Fisheries Research 81 (2006) 326330

The effect of natural sunlight on the strength of polyamide

6 multifilament and monofilament fishing net materials
Saly N. Thomas , C. Hridayanathan
School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin 682016, Kerala, India
Received 6 October 2005; received in revised form 8 May 2006; accepted 16 June 2006

Abstract
The effect of natural sunlight on four polyamide monofilament yarns and four polyamide multifilament twines was studied. The samples, each
of different RTex were exposed to 180 days solar radiation and sub-samples were drawn at intervals to study the effect on breaking strength and
elongation at break. Significant reduction in both breaking strength (P < 0.01) and elongation at break (P < 0.01) have been recorded in the test
samples due to weathering. Breaking strength reduced linearly with the period of exposure, while no such linear relationship was found in the case
of elongation at break.
2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Weathering; Polyamide; Monofilament; Multifilament; Breaking strength; Elongation

1. Introduction
Polyamide (PA) became the first synthetic material to replace
cotton/hemp in India for fishing gear construction and its indigenous production started in 1962 (Meenakumari et al., 1993). PA
is available as multifilament twisted and monofilament single
twines for netting purposes. In the gill net sector, the use of
PA as multifilament twine is the commonest material used for
gill net fabrication (Radhalakshmy et al., 1993). Initially, PA
multifilament and later, PA monofilament became popular for
gill nets. In the quest for better catching efficiency, fishermen
adopted thinner materials, as the PA monofilament of 0.20 and
0.23 mm diameter used earlier for gill nets employed inshore
was later replaced by 0.16 mm diameter. The use of PA monofilament of 0.16 mm diameter in webbing necessitates frequent
replacement as this lasts for 69 months only.
The resistance to photo-degradation is considered a basic
property determining the durability of the material. Exposure to
sunlight was known to degrade most natural fibres, and the problem has not been overcome with the development of synthetic
polymer materials. Resistance to light and weathering was much

Corresponding author. Present address: Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Matsyapuri P.O., Cochin 682029, Kerala, India. Tel.: +91 484 2666845;
fax: +91 484 2668212.
E-mail addresses: saly t@rediffmail.com, salythomas@ciftmail.org
(S.N. Thomas).
0165-7836/$ see front matter 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2006.06.012

the same in all-vegetable fibres, while synthetic fibres showed

very great differences in that respect (Klust, 1959).
Weathering causes modification and breakdown of the molecular structure of polymers, which in turn results in the loss
of strength, extensibility, general durability and appearance
(Achhammer et al., 1953; Winslow and Hawkins, 1967; Liu et
al., 1995). Molin (1959) reported that one of the disadvantages of
PA nets for fishing purposes was their relatively high sensitivity
to ultraviolet rays. Carrothers (1957) reported that on average,
a well-maintained PA net loses about 25% of its strength during
the first season and another 10% during the second season. When
conducting weathering and light exposure tests, loss in breaking strength was commonly used as a measure of the amount of
degradation (Egerton and Shah, 1968; Little and Parsons, 1967;
Singleton et al., 1965). Al-Oufi et al. (2004) assessed both the
breaking strength and elongation capability as measures of the
effects of solar radiation on PA continuous filaments.
Weathering studies conducted in India on fishing net twines
have been confined to polyethylene (PE) and PA multifilament
twines (Meenakumari et al., 1985, 1995; Meenakumari and
Ravindran, 1985; Meenakumari and Radhalakshmi, 1988). The
weathering resistance of PA monofilament has not been studied
in India. With the recent popularity of PA monofilament twines,
the assessment of its weathering resistance has become very
important. A study of the photo-degradation of PA monofilament
yarn in comparison to PA multifilament twine was, therefore,
undertaken.

