- Viscose rayon fibers may be in continuous filament form or cut into short staple fibers of 35-40 mm length.
- Viscose fibers may be available in bright or dull luster.
- Tenacity of conditioned viscose fibers may range from 18-30 g/tex. (Tenacity of Lenzing viscose ranges from 23-25 g/tex).
- Elongation at break of viscose fibers may range from 17-25%. The elongation percentage of wet fibers is slightly greater than the dry fibers.
- Moisture regain of viscose fibers ranges from 11-16%. It is higher than cotton, which has a standard moisture regain of 8.5%.
- Viscose fabrics have good absorbency for water or perspiration but they do not dry quickly.
- Like cotton, fabrics made from viscose fibers have high tendency of creasing.
- Like cotton, viscose fibers have tendency to shrink on washing.
- Unlike cotton, tenacity of viscose fibers may decrease as much as 70% in wet form. (Tenacity of Lenzing viscose in wet form ranges from 12-13 g/tex).
- Viscose fabrics do not soil as easily as cotton fabrics because smoother surface of viscose fibers attracts less soil.
- Viscose fibers have good dyeability, which is usually better than cotton.
- Viscose fabrics may not be damaged by weak solutions of alkalis or oxidizing agents.
- Weak acids as well as strong alkaline or oxidizing solutions may cause damage to viscose fibers.
- Like cotton, viscose fibers may be damaged by mildew in humid conditions but not attacked by moths.
- Prolonged exposure of viscose fabrics to sunlight may result in reduction in the fabric strength.
- Like cotton, viscose fibers are highly flammable (LOI = 18)
Figure 1. Lenzing Viscose®
