Wool Damage Data

Abstract

Rough categories into which wool damage may be classified for study include hydrolysis, reduction and oxidation effects, and incipient decomposition caused by exposure to light or high temperatures in the presence of air. Data have been accumulated which describe some specific effects obtained by treating woolen swatches in boiling water as a function of time, in boiling acid (sulfuric) or alkaline (sodium hydroxide) solutions over a wide pH range, in boiling reducing (thioglycollic acid, zinc formaldehyde sulfoxylate) or oxidizing (hydrogen peroxide) solutions over a wide rH range, and upon drying at 260°F for periods ranging to 128 hours. Quantitative measures of wool damage which have been used include loss of weight, area shrink age, alkali solubility, wettability in water and 0.1 N sodium hydroxide, and loss of tensile strength.