Determination of the strength and elongation distribution of single wool through fiber bundle testing based on acoustic emissions

Abstract

The method to obtain the breaking strength and elongation distribution of fiber through numerous single fiber tests is tedious and time-consuming. In the present work, a method based on acoustic emission (AE) signals generated by fiber fracture during the fiber bundle test has been developed for estimating the distribution of single wool breaking strength and elongation. AE detection is performed simultaneously during the fiber extension. According to the AE signal, it is proved that every individual fiber break can be detected, and the failure probability distribution of wool elongation can be obtained. Based on this, the single wool breaking strength is estimated from the tensile response of the fiber bundle, and then its distribution can be deduced. Finally, the distributions of breaking strength and elongation determined by the bundle test are compared with that obtained from the single fiber samples. The results show that the method developed in this work can be used to estimate the breaking strength and elongation of the single fiber within the bundle. Their cumulative probability distributions are similar to the results of single fiber sample tests, especially the distribution of the breaking strength.