Download Bull

TEXTILE FIBER PROPERTIES
1.
Define the terms.
a. Textile fiber: The basic unit from which textile products are made.
b. Yarn: A continuous strand of fibers used to weave or knit fabrics.
c. Natural fiber: Found in nature in fibrous (fine and threadlike) form.
Cellulose and protein are the two major categories of natural fibers.
d. Manufactured fiber: Produced either from raw materials found in
nature, or synthesized from chemicals. They are broadly divided into
regenerated cellulose, regenerated protein, synthetic, mineral, or
rubber.
e. Generic fiber name: The name given to a manufactured fiber based on
the chemical composition.
f. Trademark fiber name: The name assigned to a fiber that meets the
specific criteria. The “tm” symbol after the name indicates a trademark
and “r” indicated a registered trademark. Trademarks and Registered
Trademarks are used to protect these products from being copied or
counterfeited. For manufactured fibers the fiber manufacturer typically
assigns the trademark. For natural fibers, the owner of the trademark
name may be a company or an organization other than the producer.
g. Staple fiber: Short fibers that are all natural fibers (except silk) are
staple fibers.
h. Filament fiber: Long continuous fibers extending for great lengths. Silk
is the only natural filament fiber. All manufactured fibers are produced
as filament fibers.
i.
Micro fibers: Synthetic fiber finer that one or 1.3 denier or decitex/
thread.
j.
Warp yarn: The yarns that run the length of the woven fabric.
k. Filling yarn: In weaving the weft is the term for the thread or yarn that is
drawn through the wrap yearns to create cloth. Warp is the lengthwise
or longitudinal thread in a roll, while weft is transvers thread.
l.
Denier A unit of weight by which the fineness of silk, rayon, or nylon
yarn is measured, equal to the weight in grams of 9,00 meters of the
yarn and often used to describe the thickness of hosiery.
2.
Describe the following:
a. Textile Fiber Products Identification Act
The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, also known as the “Textile Labeling
Rule”, that requires brands to attach a label to cover the textile products which
contains the generic names and percentages by weight of each fiber in the
product, the name under which the manufacturer or other responsible party does
business or RN number, and the name of the country in which the product was
processed or manufactured.
b. Wool Products Labeling Act
The Federal Trade Commission requires anyone who manufactures or sells
products containing wool to accurately label each item with the fiber content and
origin. Also any violations of the act can result in seizure and destruction of
mislabeled goods, civil fines, and/or criminal penalties.
TEXTILE FIBER PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS: DEFINITION OF
TERMS
Physical Properties
1. Color: Though dependent on the fiber source, most fibers are white or offwhite. The dyeing process is eliminated for naturally colored fibers.
2. Shape: The shape of other manufactured fibers can be changed to
influence performance.
3. Luster: A fiber’s sheen or shine is dependent on the light reflected from its
surface.
4. Covering power: Ability to hide what is underneath.
5. Surface contour: A microscope view is used to view the surface contour
(longitudinal view) and shape (cross-section) of fibers. The longitudinal
view and cross-section are used to identify natural fibers.
6. Crimp: Referring to the fibers waviness; Crimp can be added to
manufactured fibers. Crimp affects resiliency, resistance to abrasion,
stretch, cohesiveness, bulk, warmth, absorbency, luster, and skin comfort.
7. Length: Fibers are broadly divided into staple and filament fibers based on
their length. Fiber length is typically used to determine the quality of
natural staple fibers such as cotton or wool. The fiber length affects fabric
appearance, strength, and hand.
8. Diameter: The width of the cross section. It is measured differently in
natural fibers than manufactured fibers.
9. Specific gravity: Compares the mass of a fiber to an equal volume of
water.
Mechanical Properties
1. Textile strength: Also known as tenacity, it is the fibers strength per unit
size.
2. Modulus: The fiber’s resistance to extension.
3. Elongation: A measure of the fiber’s ability to extend when it is pulled
along its length until it breaks. The value reported is the length at the
breaking point.
4. Elastic recovery: The ability of the fiber to return to its original length after
it has been stretched. In determining elastic recovery, the material being
tested is extended a specific amount; it is not extended up to the breaking
point as it is when evaluation elongation.
5.
Resiliency: The ability of the fiber to recover after it has been deformed by
compression. Resilience of a fiber affects wrinkle recovery of fabrics whether
during garment wear or in the laundry.
6.
Flexibility: The fibers ability to bend or fold without breaking. Flexibility
affects fabric hand and drape. It also affects resistance to flex and edge
abrasion.
7.
Dimensional stability: The ability of a material to hold its shape over a
period of time and under specific conditions.
8.
Abrasion resistance: The ability of a fabric to resist surface wear caused
by flat rubbing contact with another material.
Chemical Properties
1.
Absorbency: A fibers ability to take up water.
2.
Electrical conductivity:
3.
Effect of heat: Fibers that melt when heated or burned are known as
thermoplastic fibers. The reaction of a fiber to heat is determined by the
chemical composition and physical structure of the polymers. Exposure of the
fiber to heat or flame can be used to identify a fiber group.
4.
Flammability: The quality of being ignited and burning rapidly.
5.
Chemical reactivity and resistance: Chemical reactivity is the reactions of
a single substance and chemical resistance is the ability of solid materials to
resist damage by chemical reactivity or solvent action.
Environmental Properties
1.
Sensitivity to microorganisms and insects: Fibers like cotton and
regenerated cellulosic get discolored and eventually rots by microorganisms like
mold and mildew; most synthetic fibers remain unaffected by microorganisms.
2.
Sensitivity to environmental conditions: Exposure to sunlight and air
pollution will cause some fibers to deteriorate.
TEXTILE FIBER PROPERTIES AND CHARACTERISTICS STUDY GUIDE
1.
What are the general common properties and characteristics of the
following groupings of fibers?
a.
Cellulose (natural): The general common properties of natural
cellulose fibers, obtained from plant sources, are sub-divided based on the part
of the plant from which the fiber is obtained.
b.
Proteins: The natural proteins in fibers are obtained from animal
sources, are broadly divided into two sub- categories based on their source.
c. Cellulose (manufactured): The general properties of
manufactured cellulosic fibers are that they are low strength,
weaker when wet than dry, low abrasion resistance, ignite easily
and burn rapidly, oftern damaged by insects, mold and mildew.
d. Synthetic long chain polymers: A polymer that is manufactured
in industry from chemical substances through the polymerization
process.
Identify the significance of the following terms:
a.
mercerization: The significance of mercerization is that it’s a chemical
treatment applied to cotton fibers or fabrics to permanently impart a greater
affinity for dyes and various chemical finishes.
b.
green cotton:
c,
organic cotton: The only cotton that meets the criteria set for organic
products can be labeled as organic cotton.
d.
beetling: Used to make linen or cotton fabrics hard, flat, and very shinny.
e.
Merino wool: A material made from one of the worlds most ancient breeds
of sheep.
f.
virgin wool:
g.
h.
lamb’s wool:
sericulture:
i.
wild silk:
j.
raw silk:
k.
duppioni silk:
l.
pure dye silk:
Define the following terms:
a.
Hydrophobic –
b.
Hydrophilic –
c.
Olephilic –
d.
Wicking –
Sample #43 Fiber content: __________________________________________
Fabric name: __________________________________________
Sample #84 Fiber content: _________________________________________
Fabric name: __________________________________________
Using these samples as a “base”, compare and contrast the fiber properties of
Natural and manufactured/synthetic fibers (of course, there are natural and
Manufactured fibers other than cotton and polyester):