FIBRES AND THEIR PREVALENCE

Fibre from latin word fibra is a natural or synthetic string used as a

component of complex materials ,or, when matted into sheets, used to make
products such as paper, papyrus or felt. Fibres are often used in the manufacture
of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibres,
for example, Carbon fibre and Ultra high molecular weight polythene.
IMPORTANCE OF FIBRES IN FORENSICS
Fibre is an important resource in forensic science and is often responsible for
providing valuable traces as to the identity of an assailant or attacker.
Fibre are used in determining what an attacker or killer was wearing at the time
of the incident.
Many forensic scientist uses fibre as a means of determining the nature of the
item worn and in some instances can be as exact as to identify the make of the
garment and thus the manufacture.
Fibres can effectively include or exclude suspects from a crime based on the
type of fibres and whether they exist in the suspects environment.
Classification of fibres:
1. Natural Fibres- Animal fibres, Vegetable fibres, Mineral fibres
2. Man-made Fibres- Synthetic fibres, Cellulose regenerated fibres
(I)

Natural Fibres- Many different natural fibres originating from plants

and animals are used in the production of fabric COTTON FIBRES.

Natural fibers develop or occur in the fiber shape, and include those produced
by plants, animals, and geological processes.
1. Animal Fibres- It consist largely of particular proteins. Examples are
silkworm silk, spider silk, sinew, catgut, wool, sea silk and hair such as
cashmere wool, mohair and angora, fur such as sheepskin, rabbit, mink,
fox, beaver, etc.
a. Wool-Wool is the fiber derived from the fur of animals of the Caprinae
family, chiefly sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals
such as goats, alpacas, and rabbits may also be called wool.

The animal fibres most frequently used in the production of textile materials
is WOOL, and the most common wool fibres originate from sheep. The end
use of sheeps wool often dictates the fineness or roughness of woollen
fibres.
PrevalenceThe quality of wool is determined by its fiber diameter, crimp, yield, color,
and staple strength. Fiber diameter is the single most important wool
characteristic . Merino wool is typically 35 inches in length and is very fine
(between 12 and 24 microns). The finest and most valuable wool comes
from Merino hoggets. Wool taken from sheep produced for meat is typically
more coarse, and has fibers 1.5 to 6 in (38 to 152 mm) in length. Damage or
breaks in the wool can occur if the sheep is stressed while it is growing its
fleece, resulting in a thin spot where the fleece is likely to break.
The finest Australian and New Zealand Merino wools are known as 1PP,
which is the industry benchmark of excellence for Merino wool 16.9 microns
and finer. This style represents the top level of fineness, character, color, and
style as determined on the basis of a series of parameters in accordance with
the original dictates of British wool as applied today by the Australian Wool
Exchange (AWEX) Council. Only a few dozen of the millions of bales
auctioned every year can be classified and marked 1PP.

In the United States, three classifications of wool are named in the Wool
Products Labeling Act of 1939. "Wool" is "the fiber from the fleece of the
sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the
so-called specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and
vicuna) which has never been reclaimed from any woven or felted wool
product". "Virgin wool" and "new wool" are also used to refer to such never
used wool. There are two categories of recycled wool (also called reclaimed
or shoddy wool). "Reprocessed wool" identifies "wool which has been
woven or felted into a wool product and subsequently reduced to a fibrous
state without having been used by the ultimate consumer". "Reused wool"
refers to such wool that has been used by the ultimate consumer.

2.Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into
textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is
produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons.[1] The best-known silk is
obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx
mori reared in captivity (sericulture). The shimmering appearance of silk is
due to the triangular prism-like structure of the silk fibre, which allows silk
cloth to refract incoming light at different angles, thus producing different
colors.

2. Vegetable Fibres- They are generally based on arrangements of

cellulose, often with lignin: examples include cotton , jute etc.
Plant fibers are employed in the production of paper and textile (cloth),
and dietary fiber is an important component of human nutrition.

Prevalence-The principal chemical component of vegetable

fibers is cellulose, with varying amounts of lignin and
hemicelluloses also usually present; thus the fibers are also
mentioned to as cellulosic or lignocellulosic. Vegetable fibers
are usually stiffer but less tough than synthetic fibers. The fibers
are grown throughout the world but mostly in tropical and
subtropical climates in developing countries. The principal bast

