ORIENTATION OF AQUEOUS STRETCHED COTTONS AS MEASURED BY X-RAY-DIFFRACTION

The structural changes produced by aqueous swelling and stretching in cotton is found to be irreversible. This article presents the X-ray an gle data of six varieties of cotton that belong to Gossypium hirsutum. A marked decrease in X-ray angles was found in all treated samples, t hereby indicating better orientation. Improvement in the orientation i s associated with increase in the stretch. The improvement is high in all tension-dried cottons, showing the impact of the tension drying. S imilar improved orientation is found in all varieties, indicating the varietal response of G. hirsutum cottons. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.