Physical Properties of Wool Fibers at Various Regains

Abstract

Under all conditions of extension and relative humidity which were used, length re covery took place in two stages: an early, rapid recovery was followed by a slow recovery which was, in most circumstances, linear with log (time). The amount of rapid recovery depends on the stress in the fiber at the instant of release. Recovery from 20% strain is greatly accelerated as relative humidity increases above 60%o this is probably due to a sharp increase in the amount of "free" water in the wool fiber. Recovery from 1.5% strain is different in character, and the reason may be that t recovery from low strain contains a large elastic component.