Properties of Textile Fibers

Properties of Textile Fibers: Key Characteristics and Their Applications

Suprovath Kumar Sarker
Research Fellow
Institute for Developing Science & Health
Email: s.suprovath@gmail.com

Introduction:

The basic component of every garment product is fiber, which is made of different kinds of material. Fiber quality varies according to the properties of the material used to syntactic the fiber. In the next few paragraphs, I will explain some properties of fiber-constituting material that are used for the synthesis of different kinds of fibers, and these properties of materials have a substantial effect on fiber quality.

Properties of Textile Fibers:

Every material has some properties. The textile fiber also has some properties.

Textile fibers properties are:–

1. Physical Properties.
2. Thermal Properties.
3. Chemical Properties.
   

   Chemical Properties Testing

1. Physical Properties:

Length: Man-made fiber (MMF) length depends on desire, whereas the length of nature fibers length varies largely.

Length  can be measured by the following three ways:

a. Average length.

b. Effective length

c. Staple length.

Staple length can be of three types:

a. Short length (<2”)

b. Medium length (2-4”)

c. Long length (>4”)

Length affects some fiber properties such as strength, processing, appearance, etc.

Strength and Extension: Strength means the capacity of a fiber to support a load, which is called Tenacity.

Flexibility: The property to resist repeated bending and folding is known as flexibility.

Cohesiveness: Cohesiveness means the capacity of the fibers to hold together during spinning,g which depends on fiber crimp and the twisting process.

Fineness: The quality of the fibers is described by fineness. It is also expressed by the term denier. Fineness affects yarn count, strength and regularity.

Cross section: It gives an idea about strength, fineness and surface appearance that varies from fiber to fiber. It helps to increase luster of fiber. It has an effect in twisting and bending.

Crimp: The waviness of a fiber. It increases the cohesiveness of fiber and gives increased warmth to fabric. It also maintains fabric softness, thickness, and absorbency.

Elasticity: It is the power of recovery from deformation. According to the condition and surrounding environment, fiber may be plastic or elastic.

Density:  Density indicates the mass per unit volume.

Elongation: Elongation is the capacity to be prolonged or lengthened which is define as a percentage of the initial length of fiber. Fiber elongations differ at different temperature level.

2. Thermal Properties:

Amorphousness:  Amorphous region of the fiber is the region where the amorphous orientation of the polymer is present. In an amorphous region the polymers are oriented or aligned at random.

Crystallinity: crystalline region of the fiber means where crystalline orientation of polymers is found. In the crystalline area, Hydrogen bonding and Vander Walls forces occur.

3. Chemical Properties:

Water: Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic are the two classifications of fiber according to the interaction of fiber with water. The fiber that has no joint for water is less absorbent and is called hydrophobic.

Absorbency: Absorbency means the ability of the fiber to retain water, which depends on the ratio of the fiber’s amorphous and crystalline regions because this ratio determines the polarity of the polymers.

Acid:  Interaction of different fiber with acid variable. To avoid the harmful effect on five,r different acids should be chosen carefully which will not harm fiber but bring the required change during the manufacturing process.

Alkali: Like acid interaction of fiber varies with the different alkalies. Such as mild alkali doesn’t have any harmful effect on wool but a high concentration of caustic soda has a harmful effect on wool.