textile fibers

Prof. Aravin Prince Periyasamy

[email protected]

http://www.aravinprince.blogspot.in

Textile Fibers

Key Terms

Fabrics

Fibers

Natural Fibers

Regenerated Fibers

Synthetic Fibers

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Definition of Fibers…….

A morphological term for substances characterized by their flexibility,

fineness and high ratio of length to cross sectional area.

A unit of matter, either natural or manufactured, that forms the basic

element of fabrics and other textile structures.

It is defined as one of the delicate, hair portions of the tissues of a plant or

animal or other substances that are very small in diameter in relation to

there length.


A fiber is characterized by having a length at least 100 times its diameter or

width.

The term refers to units that can be spun into a yarn or made into a fabric by

various methods including weaving, knitting, braiding, felting, and twisting.

The essential requirements for fibers to be spun into yarn include a length of

at least 5 millimeters, flexibility, cohesiveness, and sufficient strength. Other

important properties include elasticity, fineness, uniformity, durability, and

luster.


Types of Fibers and Yarns Fibers are spun into yarn

Yarns are uninterrupted threads of textile fibers that are ready to be

turned into fabrics

Natural

Originate from natural sources

Plant (cellulosic) or animal (protein)

Manufactured, synthetic, or man-made (terms interchangeable)

Originate from chemical sources

May also be from regenerated or recycled sources


Natural Fibers Natural fibers are textile fibers made

from plants or animals

Cellulosic (from plants)

Cotton

From cotton plants

Flax (linen)

From flax stems

Jute (Jute stems)

Protein (from animals)

Silk

From cocoons of silkworms

Wool

From fleece (hair) of sheep or lambs


Characteristics of Natural Fibers

Natural fibers are usually: Absorbent Comfortable Cooler to wear Wrinkle more Shrink when washed

Important natural fibers are: Cotton Linen Jute Wool Silk


Cotton Cellulosic fiber

From “bolls” (seed pods) growing on bushes

“Environmentally friendly” cotton can be grown in a range of colors

Main textile products of China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt

Made into a wide range of wearing apparel


Cotton

Advantages: Comfortable

Absorbent

Good color retention

Dyes & prints well

Washable

Strong

Drapes well

Easy to handle and sew

Inexpensive

Disadvantages: Shrinks in hot water

Wrinkles easily

Weakened by perspiration and

sun

Burns easily

Affected by mildew


Linen (Flax) Flax is the fiber name; linen is the

fabric name.

World’s oldest textile fiber, dates

back to Stone Age 5,000 years.

Cellulosic fiber from stem of flax

plant.

Towels, sheets, and tablecloths

are called “linens”.


Advantages: Strong

Comfortable

Hand-washable or dry-cleanable

Absorbent

Dyes and prints well

Resists dirt and stains

Durable

Withstands high heat

Lint-free

Disadvantages: Wrinkles easily

Can be expensive

Shrinks

Burns easily

Affected by mildew and perspiration

Ravels

Difficult to remove creases

Shines if ironed

Linen (Flax)


Jute

Jute is a long, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong

threads.

The fibers are off-white to brown, and 1–4 meters (3–12 feet) long.

Bangladesh is the world’s largest exporter of jute. Jute is grown in the

same land-water area as rice and is a very difficult crop to grow and

harvest.

Other important jute export countries include India, China, Burma

(Myanmar), Pakistan, Nepal and Thailand.


Advantages

Great antistatic properties

Low thermal conductivity.

Moisture Regain properties is good

enough (about 13.75%).

100% Biodegradable; so it is

environment friendly fiber like Cotton.

Cheap in market.

Can be widely used in Agriculture

Sector, Textile Sector, Woven Sector,

Nonwoven Sector.

Jute Fiber can be blended with Natural

and Synthetic fibers.

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Disadvantages

•The crease resistance of Jute is very low.

•Drape Property is not good enough.

•Create Shade effect and becomes yellowish if sunlight

is used.

•If Jute is wetted it lose it’s strength.

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• Is a natural fiber extracted from the husk of coconut

• Products such as floor mats, doormats, brushes,

mattresses, etc.

• Technically, coir is the fibrous material found between the

hard, internal shell and the outer coat of a coconut.

• Other uses of brown coir (made from ripe coconut) are in

upholstery padding, sacking and horticulture.

• White coir, harvested from unripe coconuts, is used for

making finer brushes, string, rope and fishing nets.

Coir


Hemp

Hemp fiber was widely used throughout

history. Items ranging from rope, to

fabrics, to industrial materials were made

from hemp fiber.

