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STUDY THE EFFECT OF ACIDS

AND BASES ON THE TENSILE
STRENGTH
OF A FIBRE.
A Project Report
Submitted by
HYDER QAID JOHAR
In partial fulfillment of the
CBSE GRADE XI - B
IN
Chemistry
AT

INDIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL ROLL NO:-11214

2016-17
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BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that HAIDER KHOKHAWALA of Grade XI-
B, INDIAN PUBLIC SHOOL with Roll Number 14 has
compiled this Chemistry project in partial fulfillment of the
requirements as prescribed by CBSE in the year 2016-17.

Signature of the
Teacher In-charge
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I warmly acknowledge the continuous
encouragement and timely suggestions offered by our
dear Principal Mr.K.A.Rodrigues. I extend my hearty
thanks for giving me the opportunity to make use of the
facilities available in the campus to carry out the project
successfully.
I am highly indebted to Mrs. Rachel Thomson & my lab
teacher Mrs. Julie sam for the constant
supervision, providing necessary information and
supporting in completing the project. I would like to
express my gratitude towards them for their kind co-
operation and encouragement.
Finally I extend my gratefulness to one and all who are
directly or indirectly involved in the successful completion
of this project work.

Signature of the
Candidate
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INDEX

S.NO NAME REMAR Pg No.

1. BONAFIDE K
2
2. CARTIFICATE. 3
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
3. INTRODUCTION. 5-6

4. THEORY 7-8

5. AIM 9

6. APPARATUS REQUIRED 10

7. PROCEDURE. 11

8. OBSERVATIONS 12

9. CONCLUSION. 13

10. PRECAUTIONS 14

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY 15
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INTRODUCTION

Fibre is a class of materials that are continuous filaments

or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of
thread. A fiber is an elongated tapering thick-walled plant
cell that imparts elasticity, flexibility, and tensile strength.
Tensile strength of fibres can be determined by hanging
weights tied to it and comparing the weight a string can
hold. Traditionally, natural fibers have been used in all
cultures for making utilitarian products. Different parts of
the plant are used. Fibers can be extracted from the bark
(banana, jute, hemp, and ramie), stem (banana, palm,
and bamboo), leaf (palm, screw pine, sisal, agave), husk
(coir), seeds (cotton), and grass (sikki, madhurkati,
benakati, munj). Animal fibers are obtained from a variety
of animal coats, and insect fibers from cocoons.

Even before the arrival of man-made fibers,

manufacturers could create hundreds of different kinds of
fabrics, differing mainly by fiber content, weight, style of
weave, or sheen. Here are just a few of these historic
fabrics, along with the natural
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fiber from which they were originally made

(nearly all can be made now with other fibers,
either natural or synthetic).They are very
important in the biology of both plants and
animals, for holding tissues together.

Human uses for fibers are diverse. They can

be spun into filaments, string, or rope, used as
a component of composite

materials, or matted into sheets to make products such as

paper or felt. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of
other materials. The strongest engineering materials are
generally made as fibers, for example carbon fiber and
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. The history of
man-made fibers is less than a century old; until 1910,
there were no synthetic or chemical fibers. Today, by
mixing different components, manufacturers can take the
basic fibers listed below and make them more waterproof
or more absorbent, warmer or cooler, thicker or thinner,
stiffer or more supple. Some, like polyester and spandex,
combine well with natural fibers, making fabrics that
wrinkle less or are more form-fitting.

Synthetic fibers can often be produced very

cheaply and in large amounts compared to natural fibers,
but for clothing natural fibres can give some
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benefits ,such as comfort ,over their synthetic

counterparts.

THEORY

Depending upon the source, various fibres can be categorized as:

1. Animal fibre(e.g., silk and wool)
2. Vegetable fibre(e.g., cotton and linen)
3. Synthetic fibre(e.g., nylon and rayon)

Natural fibres can be classified according to their origin. The

vegetable, or cellulose-base, class includes such important fibres
as cotton, flax, and jute; the animal, or protein-base, fibres
include wool,mohair, and silk; an important fibre in the mineral
class is asbestos.

