Diameter and strength of Ethiopian pure and cross-breed sheep wool fibers

Abstract

The wool fibers fineness and strength have a remarkable role to determine the quality of yarn and the subsequent fabrics. The fineness property of the wool fibers is a crucially important fiber property for grading, classifying, selecting for particular applications such as for suit, blanket, shirt, carpet, and so on. The fineness and strength properties of four indigenous (Menz, Wollo, Farta, Tikur), three exotic (Awasi, Dorper, Corrediale), and four cross-breed (50% Dorper, 50% Awasi, 75% Awsi, Washera/Awasi) sheep wool fibers from the four main body parts (sides, neck, back, and belly) at six teeth removed age of 11 different sheep breeds have been investigated. The samples of wool fibers have been conditioned for 24 h at 20ºC ± 1ºC temperature and 65% ± 2% relative humidity. The specimen for sampling has been determined based on ASTM D2130-01. The results revealed that the fineness and strength of whole fibers taken from different parts of sample sheep varied significantly within the breed and among the breeds. The result revealed that the strength and fineness of the wool fibers have a positive correlation and Ethiopian sheep wool fiber is suitable for numerous types of classical and technical applications.