S.N. Thomas, C. Hridayanathan / Fisheries Research 81 (2006) 326330

327

2. Materials and methods

Table 1
Specifications and physical properties of samples studied

The test material comprised samples of: (i) PA 6 monofilament yarn of four specifications, viz. of diameter 0.16 mm
diameter (Tex 23), 0.20 mm (Tex 44), 0.23 mm (Tex 50) and
0.32 mm (Tex 90) and (ii) PA 6 multifilament twine of four
specifications, viz. 210 d 1 2 (Rtex 51), 210 d 6 3 (Rtex
455), 210 d 9 3 (Rtex 683) and 210 d 12 3 (Rtex 911).
The diameter of the samples was measured using a travelling
microscope. The test samples were suspended without tension
on aluminium nails set 1 cm apart on a rectangular wooden frame
with sufficient ventilation and to prevent the temperature from
building up excessively. The mounted samples were held in a
north-south direction at an angle of 45 on the roof top where
sunlight would fall directly on the samples during the whole
day. Marine atmospheric conditions prevailed at the test site
on Willingdon island, Cochin, India. The month-wise amount
of noon radiation during the exposure period was recorded by
a solar collector (model SE-MSR 3003A36) designed by Sunshine International to measure global radiation at wave lengths
ranging from 0.3 to 3 m. Sub-samples from the test material
were removed for measuring the change in breaking strength
and elongation at break after 8, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and
180 days of exposure. The test exposure was done from December to May, when there was almost continuous sunshine at the
test site. During this period, the mean monthly temperature and
rainfall in the area ranged from 30.6 to 32.7 C and 0 to 503 mm,
respectively. The retrieved samples and the unexposed control
samples were tested for breaking strength and elongation using
a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) of model ZWICK 1484 in
accordance with Anon (1971). Five replicates of each sample
(40 test samples, viz. n = 5 per sample specification) were tested
at each sampling and the mean value was taken.
Breaking strength after a given period of exposure was calculated as a percentage of the mean initial strength of the unexposed
control twines of each test sample. The twine is considered
unserviceable when the strength is reduced to 50% of its original
value (Brandt, 1959). Elongation at break was also calculated in
the same way.

No.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Assessment of mechanical strength properties
The characteristics of the samples tested are given in Table 1.
Results showed reduced breaking strength and elongation at
break of samples exposed to sunlight (Table 2). An analysis
of variance (ANOVA) showed consistent reduction of these
properties. At the end of 180 days of exposure, there was significant reduction in breaking strength and in elongation at break
(P < 0.01) in all the samples. PA monofilament, on average (irrespective of thickness of different samples) retained 64.6% of
its initial breaking strength at the end of 180 days whereas PA
multifilament retained only 46.6% (Table 2). In the case of the
extension at break, PA monofilament, on average retained 57.8%
and PA multifilament retained 53.2% of the original values at
the end of 180 days of exposure (Table 2).

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Specification

Weight/
m (g)

Strength
(N)

Elongaton
at break (%)

Type

Diameter
(mm)

PA monofilament
PA monofilament
PA monofilament
PA monofilament
PA multifilament
(210 d 1 2)
PA multifilament
(210 d 6 3)
PA multifilament
(210 d 9 3)
PA multifilament
(210 d 12 3)

0.16
0.2
0.23
0.32
0.37

0.036
0.044
0.047
0.050
0.053

14.8
16.4
21.7
36.3
26.6

27.7
34.7
32.8
35.1
27.1

1.04

0.483

210.7

39.9

1.30

0.725

312.4

35.8

1.54

0.98

513.9

34.3

There was substantial difference between materials and

between periods of exposure in terms of strength and elongation
retained. In the case of strength, there was significant difference
between periods of exposure (P < 0.001) and between materials (P < 0.001). In the case of extension too, significant differences between exposure time (P < 0.001) and between materials
(P < 0.05) were found. The different reductions in strength in
different months could be due to seasonal changes in the intensity of solar radiation on the earth surface. This is evident from
the month-wise amount of noon radiation during the exposure
period given in Table 3. Indurfurth (1953) reported that deterioration due to weathering was more rapid at certain locations than
others, because of differences in the duration of the wavelengths
of light, which particularly damaged the fibre.
The breaking strength reduced linearly with increase in exposure time indicating that the process is continuous. This was
observed in the case of multifilament twine and monofilament
yarn of all dimensions. The regression equation when fitted to
the graph depicting the relationship between breaking strength
and exposure time showed a linear relationship (R2 = 0.903 and
above for all twine dimensions). This shows that the relationship
between the rate of deterioration of strength and the period of
exposure was linear and this can help in predicting the service
life of the material. The present observations were in conformity with those of Meenakumari and Radhalakshmi (1988) for
the PA multifilament twines. However, in the case of elongation
at break, no linear relationship was found between the reduction
in elongation and the increase in exposure time.
Observation of the retention of breaking strength and extension capability showed that PA multifilament was more susceptible to weathering than PA monofilament. To confirm the greater
susceptibility of multifilament to weathering, the retention of
strength features of PA monofilament and multifilament samples of comparable thickness were analysed. It was seen that
PA multifilament of 210 d 1 2 (0.37 mm diameter) retained
only 25.3% of the breaking strength while PA monofilament
of 0.32 mm diameter retained 70.4% of strength (Table 2). This
shows that PA multifilament was more susceptible to weathering
than monofilament. Alsayes et al. (1996) also observed higher

