Mapping Tear Strength and Collagen Fibril Orientation in Bovine, Ovine and Cervine Hides and Skins

Abstract

Leather is a natural and variable material. The variation instrength has previously been shown to be due in part to thecollagen fibril orientation. However, the extent of variation instrength and orientation over a skin/hide is not well established.Synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering is used to measurecollagen fibril orientation (O) and orientation index (OI). Tearstrength is measured in two orthogonal directions across ovineand cervine skins and bovine hides. Average normalizedstrengths varied between species with cervine leathers havingthe greatest overall strength followed by bovine then ovineleathers. Ovine had the greatest variability in strength across theskin. There were no obvious regions of generally stronger orweaker skin within individual skins or hides. The predominantcollagen fibril direction was perpendicular to the backbone of allspecies, with the greatest perpendicular alignment in ovinefollowed by cervine. Collagen fibril orientation in leathers madefrom of ovine, bovine and cervine skins have been analyzedquantitatively and in detail. Findings suggest an unpredictablevariability in collagen arrangements within each species but anotable difference in strength between species.