Production and Characterization of Yarns and Fabrics Utilizing Turkey Feather Fibers

Abstract

Turkey feather fibers were characterized and then converted into products such as yarn and nonwoven fabrics for a study into the feasibility of their use as textile products. Yarn containing blends of nylon and up to thirty percent turkey feather fibers were spun by combining novel techniques with commercial yarn spinning machinery. These yarns were tested for determination of their mechanical properties. As the percentage of turkey feather fibers increased, the tenacity and elongation of the yarns decreased while the modulus increased. These yarns were knitted into fabrics to determine their insulating properties. As the percentage of turkey feather fibers increased the insulating capabilities of the fabrics also increased. Recent research has focused on producing nonwoven fabrics containing turkey feather fibers utilizing various production methods for use as erosion control fabrics.

Structure and Properties of Chicken Feather Barbs as Natural Protein Fibers

“…The values for turkey feathers and wool in Table 2 are from literature and for chicken feathers are from this research [2,14]. Chicken feathers have barbs with lengths in the range of 1.5-4.5 cm, depending on the location of the barb along the length of the rachis.…”

“…The physical and morphological structure, properties and the suitability of chicken feather barbs as protein fibers for high value textile applications has not been studied. On the other hand, turkey feather barbs have been characterized for their properties and used as textile fibers and processed to produce blended yarns and non-woven fabrics [14]. However, only the tensile properties of turkey feathers have been reported in this paper and the morphology and physical structure of the feathers has not been studied in detail.…”

“…Current applications of chicken feathers are mainly in composites and non-woven fabrics [1,14]. Recently, several attempts on using the barbs as "feather fibers" for composites and non-wovens have been reported [1,14].…”

“…Recently, several attempts on using the barbs as "feather fibers" for composites and non-wovens have been reported [1,14]. These feather fibers have been recently characterized for their micro structural properties [15].…”

Utilization of Turkey Feather Fibers in Nonwoven Erosion Control Fabrics

“…The pennaceous fibers are generally straighter, stiffer, and larger in diameter than the plumulaceous fibers. The linear densities and mechanical properties of turkey feather fibers are reported in Table 1 [9,10]. Previous research focused on creating yarns and knitted and nonwoven fabrics from feather fibers [6,7,[9][10][11].…”