Abstract

Sheepskin flesh splits which had undergone all beamhouse processes were tanned with glutaraldehyde, producing three increasing degrees of tannage according to the resultant elevation of the shrinkage temperature (Ts). The respective specimens were referred to as GA low-grade (Ts 60.3±0.7°C, n=10), GA medium-grade (Ts 67.7±1.2°C, n=15) and GA high-grade (Ts 74.8±0.8°C, n=36). The thickness, tensile strength and elongation at break of untanned and tanned specimens were assessed, applying an experimental testing procedure. The thickness of the specimens correlated negatively with the degree of tannage (r = -0.78). The tensile strength of the GA high-grade tanned specimens equalled 30.8±3.6 N/mm² (n=30), corresponding with an increase in tensile strength of approximately 209’, as compared with the untanned specimens. The tensile strength values of GA low-, medium- and high-grade tanned specimens did not differ significantly. The elongation at break of the tanned specimens correlated negatively with the degree of tannage (r = -0.68). The stress/strain curves recorded exhibited a sigmoid shape.