Studies on the physical properties of the silk thread from cocoons of Antheraea pernyi G.

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  • さく蚕糸の物理的性質について
  • 柞蚕糸の物理的性質について
  • サクサンシ ノ ブツリテキ セイシツ ニ ツイテ

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Abstract

The physical properties of the silk thread from cocoons of Antheraea pernyi G. were studied in relation to the sex of silkworms from which the cocoons were collected. The non-broken length and size were larger and showed wider variations in the female thread than in the male thread. The changes of the dynamic elastic modulus, elongation, degree of crystallinity and density of the silk thread along the length of the thread showed a linear relation with the size of the thread. A similar correlation was observed also among specimens from many cocoons irrespective of the cocoon layer from which the specimens were collected. The correlation was negative except for the elongation, indicating that the mechanism of spinning of silk is related to the mechanical denaturation of silk fibroin as in the case of domestic silk; the degree of crystallinity was higher for thinner threads, which was reflected in the physical properties of the silk thread. As for the tenacity, only the male thread showed a negative correlation. The values of the degree of crystallinity and dynamic elastic modulus were significantly higher and the value of the elongation was lower in the male thread than in the female thread when the mean values were compared. However, the difference became negligible when the difference in the two mean thread sizes was taken into account except for the elongation which gave smaller values in the male thread. These observations suggest that there is a substantial difference between both sexes in terms of the structure of the silk thread.

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