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M. Sharan and S. Haldar
2.7.4 Determination of Tensile Strength of the Fabric
The tensile strength of the fabrics was tested on universal tensile tester (UTM) by
raveled strip test method using ASTM-D 5035-95 [16]. Specimen size of 150 mm×
25 mm (15 cm× 2.5 cm) was cut. Gauge length was kept 75 mm ± 1 mm (7.5 cm)
with the speed of 300 mm/min.
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Fiber Extraction
The portion between the flower and rhizome of the lotus plant is called “petiole”
which was used for fiber extraction. Being a natural plant, to obtain the consistency
in the petiole diameter, length, color was very difficult. All these parameters vary
in different seasons, because the quality of water varies from pond to pond and the
maturation of the plant. After collecting the petioles from the pond, the fibers can
be extracted till 7 days because day-by-day the petiole gets dry and the continuous
length of the fibers cannot be obtained for uniform yarn preparation. The extraction
process is mentioned in the following steps:
Step 1: The first and foremost step was to wash the lotus petiole in running tap water
to remove all kinds of dirt from the outer body of the petiole (Fig. 5a).
Step 2: After washing, petioles were wiped with fresh cloth (Fig. 5b).
Step 3: The bunch of three petioles was laid on wooden slab (length and width of
the wooden slab was 58 and 28 cm, respectively) and was slit 5–7 times at different
sections as per the length of the petiole with the help of a sharp knife (Fig. 5c).
Step 4: After one slit, a bunch of three petioles was slowly stretched apart to extract
the fibers. Fibers are naturally present inside the petiole in two xylem cells: tracheids
and vessels in the form of “helix”. So as we stretch the petioles, the fibers come out
from each cell, and during the time of extraction little amount of water also comes
out from the petiole because it is a water plant. The extracted fibers were laid on the
wooden slab (Fig. 5d).
Step 5: Initially the extracted fibers were spun by palm twisting, which is a very
time-consuming process. So, later fibers were directly taken on the pern as shown in
Fig. 5. Only the end-to-end points were joined by palm twisting (Fig. 5e).
M. Sharan and S. Haldar
2.7.4 Determination of Tensile Strength of the Fabric
The tensile strength of the fabrics was tested on universal tensile tester (UTM) by
raveled strip test method using ASTM-D 5035-95 [16]. Specimen size of 150 mm×
25 mm (15 cm× 2.5 cm) was cut. Gauge length was kept 75 mm ± 1 mm (7.5 cm)
with the speed of 300 mm/min.
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Fiber Extraction
The portion between the flower and rhizome of the lotus plant is called “petiole”
which was used for fiber extraction. Being a natural plant, to obtain the consistency
in the petiole diameter, length, color was very difficult. All these parameters vary
in different seasons, because the quality of water varies from pond to pond and the
maturation of the plant. After collecting the petioles from the pond, the fibers can
be extracted till 7 days because day-by-day the petiole gets dry and the continuous
length of the fibers cannot be obtained for uniform yarn preparation. The extraction
process is mentioned in the following steps:
Step 1: The first and foremost step was to wash the lotus petiole in running tap water
to remove all kinds of dirt from the outer body of the petiole (Fig. 5a).
Step 2: After washing, petioles were wiped with fresh cloth (Fig. 5b).
Step 3: The bunch of three petioles was laid on wooden slab (length and width of
the wooden slab was 58 and 28 cm, respectively) and was slit 5–7 times at different
sections as per the length of the petiole with the help of a sharp knife (Fig. 5c).
Step 4: After one slit, a bunch of three petioles was slowly stretched apart to extract
the fibers. Fibers are naturally present inside the petiole in two xylem cells: tracheids
and vessels in the form of “helix”. So as we stretch the petioles, the fibers come out
from each cell, and during the time of extraction little amount of water also comes
out from the petiole because it is a water plant. The extracted fibers were laid on the
wooden slab (Fig. 5d).
Step 5: Initially the extracted fibers were spun by palm twisting, which is a very
time-consuming process. So, later fibers were directly taken on the pern as shown in
Fig. 5. Only the end-to-end points were joined by palm twisting (Fig. 5e).