Important Properties of Viscose Rayon Fibers

  •  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)
Lenzing Viscose

  Figure 1. Lenzing Viscose®

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