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S.N. Thomas, C. Hridayanathan / Fisheries Research 81 (2006) 326330

Table 2
Breaking strength and elongation at break as a percentage of initial values
Exposure period (days)

0.16 mm diameter

0.2 mm diameter

0.23 mm diameter

0.32 mm diameter

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

(a) PA monofilament
0
8
15
30
45
60
90
120
150
180

100.0
99.3
91.1
83.6
79.6
78.1
68.8
57.8
55.1
52.7

100.0
94.7
82.6
75.2
71.6
70.7
66.4
59.4
60.9
47.3

100.0
96.5
90.3
89.7
87.2
85.3
73.4
66.8
64.5
63.4

100.0
89.5
83.1
78.7
73.2
67.6
61.2
60.3
60.6
60.9

100.0
93.9
93.2
89.2
90.4
88.5
82.1
73. 8
73.9
71.7

100.0
82.9
95.4
75.0
83.2
82.3
77.1
68.0
68.9
63.4

100.0
100.6
97.1
91.8
92.2
88.9
85.8
78.6
75.1
70.4

100.0
98.4
93.2
84.6
82.5
71.5
74.4
67.8
68.6
59.4

Exposure period (days)

210 d 1 2

(b) PA multifilament
0
8
15
30
45
60
90
120
150
180

210 d 6 3

210 d 9 3

210 d 12 3

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

Strength

Elongation

100.0
87.5
91.4
82.3
73.2
62.2
43.1
33.4
34.3
25.3

100.0
85.8
85.7
73.1
62.3
60.6
46.8
41.5
46.5
35.4

100.0
90.2
91.5
81.4
81.3
75.8
62.3
55.0
57.1
45.2

100.0
92.5
82.5
77.7
72.7
81.0
58.4
60.9
60.2
53.6

100.0
92.1
89.6
86. 8
81.7
65.3
55.7
43.3
38.2
36.5

100.0
90.6
78.8
79.8
74.2
63.7
54.0
46.2
55.6
50.8

100.0
96.9
93.9
84.5
89.0
68.7
68.6
62.5
58.9
51.7

100.0
101.9
97.0
83.7
90.6
70.3
77.3
69.8
65.7
66.5

degradation by ultraviolet light on multifilament material than

on monofilament.
A criterion for assessing the service life of fishing net material, based on the concept of 50% retention of strength or elongation, being acceptable was considered for the evaluation of
durability (Brandt, 1959). In monofilament, all the samples,
viz. 0.16, 0.20, 0.23 and 0.32 mm diameters retained breaking strength and extension capability above 50% level of the
original level after 180 days exposure. In multifilament, only
the 210 d 12 3 samples retained 50% strength. The higher
retention of strength in 210 d 12 3 can be attributed to the
greater thickness of the twine in conformity with the findings of
Radhalakshmy and Nayar (1973).

samples of each material were analysed separately to discover

any difference in performance with respect to the thickness of
the material.
Fig. 1 shows the retention in strength of each sample of
PA monofilament of different thicknesses at specific periods of
exposure. The maximum strength loss was in the thinnest sample 0.16 mm diameter and the loss decreased progressively with
increasing thickness of the sample. After 180 days of exposure,
47.2, 36.6, 28.4 and 29.6% of the original breaking strength was
retained by samples of 0.16, 0.20, 0.23 and 0.32 mm diameter,

3.2. Effect of thickness of material on degradation

The effect of weathering also depends on the thickness of the
netting yarns. The ratio of surface to mass is very important. The
Table 3
Monthly average noon radiation at the test site
S. No.

