Dimensional and physical properties of plain knitted fabrics made from 50/50 bamboo/cotton blended yarns

In this study, the dimensional and some physical properties of plain knitted fabrics made from 50/50 bamboo/cotton blended yarns are investigated. In order to see the differences and similarities, the results are then compared with those for similar fabrics knitted from 50/50 conventional viscose/cotton and 50/50 modal/cotton blended yarns. Each fabric type was produced with three different stitch lengths. After all fabrics were dyed under identical dyeing conditions, they were subjected to dry and full relaxation treatments. For dimensional properties of fabrics, course, wale and stitch densities were measured. Then, by calculating statistically best-fit lines passing both through the experimental points and the origin, dimensional constants i.e. k values were predicted in terms of the fiber types. The result show that each fabric type knitted from bamboo/cotton, viscose/cotton and modal/cotton blended yarns behaves in a similar manner. However, in both dry and fully relaxed states, the modal/cotton knitted fabrics tend to have slightly higher k values than the bamboo/cotton and viscose/cotton knitted fabrics. For physical properties, fabric weight per unit area, thickness, bursting strength, air permeability and pilling were evaluated. The results show that the weight, thickness and air permeability values are independent of the fiber type. Plain knitted fabrics from modal/cotton blended yarns have the highest bursting strength values. Plain knitted fabrics from bamboo/cotton blended yarns tend to pill less.     

Predicting tensile strength of yarns required for producing PET/Cotton blended woven fabrics of a pre-defined tensile strength

This study was aimed at developing statistical models for the prediction of tensile strength of warp and weft yarns required for attaining a pre-defined strength of PET/Cotton blended woven fabrics. The models were developed based on the empirical data obtained from carefully developed 234 fabric samples with different constructions using 15, 20, and 25 tex yarns in warp and weft directions. The prediction ability and accuracy of the developed models were assessed by correlation analyses of the predicted and actual warp and weft yarn strength values of another set of 36 fabric samples. The analyses showed a very strong ability and accuracy of the developed statistical prediction models.     

Predicting the air permeability of polyester/cotton blended woven fabrics

The aim of this study was to model the air permeability of polyester cotton blended woven fabrics. Fabrics of varying construction parameters i.e. yarn linear densities and thread densities were selected and tested for air permeability, fabric areal density and fabric thickness. A total of 135 different fabric constructions were tested among which 117 were allocated for development of prediction model while the remaining were utilized for its validation. Four variables were selected as input parameters on basis of statistical analysis i.e. warp yarn linear density, weft yarn linear density, ends per 25 mm and picks per 25 mm. Response surface regression was applied on the collected data set in order to develop the prediction model of the selected variables. The model showed satisfactory predictability when applied on unseen data and yielded an absolute average error of 5.1 %. The developed model can be effectively used for prediction of air permeability of the woven fabrics.     

Comparative study on the characteristics of knitted fabrics made of vortex-spun viscose yarns

Murata vortex spinning system is based on the air jet spinning system. The vast majority of previous works deal with the properties of vortex spun (VS) yarn and the spinning system. In this study, we investigated knitted fabrics from VS yarn in comparison with fabrics from ring (RS), compact (CS) and open-end rotor (OES) spun yarns made from viscose. The effect of yarn spinning system on dimensional and physical properties of knitted fabrics was explained with specific attention to fabrics from VS yarn. Shrinkage of fabrics from VS yarn has the lowest at widthwise direction, while having the highest at lengthwise direction. It is shown that the order of fabric spirality and twist liveliness for yarns from different spinning systems are quite similar. However, relation between loop shape factor and angle of spirality is inconsistent. Angle of spirality of fabrics from VS yarn is higher than fabrics from OES yarn, but lower than that of others. The bursting strength of fabrics from VS yarn is lower than that of those from RS and CS yarns and higher than that of those from OES yarn. From this study, it is also evident that fabrics from VS yarn have the lowest pilling tendency and highest resistance to abrasion.     