The vegetable fibres can be divided into smaller groups, based on

their origin within the plant. Cotton, kapok, and coir are
examples of fibres originating as hairs borne on the seeds or inner
walls of the fruit, where each fibre consists of a single, long,
narrow cell. Flax, hemp, jute, and ramie are bast fibres,
occurring in the inner bast tissue of certain plant stems and made
up of overlapping cells. Abaca , henequen, and sisal are fibres
occurring as part of the fibro vascular system of the leaves.
Chemically, all vegetable fibres consist mainly of cellulose,
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although they also contain varying amounts of such substances

as hemicellulose, lignin, pectins, and waxes that must be
removed or reduced by processing. The animal fibres consist
exclusively of proteins and, with the exception of silk, constitute
the furor hair that serves as the protective epidermal covering of
animals. Silk filaments are extruded by the larvae of moths and
are used to spin their cocoons.

With the exception of mineral fibres, all natural fibres have an

affinity for water in both liquid and vapour form. This strong
affinity produces swelling of the fibres connected with the uptake
of water, which facilitates dyeing in watery solutions.

Unlike most synthetic fibres, all natural fibres are

nonthermoplastic—that is, they do not soften when heat is
applied. At temperatures below the point at which they will
decompose, they show little sensitivity to dry heat, and there is
no shrinkage or high extensibility upon heating, nor do they [15
become brittle if cooled to below freezing. Natural fibres tend to
yellow upon exposure to sunlight and moisture, and
extended exposure results in loss of strength.
All natural fibres are particularly susceptible to microbial
decomposition , including mildew and rot. Cellulosic
fibres are decomposed by aerobic bacteria (those that
live only in oxygen) and fungi. Cellulose mildews and
decomposes rapidly at high humidity and high
temperatures, especially in the absence of light. Wool
and silk are also subject to microbial decomposition by
bacteria and molds. Animal fibres are also subject to
damage by moths and carpet beetles; termites and
silverfish attack cellulose fibres. Protection against
both microbial damage and
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insect attacks can be obtained by chemical modification

of the fibre substrate; modern developments allow
treatment of natural fibres to make them essentially
immune to such damage.

AIM

To find the effect of acids and alkalies on tensile strength

of cotton, silk and wool fibres.
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Apparatus Requirements:-
Cotton, wool, silk, polyester, hook, weight hanger, weights .

Chemical Requirement:-
Hydrochloric acid( M/10) and sodium hydroxide(M/10 ).
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Procedure:-

1. Cut out equal length of cotton, wool and silk threads

from given samples. The threads should be
nearly the same thickness.
2. Determine the tensile strength of each fibre as
explained in experiment 1.
3. Soak a given thread into a dilute solution of
sodium hydroxide for about 5 minutes.
4. Take it out of NaOH solution and wash it
thoroughly with water and dry it in sun or oven at
40°C.
5. Determine again the tensile strength of woolen
thread as explained in experiment 1
6. Now take another piece of wool thread and soak it in
hydrochloric acid for about 5 minutes. Take it
out and wash thoroughly with water. Dry it and
again determine its tensile strength.
7. Repeat the above procedure for the sample of
cotton and nylon fibres.
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Observations:-

SI.N Type of Tensile strength of fibre(N)

O fibre. Before after soaking after
soaking
Soaking. in NaOH.
HCL.
1. cotton
2. wool
3. silk
4. polyester
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CONCLUSION.

Conclusions drew from the experiment are:-

1. Alkalies decrease the tensile strength of woolen fibers.

2. Acids practically do not affect this fiber.
3. Tensile strength of cotton thread is decreased by acids
and it remains unaffected by alkalis.
4. Nylon fiber is practically unaffected by both acids
and alkalies.
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PRECAUTIONS:-

1. Thread must be of identical diameters.

2. Always take the same length of threads.
3. Add the weights in small amount very slowly.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Comprehensive practical chemistry-XI

Wikipedia
Encyclopedia - Britannica Online
Encyclopedia
www.textileschool.com
www.meritnation.com.
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/ pdf/