Fiber and yarn manufacturing

technology
TFM 1305
natural and synthetic fibers, yarns, and classification
 What are Fibers?
• Fibers are the basic units of all textiles. Textiles are a
form of cloth or fabric from which clothing and other
items are made. Fibers are put together to form a
continuous strand, making a yarn. Yarns are woven or
knitted together to make fabrics.
 Textile Fibres and their properties
Fibre properties
• Fibers contribute to fabrics performance. Form example strong fibres contribute to the durability of the
fabrics.
• Absorbent fibers are used for apparel that comes in contact with the skin and for towels and diapers
• Fire resistant fibers are used for children’s sleepwear and firefighters
• To analyse and predict a fabric’s performance, start with the fibre.
• Knowledge of fiber properties will help you understand the fibres' contribution to the performance of a
fabric and the product made form it.
• Fiber properties are determined by their physical structures, chemical composition and molecular
arrangement
 Fiber Characteristics

• Knowledge of fiber characteristics will help you select the right

fabric for your needs.
▪ Strength: the ability to withstand pulling and twisting. Tensile strength
▪ Shrinkage: the ability to maintain size.
▪ Warmth: the ability to maintain body temperature.
▪ Durability: the ability to hold up to repeated usage.
▪ Absorbency: the ability to take in moisture.
▪ Wicking: the ability to pull moisture away from the body and toward
the surface of the fabric where it can evaporate quickly.
Fiber Characteristic Continued (2)

▪ Wrinkle Resistance: the ability to resist creasing.

▪ Resiliency: the ability to spring back when crushed or wrinkled.
▪ Elasticity: the ability to return to its original size.
▪ Shape Retention: the ability to retain the original shape.
▪ Abrasion Resistance: the ability to withstand rubbing.
▪ Luster: the natural sheen or shine of some fibers.
▪ Static Resistance: the ability to withstand the buildup of electricity.
Fiber Characteristic Continued (2)

▪ Fiber length : Staple and filament fibers

▪ Fiber count: the yarn count is used to express how fine or coarse
(or thin or thick) the yarn is. We use the English count numbering
system, which is part of a larger group known as indirect counting
systems. Denier, a unit of measure for the linear mass density of
fibers, is the mass in grams per 9000 meters of the fiber
Groups of Fibers

• There are two main groups of fibers.

▪Natural fibers which are made from natural
sources—plants and animals.
▪Manufactured fibers which are made from
chemicals in factories.
What is textile : Textile fiber types
Fibers are classified by their
chemical origin, falling into two
groups or families: natural fibers
and manufactured fibers.
General classification
of fibers based on
chemical composition
of fibers
Natural Fibers
Natural Fibers

• The most common natural fibers are cotton, linen, wool, and
silk. Natural fibers vary in quality depending on the kind of
animal or plant and the growing conditions. The fibers must
be cleaned before they can be made into yarns. Supplies of
natural fibers vary, according to the season. They each have
unique characteristics that cannot be copied by science.
• There are two categories of Natural Fibers:
1. Cellulosic Fibers
2. Protein Fibers
Cellulosic Fibers
Cotton

• Cellulosic Fibers come from plant

sources. There are many kinds of
cellulosic fibers, but few are used in
fabric. Cotton, and flax are the main
cellulosic fibers that are used in the
fashion industry.