Dimensional,physical and thermal comfort properties of plain knitted fabrics made from modal viscose yarns having microfibers and conventional fibers

The dimensional, some physical and thermal comfort properties of the plain knitted fabrics having modal viscose microfibers in three different stitch lengths are investigated in comparison with the similar fabrics having conventional modal viscose fibers. The fabrics made from microfibers and conventional fibers exhibit different dimensional properties. The stitch density results and the dimensional constants calculated at the fully relaxed state reveal that the fabrics with microfibers tend to have lower shrinkage tendency than those with conventional fibers. The statistical results show that the fiber type (or fiber fineness) and the stitch length affect the some physical properties and all of the thermal comfort properties of the fabrics significantly. The bursting strength values of the fabrics with microfibers are observed to be slightly higher than those of the fabrics with conventional fibers. However, the difference between the bursting strength values of these fabrics is found to be statistically unimportant. The fabrics with microfibers reveal lower thickness and air permeability and, higher pilling tendency than those with conventional fibers. It is also observed from the thermal comfort results that the fabrics made from microfibers have higher thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity and maximum heat flux values and, lower thermal resistance and thermal diffusivity values. Because of the higher thermal absorptivity and maximum heat flux values, the fabrics from microfibers provide cooler feeling when compared with those from conventional fibers.     

Electromagnetic shielding characteristics of woven fabrics made of hybrid yarns containing metal wire

In this study, electromagnetic shielding characteristics of woven fabrics made of hybrid yarns are investigated. For this purpose, initially the hybrid yarns containing stainless steel wire are produced with hollow spindle covering technique, and then eight different fabric samples are produced using these hybrid yarns. Electromagnetic shielding values of fabric samples are determined by a test set up based on enclosure measurement technique. Measurements are made in the frequency range of 30 MHz-9.93 GHz. Test results show that woven fabric samples investigated in this study have 25–65 dB electromagnetic shielding effectiveness for incident frequency. It was also shown that the direction, density and settlement type of conductive hybrid yarn in fabric structure are important parameters affecting electromagnetic shielding characteristics of woven fabrics.     

Stab-resistant property of the fabrics woven with the aramid/cotton core-spun yarns

Aramid fibers are mainly used for industrial applications and human body protection against ballistic threats. But they are used mostly in forms of composites. And fabrics woven with a high yarn count offer a moderate protection performance against the knife stabbing due to the low shear strength. This research is focused on investigating the effect of the aramid core-spun yarns on the stab resistance of the woven fabrics. With the aramid core-spun yarns with core to sheath weight ratio of 1 to 2.5 the armor specimens having different fabric densities were prepared and the knife edge impact test was conducted. On the impact energy of the knife at the level 1 according to the NIJ standard, the drop tower test results demonstrated that fabric density of the armor specimens affected the stab resistance significantly. The penetration depth of the impactor through the armor specimens was associated with the thickness and mass of the armor sample in different ways. Being the stab resistance introduced by considering the penetration depth of the impactor via thickness and weight per surface area, the effects of the fabric conditions on the anti-stabbing property could be systematically analyzed and turned out that there was an optimal level of the fabric density, showing the most effective stab resistance.     

Investigation of mechanical properties of basalt woven fabrics by theoretical and image analysis methods

This paper explains a study conducted to evaluate mechanical properties of woven structures of basalt. The mechanical properties like shear strength and tensile strength were studied. Tensile properties of basalt hybrid and non-hybrid fabrics are predicted by computational tool and verified with experimental data. The shear strength was investigated by using picture frame fixture. The tests were recorded by a CCD monochrome camera during displacement of specimen at various positions. The images were used for image analysis program developed in MATLAB. The results of image analysis were compared with the actual experimental results. The results illustrate that the mechanical properties of fabrics experience a marked improvement when hybridization of basalt with polyester and polypropylene in different sets of weaves takes place. These findings are important requirements for using such fabrics for high-tech applications and composite forming.     

Evaluation of bamboo charcoal/stainless steel/TPU composite woven fabrics

Composite woven fabric satisfies what people require. Bamboo charcoal (BC) has been identified as a multifunctional material that has far-infrared ray, anions, deodorization and etc. BC fibers and yarns were made of bamboo charcoal powders and have further become a pervasive materials used in textile industry. In this study, cotton yarns, stainless steel/cotton (SS/C) complex yarn, bamboo charcoal/cotton (BC/C) complex yarns were woven into the plain, twill and Dobby composite woven fabrics. The warp yarn was composed of cotton yarns, and the weft yarn was made up of BC/C and SS/C complex yarns with a picking ratio of 1:1 and 3:1. Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) film was then attached to the composite woven fabrics, forming the BC/SS/TPU composite woven fabrics. Tests of electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE), far-infrared emissivity, anions, water resistance, and water vapor permeability measured the single-layer, two-layer and four-layer composite woven fabrics, obtaining a far-infrared emissivity of 0.95 by 39.8 counts per minute, an anion count of 149 amount/cc, an EMSE of −11.87 dB under frequency of 900 MHz, a surface resistivity of 8×10⁻⁶ Ω/square, a water resistance of −8219 mmH₂O, and water vapor permeability of 989 g/m²·h and 319 g/m²·24 h in accordance with JIS L 1099 A1 and ASTM E96 BW.     

