Further Studies of the Fractography of Cotton Fibers

The authors' previous work on the fractography of cotton has been extended to include a comparison of cotton varieties, differences between individual fibers of different strength, fracture of mercerized cotton in water, fracture of crosslinked cotton (including tests in water, and at and between reversals), fractures at different temperatures, and fractures in torsion. Three idealized modes of failure are propqged: granular or fibrillar with crack-stopping but interaction between neighboring fibrils, helical splitting, and independent fibrillar break. The conditions in which these forms occur are discussed and summarized.