Flax
 Cotton fibers
Cotton fiber length:
• Fiber length is critical in processing of fibers and yarns and in the
translation of fiber strength to yarn strength. In general, a longer
fiber length is preferred
• Textile fibers are either staple or filament length. Staple fibers
range from 2 to 46 cm; filament fibers are of infinite length
• Staple length is reported as the average length of the longer half of
the fibers (normally called “upper-half-mean” length), measured by
clamping a fiber sample, then combing and brushing to make the
fibers straight and parallel
• Cotton fiber staple length depend on the country of origin of cotton
seed
 Cotton fibers
• Under a microscope, a cotton fiber appears as a very fine,
regular fiber, looking like a twisted ribbon or a collapsed and
twisted tube. These twists are called convolutions
• It is widely used natural fiber It is a soft, fluffy staple fiber
that grows in a boll, or protective capsule
• Cotton consists typically of between 88 to 96% cellulose
with the rest being protein, pectic substances (congealed
gum-like carbohydrates), ash and wax. After scouring and
bleaching, cotton is then about 99 % cellulose.
• The fiber length varies with the type and quality, within the
range 10 to 65 mm; the fiber diameter ranges from 11 to 22
μm
• Cotton is a relatively strong fiber with a strength of 25 to 35
cN/tex and a breaking elongation of 7 to 9 %. It is stronger
when wet. Cotton also absorbs moisture readily, which
makes cotton clothes comfortable to wear in warm weather
(water retention of 50 %, moisture regain of 7 %)
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton
fiber
The typical components of dry mature
cotton fibres are shown in Figs.
Most of the non-cellulosic materials are
present in the outer layers of cotton fibre
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of
cotton fiber
• Cotton fibre has a fibrillar structure which consists of a
cuitical, primary wall, a secondary wall and a lumen

• Cotton fibres have a multi layered structure that has

been studied for nearly a century.
• The structure of the primary cell wall of the cotton
fibre, and particularly the outer surface layer (the
cuticle), has a major influence on fibre properties,
processing and use
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton fiber
• Under a microscope a cotton fibre looks like a twisted
ribbon or a collapsed and twisted tube
• These twists are called convolutions: there are about
60 convolutions per centimetre. The convolutions give
cotton an uneven fibre surface, which increases inter-
fibre friction and enables fine cotton yarns of
adequate strength to be spun.
• The cross-section of a cotton fibre is often described
as being kidney-shaped.
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton fiber
• The primary wall comprises non-cellulosic materials and amorphous cellulose in which the
fibrils are arranged in a criss-cross pattern
• Owing to the non-structured orientation of cellulose and non-cellulosic materials, the
primary wall surface is unorganized and open.
• This gives flexibility to the primary wall, which is
required during cell growth
• The basic ingredients responsible for the
complicated interconnections in the primary wall
are cellulose, hemicelluloses, pectins, proteins and
ions
• The secondary wall, in which only crystalline
cellulose is present, is highly ordered and has a
compact structure with the cellulose fibrils lying
parallel to one another
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton fiber
• Cellulose molecules in the
cotton yarn is arranged as
amorphous region and
crystalline region
• The hydrogen bonding between
molecules makes the cotton
fabrics easy to crease
• Anti creasing finishes makes
permeant intermolecular
crosslinking which will block the
hydrogen bong formation
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton fiber
• The outermost layer, the cuticle is a thin film of mostly
fats and waxes.
• The waxy layer forms a thin sheet over the primary
wall that forms grooves on the cotton surface
 Cotton fibers
Physical structure of cotton fiber
• SEM images of the different layers. (a)
Fibres from desized cotton fabric; (b)
amorphous wax surface of the desized
cotton fibre; (c) network of primary wall of
cotton fibre and (d) secondary wall of cotton
fibre
 Cotton fibers
Amount
Chemical Component (dry Main location
Primary
wall (%)
basis)%
composition of Cellulose 94 Secondary wall 48
cotton fiber Protein 1.3 Lumen 12
Pectin substance 0.9 Primary wall 12
Oil, fat & wax 0.6 Cuticle 7
Ash 1.2 3
Malic, citric and
other organic 0.8 Lumen 14
acids
Total sugar 0.3 Primary wall
Pigment Trace
Others 0.9
 Cotton fibers
Chemical composition
Cellulose (approximately 90% of cotton composition):
• Cellulose content of the raw cotton fiber ranges from 88 to 96 %. Cellulose is a polymer of ß-D-glucose
with a specific configuration shown in figure. The cellobiose, repeating unit of cellulose, consist of two
beta glucose molecules linked together at the 1:4 carbon atoms. Each successive glucose unit is rotated
180 degree around the molecular axis. This gives a linear polymer chain that is almost flat therefore
suitable for fiber formation.

About 5000 cellobiose units are present in cotton that is

degree of polymerization of cotton is 5000.