Effect of Okra Plant Lifespan upon Tensile Properties of Okra Fibers

ABSTRACT

This study has been carried out to identify the effect of the okra plant lifespan upon the tensile properties, that is, fiber bundle strength and elongation of the yielded fibers. 90 ± 10 days, 120 ± 10 days, and 160 ± 10 days matured crop waste were subjected to different retting conditions (retting duration and retting medium flow rate). Water was used as retting medium with two different flow rates (0 and 6.5 m/min). Five retting durations were taken for this study between 11 and 35 days. The bundle tenacity (g_f/tex) and elongation at break (%) were measured by Instron automatic bundle strength tester for the extracted okra fibers. The study revealed that okra fiber extracted through the running water showed better tensile strength (at least 14% higher, range 14–80%) than fiber extracted through stagnant water retting conditions at every retting duration (11–35 days) for the different lifespans of okra plants. Okra fiber bundle tenacity continuously reduced with the retting period ranging from 11 to 35 days irrespective of okra plant lifespan and retting conditions. Improvement in tenacity was found from 90 ± 10 days to 120 ± 10 days okra plant lifespan, but no significant improvement was found after 120 ± 10 days okra plant lifespan. No significant effect of elongation at break (%) was found for the okra plant lifespan and retting conditions.

摘要

本研究旨在确定秋葵植物寿命对拉伸性能的影响, 即纤维束强度和屈服纤维的伸长率. 90 ± 10天, 120天 ± 10天160分钟±对10天成熟的作物废弃物进行不同的脱胶条件 (脱胶时间和脱胶介质流速). 水被用作两种不同流速 (0和6.5m/min) 的脱胶介质. 本研究在11至35天之间进行了五次脱胶. 用英斯特朗自动纤维束强度测试仪测定了提取的黄秋葵纤维的纤维束强度 (gf/tex) 和断裂伸长率 (%). 研究表明, 在黄秋葵植株的不同寿命期内, 在每个脱胶持续时间 (11-35天) 内, 通过流水提取的黄秋葵纤维显示出比通过死水脱胶条件提取的纤维更好的拉伸强度 (至少高14%, 范围14-80%) . 无论秋葵植株寿命和脱胶条件如何, 随着脱胶期从11天到35天, 秋葵纤维束的韧性不断降低. 韧性从90%提高±10天到120天± 秋葵植株寿命为10天, 但120天后没有发现显著改善±10天秋葵植株寿命. 未发现秋葵植株寿命和脱胶条件对断裂伸长率 (%) 有显著影响.

KEYWORDS:

• Okra plant
• okra fiber
• retting
• fiber bundle strength
• elongation
• instron tester

关键词:

• 秋葵
• 秋葵纤维
• 脱胶
• 纤维束强度
• 伸长
• 英斯特朗测试仪

Acknowledgment

The authors thank Mr. Pankaj, Sintex Private Limited for providing the testing facility.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.