-FIBER- - -KINGDOM OF JOGA-

-as of [11 DECEMBER 2024]-

*from latin ‘fibra’*

-‘fiber’ (or ‘fibre’) is a ‘natural’/’man-made’ substance that is significantly ‘longer’ than it is ‘wide’-

Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials.

The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.

Synthetic fibers can often be produced very cheaply and in large amounts compared to natural fibers, but for clothing natural fibers can give some benefits, such as comfort, over their synthetic counterparts

Natural fibers

Natural fibers develop or occur in the fiber shape, and include those produced by plants, animals, and geological processes

They can be classified according to their origin:

Vegetable fibers are generally based on arrangements of cellulose, often with lignin: examples include cotton, hemp, jute, flax, abaca, piña, ramie, sisal, bagasse, and banana.

Plant fibers are employed in the manufacture of paper and textile (cloth), and dietary fiber is an important component of human nutrition.

Wood fiber, distinguished from vegetable fiber, is from tree sources. Forms include groundwood, lacebark, thermomechanical pulp (TMP), and bleached or unbleached kraft or sulfite pulps. Kraft and sulfite refer to the type of pulping process used to remove the lignin bonding the original wood structure, thus freeing the fibers for use in paper and engineered wood products such as fiberboard.

Animal fibers consist largely of particular proteins. Instances are silkworm silk, spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool, sea silk and hair such as cashmere wool, mohair and angora, fur such as sheepskin, rabbit, mink, fox, beaver, etc.

Mineral fibers include the asbestos group. Asbestos is the only naturally occurring long mineral fiber. Six minerals have been classified as “asbestos” including chrysotile of the serpentine class and those belonging to the amphibole class: amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, anthophyllite and actinolite. Short, fiber-like minerals include wollastonite and palygorskite.

Biological fibers, also known as fibrous proteins or protein filaments, consist largely of biologically relevant and biologically very important proteins, in which mutations or other genetic defects can lead to severe diseases. Instances include the collagen[3] family of proteins, tendons, muscle proteins like actin, cell proteins like microtubules and many others, spider silk, sinew and hair etc.

Man-made fibers[edit]

Man-made or chemical fibers are fibers whose chemical composition, structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing process.[4] Man-made fibers consist of regenerated fibers and synthetic fibers.

Semi-synthetic fibers[edit]
Semi-synthetic fibers are made from raw materials with naturally long-chain polymer structure and are only modified and partially degraded by chemical processes, in contrast to completely synthetic fibers such as nylon (polyamide) or dacron (polyester), which the chemist synthesizes from low-molecular weight compounds by polymerization (chain-building) reactions. The earliest semi-synthetic fiber is the cellulose regenerated fiber, rayon.[5] Most semi-synthetic fibers are cellulose regenerated fibers.

Cellulose regenerated fibers[edit]
Cellulose fibers are a subset of man-made fibers, regenerated from natural cellulose. The cellulose comes from various sources: rayon from tree wood fiber, bamboo fiber from bamboo, seacell from seaweed, etc. In the production of these fibers, the cellulose is reduced to a fairly pure form as a viscous mass and formed into fibers by extrusion through spinnerets. Therefore, the manufacturing process leaves few characteristics distinctive of the natural source material in the finished products.

Some examples of this fiber type are:

rayon
bamboo fiber
Lyocell, a brand of rayon
Modal
diacetate fiber
triacetate fiber.
Historically, cellulose diacetate and -triacetate were classified under the term rayon, but are now considered distinct materials.

Synthetic fibers[edit]
Synthetic come entirely from synthetic materials such as petrochemicals, unlike those man-made fibers derived from such natural substances as cellulose or protein.[6]

Fiber classification in reinforced plastics falls into two classes: (i) short fibers, also known as discontinuous fibers, with a general aspect ratio (defined as the ratio of fiber length to diameter) between 20 and 60, and (ii) long fibers, also known as continuous fibers, the general aspect ratio is between 200 and 500.[7]

Metallic fibers[edit]
Metallic fibers can be drawn from ductile metals such as copper, gold or silver and extruded or deposited from more brittle ones, such as nickel, aluminum or iron. See also Stainless steel fibers.

Carbon fiber[edit]
Carbon fibers are often based on oxidized and via pyrolysis carbonized polymers like PAN, but the end product is almost pure carbon.

Silicon carbide fiber[edit]
Silicon carbide fibers, where the basic polymers are not hydrocarbons but polymers, where about 50% of the carbon atoms are replaced by silicon atoms, so-called poly-carbo-silanes. The pyrolysis yields an amorphous silicon carbide, including mostly other elements like oxygen, titanium, or aluminium, but with mechanical properties very similar to those of carbon fibers.