A general geometrical model for predicting color mixing of woven fabrics from colored warp and filling yarns

Despite the advances in woven fabrics, CAD systems, and weaving technologies, the process of weave/color selection for each area of a Jacquard pattern still requires the intervention of the CAD system operator and/or designer, who works from color gamut. Relying on the designer subjective assessment, multiple weaving trials may be needed to produce a fabric that matches the target artwork or sample. In this paper, a general geometric model is provided to predict the color contribution of warp and filling yarns of a given woven fabric in terms of warp and pick densities, warp and filling yarns sizes, weave, size of the color repeat of warp and filling yarns, and the number of yarns of different colors. Such geometrical modeling, combined with sound existing color mixing equations, paves the road for the automation of the process of weaves and color selection and thus dramatically reduces the production cycle.     

A comparative study of finer conventional and modified cotton yarns and their resultant woven fabrics

A modified ring spinning technique has been recently developed by incorporating false twisting devices into the conventional ring frame. Its application on the coarser yarn counts (7–32 Ne) showed notable advantages in modified yarn and fabric performance. More recently, it was noted that this technique can also be applied for producing finer cotton yarns. Thus this paper aims to carry out a systematic study of the physical properties of the finer modified yarns (80 Ne) and woven fabrics with respect to the conventional ones. Physical properties of conventional and modified single yarns were evaluated and compared. These two types of single yarn were used for the production of woven fabrics. Moreover, the above two types of single yarn were also plied and used for the production of woven fabrics under a commercial condition. All woven fabrics were assessed in terms of fabric tensile strength, tearing strength, abrasion resistance, fabric weight, and air-permeability as well as other fabric performance measured by the Kawabata Evaluation System (KES). Experimental results showed that finer modified yarns and fabrics exhibit higher strength, lower hairiness, and improved abrasion resistance, slightly better compression property, and smoother surface with relatively larger thickness.     

Effect of blends proportion on the characteristics of dry and Pre-wet nylon/viscose blended air-jet textured yarns

Blending of nylon filament with viscose can overcome the drawbacks of these yarns. Thermoplastic and thermoset filament yarns can be blended in air-jet texturising method. The characteristics of nylon/viscose blended filament yarns are required to be understood in order to convert them in to useful products. Therefore, nylon/viscose blended yarns in different proportions were produced using nylon 6 and viscose filament yarns in air jet texturising machine. The textured yarns were also produced in dry and pre-wet conditions to understand the effect of water on textured yarn characteristics. It was found that the loops frequency, bulkiness of nylon/viscose blended textured yarns increase with increase in viscose proportion. The Loops stability, tenacity and breaking elongation decrease with increase in viscose proportion. Pre-wet textured yarn show higher loops, bulkiness, and good loop stability than their corresponding dry textured yarns.     

Color and whiteness properties of fabrics knitted from different hybrid core-spun yarns containing metal wire

In this study, the color and whiteness properties of fabrics knitted from ring, siro and compact core-spun yarns containing metal wire were investigated. In general, an increase in the metal ratio of yarns causes a decrease in the whiteness and color strengths of fabrics. In our study, spinning method had no statistically significant effect on either the T _w or K/S values of fabrics while the effect of spinning method on the whiteness index of fabrics was briefly observed. Fabrics knitted from siro spun yarns showed higher whiteness properties than those of fabrics knitted from compact and ring spun yarns. This might be explained by the superior covering effectiveness of the siro spinning method on metal wire.     

Predicting the unevenness of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns using artificial neural network and statistical models

In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) and a statistical model are developed to predict the unevenness of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns. Seven different blend ratios of polyester/viscose slivers are produced and these slivers are manufactured with four different rotor speed and four different yarn counts in rotor spinning machine. A back propagation multi layer perceptron (MLP) network and a mixture process crossed regression model (simplex lattice design) with two mixture components (polyester and viscose blend ratios) and two process variables (yarn count and rotor speed) are developed to predict the unevenness of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns. Both ANN and simplex lattice design have given satisfactory predictions, however, the predictions of statistical models gave more reliable results than ANN.     

