Effects on Individual Fibres of Drying under Tension

Following a review of the effects of machine- and cross-direction forces in the web during drying on the stress/strain properties of the finished paper,the nature of the axial forces in the individual fibres during tension drying is discussed in the light of the theory of the structure. The effects on the mechanical properties and structure of individual holocellulose pulp fibres of tension drying have been carefully investigated. An unusual extensional behaviour was observed at the onset of drying. It was found that tension during drying promoted substantial increments in tensile strength, Young’s modulus and crystallite orientation; generally, the spring wood fibres under went larger changes than the summer wood ultimate elongation was reduced and crystallinity remained unchanged. Partial removal of the hemicelluloses resulted in large decrements in tensile strength and Young’s modulus, a phenomenon not attributable to degradation of the fibre or to such side effects as swelling; the levels of these mechanical properties were reduced to those of ordinary pulp and cotton fibres. The relative enhancement of tensile strength and Young’s modulus in the extracted fibres caused by tension drying was much greater than that observed in the holocellulose pulp fibres, the latter property rising almost to that of the holocellulose fibres dried under load as the drying load was increased. The crystallinity of the extracted fibres (as determined by the method of half-width of a diffraction peak) was higher than that of the original holocellulose pulp, suggesting enhanced cellulose/cellulose bonding within the fibre, which, in turn, seems to account for the tension drying behaviour. Theory and experimental data relating to the possible effects of tension drying on the zero-span tensile strength of machine-made paper are presented. It is indicated that more work needs to be done in this area and, more generally, on the effect of tension drying of individual fibres on all the mechanical properties of paper.