Hemp was often used to make

sail canvas, and the word canvas derives

from cannabis.

Today, a modest hemp fabric industry

exists, and hemp fibers can be used in

clothing.

Pure hemp has a texture similar to linen.



• A native plant of Southeast Asia, banana is now

grown extensively in all tropical countries for fruit,

fiber or foliage.

• These fibers are obtained mainly from stem.

• The fibers obtained from the central core are of

lower quality compared to the fibbers obtained

mainly from pseudo stem. At present, banana fiber

is available in three qualities

Banana Fibers

.

• It is used to make fancy items like bags, table

mats, purses, etc and their latest venture is

weaving of banana fiber fabric

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Wool Protein fiber from sheep or lambs

Worsted wool is higher quality with long staple fibers (over 2 inches)

Natural insulator

The term wool can only apply to all animal hair fibers, including the hair of cashmere or angora goat

As well as the specialty hair fibers of camel, alpaca, llama, or vicuna


Advantages: Warm

Lightweight

Wrinkle-resistant

Absorbent

Dyes well

Comfortable

Durable

Creases well

Easy to tailor

Recyclable

Disadvantages: Affected by moths

Shrinks with heat and moisture

Needs special care, dry cleaning

Absorbs orders

Scratchy on skin

Weakens when wet

Harmed by bleach, perspiration

Wool


Silk •Silkworms spin cocoons in filaments

•Filament is a very long, fine, continuous thread

•It can take as many as 500 cocoons to create 1 blouse


Silk

Advantages: Soft

Drapes well


Very strong

Lightweight

Resists soil, mildew, and moths

Comfortable

Absorbent

Disadvantages: Expensive

Needs special care, dry cleaning

Stains with water

Yellows with age

Weakened by perspiration, sun, soap

Attacked by insects, silverfish


Sisal fibers Sisal is a perennial hardy plant, which

unlike the other fibers is not a

seasonal crop.

It can establish and easily grow in all

states of India covering sub humid to

arid and semiarid regions, which cover

major parts of India.


Pineapple(PINA) Fiber…

Piña is a fiber made from the leaves of a pineapple and is commonly used in the Philippines

It is sometimes combined with silk or polyester to create a textile fabric.

The people there used to extract fibers from pineapple leaves and through hand spinning, made a soft, sheer and a little stiff fabric- the piña fabric. It's regal and exotic!


Man Made Fibers

Manufactured Fibers Manufactured fibers are fibers created by a manufacturing process of any

substance that is not a fiber.

Cellulosic- from generated fibrous substance in plants.

Non-cellulosic or synthetic- made from petrochemical products.

Process Raw materials melted or dissolved to form thick syrup Liquid extruded through spinneret Extruded filaments stretched and hardened into fibers


Rayon •1st manufactured in 1894 by the American Viscose

Company

•Used during WW 1 for industrial products

•Derived from wood pulp, cotton linters, or vegetable

matter

•Rayon led to crepe, velvet, and satin fabrics


Advantages: Soft and comfortable

Drapes well

Durable

Highly absorbent


No static or pilling problems

Inexpensive

Colorfast

May be washable

Disadvantages: Wrinkles easily unless treated

Low resiliency

Heat sensitive

Susceptible to mildew

Stretches

Weakens when wet

Fabric shrinks if washed

May need dry cleaning

Rayon


Acetate Rayon

Advantages:

Luxurious appearance

Crisp (texture) soft hand

Wide range of colors; dyes and prints well

Drapes well

Resists shrinkage, moths, and mildew

Low moisture absorbency, relatively fast drying

No pilling, little static

Disadvantages: Requires dry cleaning

Weak

Heat sensitive

Poor abrasion resistance

Dissolved by nail polish remover (acetone)

•Developed in early 20th century

•Produced in 1924 by the Celanese Corporation

•Used to line coats and fabrics


Lyocell

Lyocell is the newest of the cellulosic manufactured fibers

Trade name is Tencel®

Advantages: Absorbent Biodegradable Strong Resists sunlight, aging, and abrasion

Disadvantages Susceptible to mildew

Used to Make: Reusable woven materials Fashion fabrics Soft denims shirts All rights are reserved 30

Bamboo


It is a regenerated cellulose fiber.

Bamboo fiber is 100% made from

bamboo through a high-tech process.

Fastest growing plant and takes only

3-4 years to reach maturity

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Advantage: •High strength, health care

•Anti- bacteria

•Moisture management and

•Soft hand feel

•Anti-static

•Perfect for Sensitive Skin

Disadvantage: •Poor spinability

•High cost (30 to 40 % higher than cotton)

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Corn Fiber

Trade name of this fiber is Ingeo.