Month

Year

Exposure time (days)

Radiation (W/m2 )

1
2
3
4
5
6

December
January
February
March
April
May

1998
1999
1999
1999
1999
1999

8, 15, 30
45, 60
90
120
150
180

98
112
154
108
91
96

Fig. 1. Variation in breaking strength with time in PA monofilament exposed to

sunlight.

S.N. Thomas, C. Hridayanathan / Fisheries Research 81 (2006) 326330

Fig. 2. Variation in elongation at break with time in PA monofilament exposed

to sunlight.

respectively (Table 2). Fig. 2 shows the retention in elongation of

different PA monofilament samples at specific periods of exposure. The maximum reduction in extension was again found in
the thinnest sample (0.16-mm diameter). At the end of 180 days
of exposure, 52.7, 39.1, 36.6 and 40.6% of the original extension
value was retained by samples of 0.16, 0.20, 0.23 and 0.32 mm
diameter, respectively (Table 2.). In all cases, the rate of deterioration of extension was greater than the rate of deterioration of
strength.
In the case of PA multifilament also, the loss in breaking strength and extension capability showed a more or less
progressive decrease with increasing thickness of the samples
(Figs. 3 and 4). After 180 days of exposure, 74.7, 54.9, 63.5 and
48.3% of the original breaking strength was retained by samples
210 d 1 2, 210 d 6 3, 210 d 9 3 and 210 d 12 3,
respectively. Similarly 64.6, 46.4, 49.2 and 33.5% of the initial elongation value was retained by samples 210 d 1 2,
210 d 6 3, 210 d 9 3 and 210 d 12 3, respectively.
The results indicate that filament sizes and thickness affected
the weather resistance. Fibres with high denier per filament
were found to be more resistant than fibres with low denier
per filament. Ede and Henstead (1964) indicated that thicker
monofilament gave better resistance. The bigger the diameter
the less noticeable is the photo-degradation, which was insignificant for thicker ropes as the layers below were protected by the

329

Fig. 4. Variation in elongation at break with time in PA multifilament exposed

to sunlight.

degraded outer surface. The degradation time of polypropylene

at 1300 C was 65 h for a film of 0.20 mm thickness and 225 h
for a sheet of 2.0 mm thickness (Gnatowski, 1993). Alsayes et al.
(1996) stated that the thickness of material could be considered
as a limiting factor for ultraviolet penetration and consequently
the degree of photochemical degradation of such materials. The
thicker the monofilament, the twine or the rope, the better is the
resistance since there is proportionately less depth penetration
by ultraviolet rays (Radhalakshmy and Nayar, 1973). This could
be explained by the fact that photo-oxidation was primarily a surface reaction, so the effect of UV radiation may not extend into
the polymer bulk to any large extent. Photo-oxidation produces
a variety of physical and chemical changes and the mechanical
properties deteriorate. Hence, protecting fishing nets from direct
sunlight should increase their service life.
The present results suggest that polyamide fishing net materials are very susceptible to degradation due to exposure to
sunlight. Among the multifilament and monofilament materials,
the multifilament type is more susceptible than monofilament.
The thickness of the material affects the photo-degradation, as
the thicker the material the better is the resistance to photodegradation. Protection of the net from the suns direct rays
would extend the service life of the component materials. This
finding has implication on cultural practices of fishermen. The
practice of drying the nets in sunlight after fishing should not
be done in view of the strength loss due to weathering. Further
research on these aspects with reference to tropical climatic conditions needs to be pursued. Such investigations need to cover
other commonly used net materials, such as polyethylene and
polypropylene.
Acknowledgement
The first author wishes to thank Director, Central Institute of
Fisheries Technology, Cochin for granting a sabbatical to carry
out her Ph.D. programme at the School of Industrial Fisheries,
Cochin University of Science and Technology.
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Fig. 3. Variation in breaking strength with time in PA multifilament exposed to

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