Abstract
Animal protein-based fibers used in textiles often are assumed to have uniform properties independent of source, and yet are different when considering texture, structure, and color. Differences between fibers from animal species have been studied in regard to general flammability behavior, but differences between fibers from breeds of the same species have not been studied. Fibers from two sheep breeds (Jacob, CVM/Romeldale) and two camelids (Alpaca, Llama) were studied for flammability effects on fabrics hand knit from yarns made from these different fibers. A total of five different yarns were studied: 100% Jacob, 100% CVM/Romeldale, 100% Alpaca, 50% Llama/Merino wool, and 50% Alpaca/Merino wool. Flammability was studied with cone calorimeter, microcombustion calorimeter, and vertical flame spread techniques. The results from this limited study demonstrate that there are differences between fibers from different breeds and differences between species, but the differences cannot be easily explained on the basis of inherent heat release or chemistry of the fiber. Sometimes yarn density and the tightness of the knit have more of an effect on self-extinguishment in vertical flame spread tests than does fiber heat release/chemistry. Pure Alpaca fiber, however, displays self-extinguishing behavior and low heat release when subjected to combustion conditions. This may be related to the amount of sulfur in its chemical structure, and its ability to be spun into a yarn which yields a tighter hand-knit density.
Highlights
Recent work has found that, in regard to flammability, animal fibers tend to show similar behavior at the milligram scale in that they melt and char, some differences can be seen among fibers from different animal species [1]
D6413).calorimeter), These tests were chosen from to understand thefabrics inherent heat E1354), release from the fibers, heat release from the woven fabrics (ASTM E1354), and effects of fiber structure and chemistry on flame spread from a spot ignition source relevant to textile fire safety (ASTM D6413)
The vertical burn results, unlike the cone calorimeter results, differentiate more between the fiber types, and the results suggest that animal fiber source, which affects the density of the knit, may play a role in the vertical flame spread behavior and whether the samples self-extinguish once exposed to flame
Summary
Recent work has found that, in regard to flammability, animal fibers tend to show similar behavior at the milligram scale in that they melt and char, some differences can be seen among fibers from different animal species (sheep, goat, camel, rabbit, etc.) [1]. While the chemical structure of most protein-based fibers from animals has some definite similarity [2], the fibers clearly differ between species in regard to physical structure. These differences in physical structure often translate into clear visual and textural differences ( known as “hand”) when these fibers are spun into textiles. Differences in fibers between animal breeds of the same species exist, with different sheep producing wool of greatly different visual and textural properties [3,4]. It can be assumed that the fibers produced from the same species, but different breeds, will be the same chemically, and yet they can have greatly different visual and textural properties. Finding animal fibers as a function of breed per species, is not an easy task due to how animal fibers are typically consumed for textile use
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