Natural and Manufactured Fibres
Introduction
Australia is known for the production of high quality natural fibres, particularly animal fibres such as wool. The natural fibre industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in Australia. Deakin research covers a wide range of natural and manufactured fibres and their blends, with support from ARC, AWI, RIRDC, and local industries such as Basell Australia.
Project Examples
New blends of wool and synthetic fibres
In collaboration with Wuhan University of Science and Engineering and Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, we have converted wool fibres into very fine powders and then incorporated the fine powders into synthetic polymers via a melt extrusion process. The new hybrid fibres have enhanced properties.
Electrospun nanofibres
We are the leading group in research into electrospun nanofibres, particularly bi-component nanofibres. Nanofibre materials are used in areas such as advanced filtration, protective clothing, and scaffolding for tissue engineering.
Some key papers:
- T. Afrin, T. Tsuzuki, X. Wang, "Bamboo: a distinctive green fibre", Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Textile and Apparel, 29-30, January 2010, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. 14-19. (ISBN 978-984-33-1192-4)
- T. Afrin, T. Tsuzuki, X. Wang, "Bamboo fibres and their unique properties", in "Natural Fibres in Australia", Proceedings of the Combined (NZ and Aus) conference of the Textile Institute, Eds. C. A. WILSON AND R. M. LAING , 15-17 April 2009, Dunedin, New Zealand, pp.77-82.
- Afrin T, Tsuzuki T, Wang X. (2011) "UV absorption properties of bamboo", Journal of the Textile Institute, accepted on 9 February 2011
