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Abstract

When a keratin fiber has been "melted" in water at an elevated temperature (for wool, approximately 130°C), or held extended at a fixed strain in water at 100°C, the modification in the torsional properties of the fiber is similar for both treatments, the torsional rigidity of the fiber in water being reduced progressively with progressive treatment. The reduc tion in the rigidity can be explained by postulating the creation of zones of weakness along the microfibrils of the micro fibrillar-matrix structure of keratin fibers. The formation of these zones of weakness introduces the possibility of the microfibrillar structure absorbing a proportion of the shear strain in a fiber in torsion and thus reducing the overall rigidity of the fiber.

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References

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The Microfibril-Matrix Relationships in the Mechanical- . Properties of Keratin Fibers

Abstract

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