We measured the bending properties of a wool fiber having the complex internal structure in the natural fiber. Especially, the effect of the scale of wool fiber on the mechanical characteristic was examined. An original wool fiber and the wool fiber that had removed the scale were used. As the result, in the bending test, the flexural property of these wool fiber is greatly different, however, those tensile modulus was the same. By the finite element analysis, apparent bending modulus of the scale part was calculated from the skin-core structure model of the wool fiber.

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Textiles including polyester fibers made from recycled PET bottles have increased to be produced recently. We examined on performance and durability of woven fabrics that include recycled polyester fibers. First, forty-eight commercially available fabrics which include polyester fibers made from PET bottles were collected, and their mechanical, surface and thermal/moisture/air transport properties were measured with the KES-F system for making clear the performance. Second, their durability was investigated by washing repeatedly. The performance of the fabrics had the tendency to increase the values of bending rigidity B and shear stiffness G with the increase of the rate of recycled polyester fibers. The results of durability tests showed that the values of B and G were decreased by washing repeatedly, and that fatigue action such as increasing of hysteresis and decreasing of resilience was not observed clearly.

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