Mechanical,thermal and interfacial properties of green composites from basalt and hybrid woven fabrics

Composites based on pure Basalt and Basalt/Jute fabrics were fabricated. The mechanical properties of the composites such as flexural modulus, tensile modulus and impact strength were measured depending upon weave, fiber contents and resin. Dynamic mechanical analysis of all composites were done. From the results it is found that pure basalt fiber combination maintains higher values in all mechanical tests. Thermo-gravimetric (TG/DTG) composites showed that thermal degradation temperatures of composites shifted to higher temperature regions compared to pure jute fabrics. Addition of basalt fiber improved the thermal stability of the composite considerably. Scanning electron microscopic images of tensile fractured composite samples illustrated that better fiber-matrix interfacial interaction occurred in hybrid composites. The thermal conductivity of composites are also investigated and thermal model is used to check their correlation.     

The mechanism and/or prediction of the breaking elongation of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns

In this study, an analysis on the breaking elongation mechanism of the polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns has been carried out. In addition, a back propagation multi layer perceptron (MLP) network and a mixture process crossed regression model with two mixture components (polyester and viscose blend ratios) and two process variables (yarn count and rotor speed) are developed to predict the breaking elongation of polyester/viscose blended open-end rotor spun yarns. Seven different blend ratios of polyester/viscose slivers are produced and these slivers are manufactured with four different rotor speed and four different yarn counts in rotor spinning machine. In conclusion, ANN and statistical model both have given satisfactory predictions; however, the predictions of ANN gave relatively more reliable results than those of statistical models. Since the prediction capacity of statistical models is also obtained as satisfactory, it can also be used for breaking elongation (%) prediction of yarns because of its simplicity and non-complex structure. In addition, it is also found in this study that yarn count, rotor speed and breaking elongation of polyester-viscose fibers and the blend ratios of these fibers in the yarn have major effects on yarn breaking elongation.     

Hand and mechanical properties of stretch fabrics

This paper discusses the hand and preference of stretch fabrics for sportswear through subjective and objective hand evaluations. Twenty-two varieties of stretch fabrics for fall/winter sportswear fabrics were used. Seven main factors were classified through subjective evaluation and total cumulative variance value was 68.28 %. According to correlations between objective hand and preference, there are differences in preferences for pants and shirts, and in response to preference for shirts, no gender differences are observed. Correlations between subjective hand and preference show that there is a similar tendency in preferences for pants and shirts regardless of usage by different genders.     

Mechanical properties of composites made from locally manufactured carbon fabrics and the composites produced from air-textured glass yarns

Composite materials have a wide range of applications in structural components because of their high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. However, the most crucial and common life-restricting crack growth mode in laminated composites i.e. delamination is of great concern. Air jet texturing was selected to provide a small amount of bulk to the glass yarn. The purpose was to provide more surface contact between the fibres and resin and also to increase the adhesion between the neighbouring layers. These were expected to enhance the resistance to delamination in the woven glass composites. The development and characterisation of core-and-effect textured glass yarns was presented in the previous paper. This paper describes the comparison of the mechanical properties of composites produced from air-textured glass yarns and the composites made from locally manufactured carbon fabrics. The tensile, flexure and inter-laminar shear strength (ILSS) were compared and it was observed that although glass fibres are inferior to carbon fibres in terms of mechanical properties however, the flexure strength and ILSS of glass based composites increases after texturing and were found closer to the properties of carbon based composites.     

Enhanced visualization of simulated woven fabrics

The woven fabric graphics designed with available computer aided design (CAD) systems using different colored warp and weft yarns look quite different from the appearance of their actual fabrics. To enhance the visual effects of designed woven fabric graphics, this paper reports a modified CAD woven fabric system, which allows users to design a fabric using parameters including fabric weaves, yarn number, yarn material, fabric count, crimp shape of interwoven yarns, and illumination. This enhanced system can design both yarns and fabrics, and consider the transitional color effect around interweaving points of warp and weft yarns. Its simulation image quality of woven fabrics has been greatly improved, and several textile mills and universities are currently using this woven fabric design system.     

The effect of different connections in double layered woven fabrics on comfort properties

With the increasing demand of fabrics for special usage areas, more complex woven structures are designed and from the structural point of view, especially the parameters which affect the comfort properties become more important. This paper reports the effect of structural parameters of double layered woven fabrics, such as number of interlacing picks, period of interlacing and number of weft skips on the basic comfort properties of the fabrics (thickness, air permeability and wicking properties) produced according to Taguchi orthogonal array design. The investigated parameters were determined before and after finishing treatment. According to the results, it is found that period of interlacing has an important effect on the thickness and air permeability of both untreated and treated fabrics whereas in terms of drying coefficient, the effect of the investigated parameters is not statistically important.