Abstract
In this work, the effect of the alkali-treatment and its variables viz., time and concentration of alkali, on the creep properties of jute fibre were studied. It was demonstrated that this kind of treatment leads to several changes in fine structure, such as voids creation and fibre fibrillation. The creep behaviour was measured for the alkali treated as well as the dewaxed fibres. Creep value was much higher in the 17.5% NaOH treated fibres compared to the dewaxed fibres. In the 8 hrs treated fibres, the creep was slightly more than the 20 mins treated fibres. XRD study revealed that experimental alkali treatment conditions resulted in closer packing of cellulose chains or rather increased crystallinity. Hence closer arrangement of the molecular chains (higher crystallinity) will reduce the creep extension, as expected.Download PDF