Fiberglass[edit]
Fiberglass, made from specific glass, and optical fiber, made from purified natural quartz, are also man-made fibers that come from natural raw materials, silica fiber, made from sodium silicate (water glass) and basalt fiber made from melted basalt.

Mineral fibers[edit]
Mineral fibers can be particularly strong because they are formed with a low number of surface defects, asbestos is a common one.[8]

Polymer fibers[edit]
Polymer fibers are a subset of man-made fibers, which are based on synthetic chemicals (often from petrochemical sources) rather than arising from natural materials by a purely physical process. These fibers are made from:
polyamide nylon
PET or PBT polyester
phenol-formaldehyde (PF)
polyvinyl chloride fiber (PVC) vinyon
polyolefins (PP and PE) olefin fiber
acrylic polyesters, pure polyester PAN fibers are used to make carbon fiber by roasting them in a low oxygen environment. Traditional acrylic fiber is used more often as a synthetic replacement for wool. Carbon fibers and PF fibers are noted as two resin-based fibers that are not thermoplastic, most others can be melted.
aromatic polyamids (aramids) such as Twaron, Kevlar and Nomex thermally degrade at high temperatures and do not melt. These fibers have strong bonding between polymer chains
polyethylene (PE), eventually with extremely long chains / HMPE (e.g. Dyneema or Spectra).
Elastomers can even be used, e.g. spandex although urethane fibers are starting to replace spandex technology.
polyurethane fiber
Elastolefin
Coextruded fibers have two distinct polymers forming the fiber, usually as a core-sheath or side-by-side. Coated fibers exist such as nickel-coated to provide static elimination, silver-coated to provide anti-bacterial properties and aluminum-coated to provide RF deflection for radar chaff. Radar chaff is actually a spool of continuous glass tow that has been aluminum coated. An aircraft-mounted high speed cutter chops it up as it spews from a moving aircraft to confuse radar signals.
Microfibers[edit]
Microfibers in textiles refer to sub-denier fiber (such as polyester drawn to 0.5 denier). Denier and Dtex are two measurements of fiber yield based on weight and length. If the fiber density is known, you also have a fiber diameter, otherwise it is simpler to measure diameters in micrometers. Microfibers in technical fibers refer to ultra fine fibers (glass or meltblown thermoplastics) often used in filtration. Newer fiber designs include extruding fiber that splits into multiple finer fibers. Most synthetic fibers are round in cross-section, but special designs can be hollow, oval, star-shaped or trilobal. The latter design provides more optically reflective properties. Synthetic textile fibers are often crimped to provide bulk in a woven, non woven or knitted structure. Fiber surfaces can also be dull or bright. Dull surfaces reflect more light while bright tends to transmit light and make the fiber more transparent.

Very short and/or irregular fibers have been called fibrils. Natural cellulose, such as cotton or bleached kraft, show smaller fibrils jutting out and away from the main fiber structure.[9]

Typical properties of selected fibers[edit]
Fibers can be divided into natural and man-made (synthetic) substance, their properties can affect their performance in many applications. Nowadays, man-made fiber materials are replacing other conventional materials like glass and wood in a number of applications.[10] This is because man-made fibers can be engineered chemically, physically, and mechanically to suit particular technical engineering.[11] In choosing a fiber type, a manufacturer would balance their properties with the technical requirements of the applications. Various fibers are available to select for manufacturing. Here are typical properties of the sample natural fibers as compared to the properties of man-made fibers.

Table 1. Typical Properties of Selected Natural Fibers[12][13]
Fiber type Fiber Diameter
(in)

Specific Gravity Tensile Strength
(Ksi)

Elastic Modulus
(Ksi)

Elongation at Break
(%)

Water Absorption
(%)

Wood Fiber
(Kraft Pulp)

0.001-0.003 1.5 51-290 1500-5800 N/A 50-75
Musamba N/A N/A 12 130 9.7 N/A
Coconut 0.004-0.016 1.12-1.15 17.4-29 2750-3770 10-25 130-180
Sisal 0.008-0.016[14] 1.45[14] 40-82.4 1880-3770 3-5 60-70
Sugar Cane Bagasse 0.008-0.016 1.2-1.3 26.7-42 2175-2750 1.1[15] 70-75
Bamboo 0.002-0.016 1.5 50.8-72.5 4780-5800 N/A 40-45
Jute 0.004-0.008 1.02-1.04 36.3-50.8 3770-4640 1.5-1.9 28.64[16]
Elephant grass 0.003-0.016[17] 0.818[17] 25.8 710 3.6 N/Ab
a Adapted from ACI 544. IR-96 P58, reference [12] P240 and [13]
b N/A means properties not readily available or not applicable

Table 2. Properties of Selected Man-made Fibers
Fiber type Fiber Diameter
(0.001 in)

