Tensile Properties and Moisture Regain
Samples were conditioned for at least 24 h under the standard testing conditions of 21 °C and 65 % relative humidity before testing. Fineness of the fibers was calculated in terms of denier (weight in grams per
9,000 m of the fibers) by weighing a known length of the fibers. The tensile properties of the fibers from the outer, intermediate and inner layers were determined separately on an Instron tensile tester using a gauge length of 1 inch and cross head speed of 18 mm/ minute. At least 50 fibers from ten different cocoons were tested and the average and standard deviations were obtained. Moisture regain of the fibers was de- termined according to ASTM standard method 2654 using standard conditions of 21 °C and 65 % relative humidity.