Division of force among layers constituting human hair during bending and tension.

Human hair is a three-layered structure comprising the inner medulla, middle cortex, and outer cuticle layer. When a hair is subjected to bending or tensile load, each of these layers absorbs a certain amount of the force applied. However, the magnitude of the force absorbed by each layer is not easy to estimate. This is because, in addition to Young's modulus of each layer, the absorption depends on the area of each layer as seen in the cross-section. This study used a strategic way of combining experiment and theory and found that Young's modulus of the cuticle layer changes in the face of bending and tension. Considering this, the ratio of force sharing inside a human hair was estimated. Bending and tensile tests were conducted on single human hairs to determine the structural elasticity for both deformations which expresses the deformability of the hair independent of its external dimensions. Moreover, Young's modulus of each layer was determined by nanoindentation of hair cross-section. By comparing the structural elasticity determined experimentally with that determined theoretically, Young's modulus of the cuticle layer against tension was found to be 25% of that against bending. Based on this finding, it was found that the cuticle layer bears 35% of the force endured during bending, and the cortex bears the rest; when subjected to tension, the cortex bears more than 90% of the force.

Structural elasticity for tensile deformation of a single human hair and the comparison with it for the bending deformation.

Human hair is a multi-layered structure, which consists of the inner medulla, middle cortex, and outer cuticle. Therefore, the mechanical properties of the hair are related not only to the Young's modulus of each layer but also to the internal structures. Although the tensile test of a human hair has been performed elsewhere, the deformability of the hair for the tensile deformation is determined as the Young's modulus of the hair structure, which is similar to that of metals. In this paper, the structural elasticity of a single human hair for the tensile deformation, which expresses the deformability of a hair by tension without being dependent on external dimensions and shape, is defined based on the theoretical model, and is measured by performing the tensile test under the digital microscope observation. The values of the structural elasticity for the tensile deformation of the hair samples collected from healthy persons are compared with the values obtained for bending deformation. The structural elasticity for the tensile deformation of the hair sample is found to be lesser than that of the bending deformation, and this is verified to be always valid provided the Young's modulus of the outer cuticle is greater than that of the middle cortex.