Leather mechanical properties estimated from airborne ultrasonic testing of hides

Authors: Liu, Cheng Kung; Latona, Nicholas - Nick; BRADY, MATTHEW - Drexel University

Submitted to: American Leather Chemists Association Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/5/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Animal hides are the highest value byproducts of the meat industry. The U.S. beef industry produces approximately 32 million cattle hides annually. Nearly 90% of the cattle hides are exported for processing to countries with lower labor costs and less restrictive environmental policies. This research is aimed to develop advanced technologies to provide greater precision in quality identification prior to tanning, which will place U.S. hides and skins in a competitive advantage in the global marketplace over other national competitors. This report revealed the nondestructive method using ultrasonic waves to characterize the properties of hides and further to estimate the mechanical properties of leather. Observations showed that the tensile strength, stiffness, elongation, and toughness of leather could be predicted by the ultrasonic scanning of the raw hides. The significance of this finding is profound because it provides the industry with a nondestructive way in which to evaluate the quality of hides that are important to the leather properties.