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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 REMARK Pg No.

1. BONAFIDE CARTIFICATE. 2

2. ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 3

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
fiber from which they were originally made (nearly all can be
made now with other fibers, either natural or synthetic).They
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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 benefits ,such as comfort ,over
their synthetic counterparts.
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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,
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.
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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 fibers are also subject to damage
by moths and carpet beetles; termites and silverfish attack
cellulose fibers. Protection against both microbial damage and
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.
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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.NO Type of Tensile strength of fibre(N)

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/