Silk fiber
Introduction:
According to legend, almost 5000 years
ago the Chinese empress Si Ling Shi observed a silk caterpillar spinning itself
into a cocoon. She unraveled the filament and made a fabric from them.
Animal fiber produced
by certain insect and arachnids as building material for cocoons and webs, some
of which can be used to make fine fabrics. In commercial use, silk is almost
entirely limited to filaments from the cocoons of
domesticated silkworms.
Origin
and production:
To obtain silk, workers stifle the larvae and boil the cocoons in a carefully controlled bath to loosen the sericin
coating. The end of the filament is brushed off the cocoon and, along with ends
from one or two other cocoons, unwound. This process is known as reeling,
the filaments are usually twisted to form a silk yarn of
about 6 to 8 denier.
The most important producing areas are:
1.
China
2. Former USSR
3. Thailand
4. Japan
5. Korea
2. Former USSR
3. Thailand
4. Japan
5. Korea
Sample of fiber:
Identification:
Identifying silk fiber by the following methods.
1.
Burning Test: The smell of burning silk is as like as horn or hair.
2. Combustion: Small flame, slowly self extinguishing.
3. Sulphuric acid: Dissolves, destroyed.
4. Residue: Black, friable cinder, weighted silk leaves a crystalline ash. Where wool will have the smell of burning hair but the silk will have a much more disagreeable smell.
2. Combustion: Small flame, slowly self extinguishing.
3. Sulphuric acid: Dissolves, destroyed.
4. Residue: Black, friable cinder, weighted silk leaves a crystalline ash. Where wool will have the smell of burning hair but the silk will have a much more disagreeable smell.
Characteristics
properties:
Silk threads are
very fine, soft and light in weight. They are very thin but strong having high
elastic property.
Physical
properties:
1. Tensile strength: Silk as a fiber, has good tensile strength.
2. Co lour: The color of silk fiber could be yellow, brown, green or gray.
3. Luster: Bright
4. Composition: The silk fiber is chiefly composed of 80% of fibroin, which is protein in nature and 20% of sericin, which is otherwise called as silk gum.
5. Elasticity: Silk fiber is an elastic fiber and may be stretched from 1/7 to 1/5 of its original length before breaking.
6. Moisture Regain: Standard moisture regain is 11% but can absorb up to 35%.
7. Resiliency: Silk fabrics retain their shape and have moderate resistance to wrinkling. Fabrics that are made from short – staple spun silk have less resilience.
8. Effect of Heat: Silk is sensitive to heat and begins to decompose at 330° F (165° C). The silk fabrics thus have to be ironed when damp.
2. Co lour: The color of silk fiber could be yellow, brown, green or gray.
3. Luster: Bright
4. Composition: The silk fiber is chiefly composed of 80% of fibroin, which is protein in nature and 20% of sericin, which is otherwise called as silk gum.
5. Elasticity: Silk fiber is an elastic fiber and may be stretched from 1/7 to 1/5 of its original length before breaking.
6. Moisture Regain: Standard moisture regain is 11% but can absorb up to 35%.
7. Resiliency: Silk fabrics retain their shape and have moderate resistance to wrinkling. Fabrics that are made from short – staple spun silk have less resilience.
8. Effect of Heat: Silk is sensitive to heat and begins to decompose at 330° F (165° C). The silk fabrics thus have to be ironed when damp.
Uses:
Silk is used for dresses, blouses,
underwear, formal dress, gloves, ties, hats, carpets, bedclothes and umbrellas
etc.
How to make Silk fiber?
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