Specific Gravity Tensile Strength (Ksi) Elasticity Modulus
(Ksi)

Elongation at Break
(%)

Water Absorption
(%)

Melting Point
(℃)

Maximum Working
Temp (℃)

Steel 4-40 7.8 70-380 30,000 0.5-3.5 nil 1370[18] 760[18]
Glass 0.3-0.8 2.5 220-580 10,400-11,600 2-4 N/A 1300 1000
Carbon 0.3-0.35 0.90 260-380 33,400-55,100 0.5-1.5 nil 3652-3697[19] N/A
Nylon 0.9 1.14 140 750 20-30 2.8-5.0 220-265 199
Acrylics 0.2-0.7 1.14-1.18 39-145 2,500-2,800 20-40 1.0-2.5 Decomp 180
Aramid 0.4-0.5 1.38-1.45 300-450 9,000-17,000 2-12 1.2-4.3 Decomp 450
Polyester 0.4-3.0 1.38 40-170 2,500 8-30 0.4 260 170
Polypropylene 0.8-8.0 0.9 65-100 500-750 10-20 nil 165 100
Polyethylene
Low

High

1.0-40.0
0.92

0.95

11-17

50-71

725
25-50

20-30

nil

110

135

a Adapted from ACI 544. IR-96 P40, reference [12] P240, [11] P209 and [13]
b N/A means properties not readily available or not applicable

The tables above just show typical properties of fibers, in fact there are more properties which could be referred as follows (from a to z):[13]

Arc Resistance, Biodegradable, Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion, Continuous Service Temperature, Density of Plastics, Ductile / Brittle Transition Temperature, Elongation at Break, Elongation at Yield, Fire Resistance, Flexibility, Gamma Radiation Resistance, Gloss, Glass Transition Temperature, Hardness, Heat Deflection Temperature, Shrinkage, Stiffness, Ultimate tensile strength, Thermal Insulation, Toughness, Transparency, UV Light Resistance, Volume Resistivity, Water absorption, Young’s Modulus

See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fibers.
Ceramic matrix composite
Dietary fiber
Fiber crop
Fiber simulation
Fibers in Differential Geometry
Molded fiber
Nerve fiber
Optical fiber
References[edit]
^ Harper, Douglas. “fiber”. Online Etymology Dictionary.
^ Jump up to: a b Kadolph, Sara (2002). Textiles. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-025443-6.
^ Saad, Mohamed (Oct 1994). Low resolution structure and packing investigations of collagen crystalline domains in tendon using Synchrotron Radiation X-rays, Structure factors determination, evaluation of Isomorphous Replacement methods and other modeling. PhD Thesis, Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble I. pp. 1–221. doi:10.13140/2.1.4776.7844.
^ “man-made fibre”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2013.
^ Kauffman, George B. (1993). “Rayon: the first semi-synthetic fiber product”. Journal of Chemical Education. 70 (11): 887. Bibcode:1993JChEd..70..887K. doi:10.1021/ed070p887.
^ “synthetic fibre”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2013.
^ Serope Kalpakjian, Steven R Schmid. “Manufacturing Engineering and Technology”. International edition. 4th Ed. Prentice Hall, Inc. 2001. ISBN 0-13-017440-8.
^ James Edward Gordon; Philip Ball (2006). The new science of strong materials, or, Why you don’t fall through the floor. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12548-0. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
^ Hans-J. Koslowski. “Man-Made Fibers Dictionary”. Second edition. Deutscher Fachverlag. 2009 ISBN 3-86641-163-4
^ Shenoy, Aroon (1999). Rheology of Filled Polymer Systems. Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-0-412-83100-3.
^ Hollaway, C. (1990). Polymers and Polymer Composites in Construction. Great Britain: Bulter and Tanner Ltd. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-7277-1521-0.
^ Design and Control of Concrete Mixtures”. Sixteenth Edition. United States of America: Portland Cement Association. 2018. pp. 237–247. ISBN 978-0-89312-277-5.
^ Jump up to: a b “Polymer Properties – Omexus by Special Chem”.
^ Jump up to: a b “Sisal Fiber – World of Sisal”.
^ Bagasse. ISBN 9781782421221.
^ Narayanan, Venkateshwaran (2012). “Mechanical and Water Absorption Properties of Woven Jute/Banana Hybrid Composites”. Fibers and Polymers. 13 (7, 907–914).
^ Jump up to: a b K. Murali Mohan, Rao (2007). “Tensile Properties of Elephant grass fiber reinforced polymer Composites”. Journal of Materials Science. 42 (9, 3266–3272).
^ Jump up to: a b “Metallic Materials –TEADIT” (PDF).
^ “Carbon Fiber – Americans Elements”.

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