Stress Relaxation and the Transition Temperature of Wool

The stress-relaxation behavior of a number of chemically and physically modified wool fibers has been examined and shown to correlate with the temperature of transition of the particular modified wool. The transition temperature has been discussed previ ously by Feughelman, Haly, and Rigby. Below the transition temperature the stress decays in 1 hr. by 33%, and above the transition temperature by 73%, of its initial value. These quantities are independent of the particular modification and appear to be associated with reversible and nonreversible transformations of native keratin.