Stress-strain characteristics of wool as related to its chemical constitution

Abstract

An apparatus for studying the extensibility of single wool fibers is described . Data on the effects of the tanning (quinone), dyeing, and deamination processes, and of neutral salts on the extensibility of wool fibers are reported. The results indicate that the extensibility of the wool fibers is governed, for the most part, by factors which influence the swelling or hydration of the protein. Salt linkages of the type which might be formed by an attraction between the free amino and carboxyl groups in wool do not appreciably contribute to the physical stability of the fiber in aqueous solutions.