Ingeo fiber combines the qualities of natural

and synthetic fibers in a new way.

Strength and resilience are balanced with

comfort, softness and drape in textiles. In

addition, Ingeo fiber has good moisture

management characteristics.

This means that Ingeo fiber is ideally suited to

fabrics from fashion to furnishings.


Advantages of Corn fiber

Good color fast (i.e. does not fade).

Wrinkle free (doesn’t need ironing).

Good Resilient - it doesn’t shrink.

Doesn’t absorb odors.

Has excellent soil release and stain resistance.

Has excellent performance when compared to other fibers.

Is hypoallergenic. Ingeo has never caused an allergic reaction in

independent testing.

Has excellent U.V. resistance (better than polyester).


Milk Fiber Milk Yarn is made from milk protein fibers.

To make it, milk is first dewatered, i.e. all the water content

is taken out from it and then it is skimmed.

New bio-engineering technique is then applied to make a

protein spinning fluid.

This fluid is suitable for wet spinning process through which

the final high-grade textile fiber is made.


Advantages


• Eco-friendly in nature.

• It can be considered as Green Product .

• More compatible to human skin.

• Milk fiber has sanitarian function.

• Comfortable, excellent water transportation & air permeability.

• Milk Fiber has the advantages natural Fiber combined with

synthetic Fiber.

Disadvantages of casein fiber

• It gets wrinkles easily after washing and needs to be ironed every time.

• It should not be washed in machine and that is because it's not a very hard fiber

• It has a low durability

• Due to abundance of other fabrics like polyester, milk fabric never really became that popular

• It is expensive

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Synthetic Fiber

Polyester

Advantages: Strong Crisp, but soft hand Resists stretching and shrinkage Washable or dry-cleanable Quick drying Resilient, resists wrinkles Abrasion resistant Resistant to most chemicals Colorfast Strong, durable Dyes well

Disadvantages: Low absorbency

Static and pilling problems

Synthetic fiber developed in the 1950’s by DuPont


Nylon

Advantages: Lightweight

Exceptional strength

Abrasion resistant

Easy to wash

Resists shrinkage and wrinkles

Resilient, pleat retentive

Fast drying, low moisture absorbency

Can be pre-colored or dyed in a wide range of colors

Resists damage from oil and many chemicals

Insulating properties

Disadvantages: Static and pilling

Poor resistance to sunlight

Low absorbency

Picks up oils and dyes in wash

Heat sensitive

•Invented in 1938 by DuPont

•1st synthetic fiber

•Made completely from petrochemicals in an experimental laboratory


Acrylic

Advantages:

Lightweight, soft, warm, wool-like hand

Dyes to bright colors

Machine washable, quick drying

Resilient, retains shape, resists shrinkage and wrinkles

Wool-like, cotton-like, or blended appearance

Excellent pleat retention

Resists moths, oil, chemicals

Disadvantages:

Low absorbency

Develops static

Pilling

Heat sensitive

Weak

Dissolved by nail polish remover (acetone)

•Manufactured in the 1950’s by DuPont.

•Originally used for blankets and sweaters because it resembled wool.

•Fiber composed of linear macromolecules having in the chain at least 85% by mass

of acrylonitrile repeating units.


Spandex Developed in 1959 by DuPont

Stretches over 500% without breaking

Advantages: Lightweight

Retains original shape

Abrasion Resistant

Stronger than rubber

Soft, smooth, supple

Resists body oils, perspiration, lotions, detergents

No static or pilling

Disadvantages: Whites yellow with age

Heat sensitive

Harmed by chlorine bleach

nonabsorbent


Microfibers Newest trend in fashion

1st developed in 1989 by DuPont

Ultra-fine fiber

Denier is a unit of measurement used to identify the

thickness of diameter of a fiber

Advantages

Extremely drapeable

Very soft, luxurious hand

Washable or dry cleanable

Shrink-resistant

Strong

Insulates against wind, rain, and cold

Disadvantages

Heat sensitive


Kevlar & Nomex

Advantages

Exceptional strength

Exceptional heat and

flame resistance

Resistant to stretch and

abrasion

Disadvantages

Not absorbent


Kevlar

Bullet Proof Vests

Cut/Heat and Chemical

resistant Gloves

Nomex

Fireman Uniforms

Racing Apparel


The End



Aravin Prince Periyasamy Asst Prof/ Textile Technology

D.K.T.E Society’s Textile Engineering College, Ichalkaranji

Dist-Kolhapur, M.S, 415116

[email protected]

http://www.aravinprince.blogspot.in

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