18 research outputs found
A comparative study on the felting propensity of animal fibers
The felting propensity of different animal fibers, particularly alpaca and wool, has been examined. The Aachen felting test method was employed. 1 g of each type of fiber was soaked in 50 ml of wetting solution and agitated in a dyeing machine to make felt balls. The diameter of each ball was measured in nine directions and the ball density was calculated in g/cm3; the higher the density value of the ball, the higher the feltability of the fibers. The effects of fiber diameter and fiber length on the felting propensity of these fibers were investigated. The results show that the alpaca fibers felt to a higher degree than wool fibers, and short and fine cashmere fibers have lower felting propensity than wool fibers at a similar diameter range. There is a higher tendency of felting for bleached and dyed alpaca fibers than for untreated fibers. Fiber length has a remarkable influence on the propensity of fiber felting. Cotton and nylon fibers were also tested for felting propensity to verify the mechanism responsible for the different fiber felting behavior. <br /
Surface effects in nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals in thin samples
We present an experimental study of the surface effects (interactions with
the container walls) during the nucleation and growth of smectic B crystals
from the nematic in free growth and directional solidification of a mesogenic
molecule () called CCH4 in thin (of thickness in the 10
m range) samples. We follow the dynamics of the system in real time with a
polarizing microscope. The inner surfaces of the glass-plate samples are coated
with polymeric films, either rubbed polyimid (PI) films or monooriented
poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) films deposited by friction at high
temperature. The orientation of the nematic and the smectic B is planar. In
PI-coated samples, the orientation effect of SmB crystals is mediated by the
nematic, whereas, in PTFE-coated samples, it results from a homoepitaxy
phenomenon occurring for two degenerate orientations. A recrystallization
phenomenon partly destroys the initial distribution of crystal orientations. In
directional solidification of polycrystals in PTFE-coated samples, a particular
dynamics of faceted grain boundary grooves is at the origin of a dynamical
mechanism of grain selection. Surface effects also are responsible for the
nucleation of misoriented terraces on facets and the generation of lattice
defects in the solid.Comment: 15 pages, 24 figures, submitted to PR