fibers are flax, jute, and hemp, which are consumed chiefly for
fabrics (linen-flax, hessian-jute), bags, ropes, in newer biobased
composites, and as a source of papermaking fibers, principally
cigarette papers. The primary leaf fibers are abaca and sisal,
which have uses similar to bast fibers, except fabrics are not
produced from the leaf fibers. Cotton, coir, and kapok are the
principal seed-hair fibers, with cotton by far the most important
commercial vegetable fiber. Bast fibers are obtained from the
plant, after harvest, by water retting (rotting) in ponds or
streams. The leaf fibers are obtained by crushing and scraping
followed by washing. Vegetable fibers are generally classified
according to color, luster, cleanliness, strength, fineness, and
uniformity. The world market for vegetable fibers has dropped
dramatically in recent years because of periods of economic
recession and synthetic fiber replacements.
a. Cotton- Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or
protective case, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium
in the family of Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. Under
natural conditions, the cotton bolls will tend to increase the scattering of
the seeds.
Prevalence- The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions
around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India. The greatest
diversity of wild cotton species is found in Mexico, followed by Australia
and Africa. Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New
Worlds.
The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,
breathable textile. The use of cotton for fabric is known to date to
prehistoric times; fragments of cotton fabric dated from 5000 BC have
been excavated in Mexico and the Indus Valley Civilization in Indian
subcontinent between 6000 BC and 5000 BC. Although cultivated since
antiquity, it was the invention of the cotton gin that lowered the cost of
production that led to its widespread use, and it is the most widely used
natural fiber cloth in clothing today.

b. Jute- Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be revolved into
coarse, strong threads. It is produced primarily from plants in the genus
Corchorus, which was once classified with the family Tiliaceae, more
recently with Malvaceae, and has now been reclassified as belonging to
the family Sparrmanniaceae. The primary source of the fiber is Corchorus
olitorius, but it is considered inferior to Corchorus capsularis."Jute" is the
name of the plant or fiber that is used to make burlap, Hessian or gunny
cloth.
The word 'jute' is probably created from the word jhuta or jota,an Oriya
word.

3.

Mineral fibresMineral fibers can be mostly strong because they are formed with a low
number of surface defects, asbestos is a common one.

Asbestos- Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals.

They all have in common their eponymous asbestiform habit: long
(roughly 1:20 aspect ratio), thin fibrous crystals . Each visible fiber is
composed of millions of microscopic "fibrils" that can be released by
abrasion and other processes. They are commonly known by their colors.
Like blue asbestos, brown asbestos, white asbestos, and green asbestos.

(II) Man-made Fibers

Man-made fibers or chemical fibers are fibers whose chemical composition,
structure, and properties are significantly modified during the manufacturing
process.
Man-made fibers consist of :
Regenerated fibers and Synthetic fibers
1. Regenerated Fibers- Cellulose fibers are a subset of man-made fibers,
regenerated from natural cellulose. The cellulose comes from various
sources: rayon from tree wood fiber, Modal from beech trees, bamboo
fiber from bamboo, seacell from seaweed, etc. In the production of these
fibers, the cellulose is reduced to a fairly pure form as a viscous mass and
formed into fibers by extrusion through spinnerets. Therefore, the

manufacturing process leaves few characteristics characteristic of the

natural source material in the finished products. Some examples are:
a. rayon
b. bamboo fiber
a. Rayon- Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. It is
made from purified cellulose, primarily from wood pulp, which is
chemically converted into a soluble compound. It is then dissolved
and forced through a spinneret to produce filaments which are
chemically solidified, resulting in synthetic fibers of nearly pure
cellulose. Because rayon is manufactured from naturally occurring
polymers, it is considered a semi-synthetic fiber.
Prevalence- Rayon was the first synthetic fabric ever created. It was
developed as a less-expensive alternative to silk fabric and, appropriately,
was dubbed artificial silk. More rayon is manufactured than any other
synthetic fabric, although none of the manufacturing is currently done in
the United States. Most rayon production is done in Russia and Japan.

2.Synthetic fiber
Synthetic come entirely from synthetic materials such as petrochemicals, unlike
those man-made fibers derived from such natural substances as cellulose or
protein.

Specialty synthetic fibers include:

1.Rayon - It is also known as artifial fibre. Rayon is a manufactured
redeveloped cellulose fiber. It is made from purified cellulose, chiefly from
wood pulp, which is chemically converted into a soluble compound. It is then
dissolved and forced through a spinneret to produce filaments which are
chemically solidified, resulting in synthetic fibers of nearly pure cellulose.
Because rayon is manufactured from naturally occurring polymers, it is
considered a semi-synthetic fiber.
Prevalence- Rayon was the first synthetic fabric ever created. It was developed
as a less-expensive alternative to silk fabric and, appropriately, was dubbed
artificial silk. More rayon is manufactured than any other synthetic fabric,
although none of the manufacturing is currently done in the United States. Most
rayon production is done in Russia and Japan.