Threads/inch (T) can be determined as equal to D x W/ (W+I) where D is the diameter per inch of yarn, W is the threads in one repeat of weave and I are the intersection in one repeat of weave. For plain weave W =2, I=2 for 2/1 twill weave, W=3 and I = 2.

4. Curvature theory says that T = D x W/ ( W +.732 I), the notations being the same as in point 3.

5. Armitage Maximum Setting Theory says that cloths which are similarly built are equally firm. For regular twill weaves Threads per inch (T) = Sqrt (6 x C(F+4)) where C are the counts of worsted yarn and F is the average float of weave. For other weaves, Armitage gave the following “setting ratio” instead of (F +4). For plain weave it is 4.75, for 2/2 hopsack it is 6.25, for 4 end satin it is 6.5 for 5 end, 6 end and 8 end satin it is 7.5, 7.75 and 9.0 respectively.

6. Laws Maximum Setting suggests that T = ((D x F)/ (F+1) )+ various percentages where F is the average float and D is the diameter per inch. For common weaves like plain weave T = ( D X 1)/(F+I), for twill weave T= ((DF)/(F+1))+ 5% for each float exceeding two, for satin weave T = ((DF)/(F+1))+5.5% for each float, for hopsack weaves T= ((DxF)/(F+1))+ 4.5% for 2 floats and 9.5% for floats exceeding two.

7. Brierjey’s Maximum Setting suggests that square settings vary according to the formula T= sqrt (KC x (F)^m) where C is the average count of yarn, F is the average float, K is a constant varying according to kind of yarn and numbering system: it is 134 for worsted yarn, 200 for cotton yarn and 60 for york shire yarn. m is a constant varying according to the type of weave: For twill weaves it is 0.39, for Satin weaves it is 0.42 and for plain and hopsack weaves it is 0.45.

An amazing treatment on fabric geometry is done in this presentation.

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Why Wool Feels Warm

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Why Wool is Warm to Wear- Heat of Sorption

When a fiber absorbs water, heat is evolved. It results from the attractive forces between the fiber and water molecules. The phenomenon occurs due to the fact that when moisture vapour is absorbed into fiber’s internal structure, it transforms from gas to liquid and the phase change produces the rise in temperature.

It is calculated by heat of wetting. It is the heat evolved when a specimen of the material at a given regain, whose dry mass is one gram is completed is completed wetted.

It is expressed in joules per gram ( of dry material)

The heat of wetting is greatest for the more highly absorbing fibers and is very small in the non-hygroscopic fibers. Thus it is 113 J/g for wool, 106 for viscose, 69 for silk, 55 for flax, 46 for cotton , 73 for mercerized cotton and only 34, 31,5 and 7 respectively for Acetate, Nylon, Polyester and Acrylic.

As we can see from the figures above, wool has the highest heat of sorption. And this heat raises the temperature of the wearer which makes the wool feel warmer. In fact “the heat of sorption from a kg of Merino can be equivalent to the output from an electric blanket over eight hours” (Source ).

You can also find some discussion on Heat of Sorption here.

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Why Fiber Fineness is so Important

Why Fiber Fineness is So Important

It has been known since long that fiber fineness plays an important role in determining the quality of resultant yarn and hence that of the resultant fabrics. In general fiber fineness is important due to the following factors:

1. It affects Stiffness of the Fabric

As the fiber fineness increases, resistance to bending decreases. It means the fabric made from yarn of finer fiber is less stiff in feel. It also drapes better.

2. It affects Torsional Rigidity of the Yarn

Torsional rigidity means ability to twist. As fiber fineness increases, torsional rigidity of the yarn reduces proportionally. Thus fibers can be twisted easily during spinning operation. Also there will be less snarling and kink formation in the yarn when the fine fibers are used.

3. Reflection of Light

Finer fibers also determine the luster of the fabric. It is so because they there are so many number of fibers per unit area that they produce a soft sheen. This is different from Hard glitter produced by the coarser fibers. Also the apparent depth of the shade will be lighter in case of fabrics made with finer fibers than in case of coarser fibers.

4. Absorption of Dyes

The amount of dye absorbed depends upon the amount of surface area accessible for dye out of a given volume of fibers. Thus finer fibers leads to quicker exhaustion of dyes than coarser fiberes.

5. Ease in Spinning Process

Finer fibers leads to more fiber cohesion because the number of surfaces are more so cohesion due to friction is higher. Also finer fibers lead to less amount of twist because of the same increased force of friction. Which means yarns can be spun finer with the same amount of twist as compared to coarser fibers. Which also means that the yarns will be softer.

6. Uniformity of Yarn and Hence Uniformity in the Fabric

Uniformity of yarn is directly proportional to the number of fibers in the cross fibers. Hence finer the fiber, the more uniform is the yarn. When the yarn in uniform lit leads to other desirable properties such as better tensile strength, extensibility and luster. It also leads to fewer breakages in spinning and weaving. In fact fiber fineness is one of the dominant factor in determining the limiting count to which a yarn can be spun.

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