Effect of Crimp on Mechanical Properties of Wet Wool

Abstract

Single wool fibers of similar diameter but of several levels of crimpiness were selected from a shoulder sample of Suffolk wool and the stress-strain properties compared. High correla tion is found between several mechanical properties and fiber crimpiness. The low-crimped fibers exhibit greater stresses for equivalent strains than do highly crimped fibers. Differences among the mechanical properties of fibers from differing breeds, Rambouillet, Suffolk, and Navajo, were also found to reflect the differences in fiber crimpiness inherent to these breeds.