Evaluation of the structural properties of plain fabrics woven from various fibers using Peirce’s model

Peirce’s fabric model has been widely used to predict the structural behavior of various plain woven fabrics. The structure of plain woven fabric can be defined in terms of the warp yarn number, weft yarn number, warp fabric density, weft fabric density, warp crimp, and weft crimp. The warp and weft yarn diameters are calculated from the warp and weft yarn numbers, and the effective coefficient of the yarn diameter is defined by using this model. We have investigated structural properties, such as the effective coefficient of the yarn diameter, yarn crimp, and fabric thickness for two different fabrics in which the constituent yarns are assumed to be either incompressible or compressible. This model is also applied to various plain fabrics woven from cotton, rayon, wool, linen, nylon, acetate, polyester, and silk yarns.     

Effect of weaving process on tensile characterization of single and multiple ends of air-entangled textured polyester yarns

The tensile properties of air-entangled textured polyester single and multiple yarn ends before and after weaving were analyzed. The effects of weaving process considering fabric unit cell interlacement and number of yarn ends were evaluated by regression model. For this purpose, plain, ribs and satin woven fabrics were produced. The yarns were raveled from fabrics, and the tensile tests were applied to these yarns. The developed regression model showed that the number of interlacement and crimp ratio on the warp and weft yarns influence their tensile strength. Tensile strength of raveled yarns decreased compared to that of the bobbin yarn due to the effect of weaving process. This property degradation on the ravel yarns considered process degradation. Generally, when the number of warp and weft yarn ends increases, the warp and weft yarn tensile strengths for each fabric type decrease, whereas the warp and weft yarn tensile elongations slightly increase. The results from regression model were compared with the measured values. This study confirmed that the method in the study can be a viable and reliable tool. The research finding could be useful those who work on preform fabrication.     

The effect of fabric balance and fabric cover on surface roughness of polyester fabrics

The effects of fabric balance and fabric cover on surface roughness values of textured polyester woven fabrics with different constructional parameters were investigated. The warp yarn properties (type, count and warp density) were kept constant while the effect of variation in weft yarn density and weave pattern were studied. Measurements were conducted on pre-treated white fabric samples and the results assessed in relation to their constructional properties. A general overview of the results showed that surface roughness values of polyester fabrics affected by fabric balance and fabric cover and the effects were related to fabric thickness, yarn densities, yarn crimp, positioning of yarns in fabric structure. A change in weave pattern from sateen to plain increased the fabric balance and fabric cover, but decreased the surface roughness. Similarly, an increase in weft density increased the fabric balance and fabric cover, but decreased surface roughness. In order to produce fabrics with smooth surface properties yarn density should be increased, yarn float lengths decreased, cover of fabrics increased and fabric balance improved.     

Assessing the relationship among fabric constructional parameters, fractional reflectances and cover factors of polyester fabrics by experimental and mathematical methods

This paper focuses on the assessment of the relation among constructional properties, fractional reflectances and cover factors of fabrics woven from polyester yarns. A novel equation for the calculation of the relation between fractional reflectance and fabric cover factor was proposed and the usage of the equation was assessed by reflectance measurements. 48 polyester fabrics having different constructional parameters were used and the fabrics differed from each other by their cover factors. The warp yarn type and count, warp density and warp yarn twist were the same but weft yarn count, weft yarn fiber count and weft density were different for the fabrics in the experimental sub-groups. The reflectance measurements were conducted on the pretreated but undyed fabric samples as well as on the individual yarn systems of the same fabrics. Fabrics with the same cover factors exhibited different fractional reflectances. Reflectances were found to be dependent on the cover factor as well as on yarn fiber fineness, yarn count, yarn density and fabric weave. The changes in crimp of the yarns according to different construction parameters also governed the changes in fractional reflectances of fabric surfaces. The proposed equation was tested according to different fabric construction parameters and it was concluded that fiber fineness and weave pattern were among the most important parameters which govern the total light reflectances from the fabric surfaces, although they are not incorporated in the calculation of the fabric cover factors. The proposed equation was used to explain the effects of these components on the reflectance behavior of the fabric surfaces and on fabric cover.     

Crimp analysis of worsted fabrics in the terms of fabric extension behaviour

Inside a woven fabric structure, warp and weft yarns acquire crimp as a result of yarns interlacing according to the weave pattern. Since warp and weft yarns are oriented in two perpendicular directions, applying tensile load in one direction causes extension in the load side and fabric contraction in the opposite direction. This process was investigated in this study by using an image processing procedure and it was found that fabric’s extension is in coincidence with yarn’s de-crimping process in the same direction. After the de-crimping stage, yarns in the load direction will be extended and at the same time crimp in the other direction will be increased, until jamming phenomenon happens in the fabric structure. The crimp interchange between warp and weft yarns follows a three-order polynomial function with a turning point in which the yarns in the load direction have no crimp.     

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.     

Mechanical properties of worsted fabrics for emotional garment to the rapier loom characteristics

This study examined the mechanical properties of worsted fabrics woven using various rapier weaving looms. For this purpose, the warp and weft yarn tensions during weaving were measured on the three types of rapier looms, and the fabric mechanical property changes due to the warp and weft tension differences were measured and analyzed according to the fabric position and particular rapier loom using the KES-FB system. The warp tension variation along the loom width direction in P-GTX loom showed the lowest value compared to FAST and THEMA looms. The warp tensions on the central part of the three types of looms were much higher than those on the left and right sides of the looms. The extensibility and bending rigidity of the fabric woven by P-GTX rapier loom showed lower values than those of FAST and THEMA looms, which appears to have originated from the low warp and weft weaving tensions of P-GTX rapier loom. On the other hand, the compressional property and shear modulus showed compromised results due to lateral deformation by compression and constraint deformation of the warp and weft by shear. The friction coefficient of the fabric surface woven by FAST loom showed the lowest value due to the flatter surface by the high warp tension. The mechanical properties of the fabric loaded by a high warp tension on the central part of the loom were also affected by the high weft yarn crimp due to the wider spacing between warp yarns by the higher warp tension during weaving, which makes the surface of the central part of the fabric flatter and smoother than the edge part of the fabric.     

Analysis and tensile characterization of air-entangled textured polyester woven fabrics depending on interlacement and yarn sets

The aim of this study was to understand the failure mechanism of two dimensional dry fabric structure considering yarn sets and interlacements. For this purpose, data generated on air-entangled textured polyester woven fabric under the simple tensile load and analyzed by developed regression model. The regression model showed that warp and weft directional tensile strengths of satin fabric were higher than those of plain and rib fabrics in unravel sample. This might be related to the number of interlacements of the fabrics. There was not a considerable difference between warp directional tensile strength of ravel and unravel satin fabrics, whereas weft directional tensile strength of ravel satin fabric decreased rapidly with respect to its unravel form. The satin fabric showed the highest warp directional tensile strength among the others. The lowest weft directional tensile strength was received from ribs fabric. In semi-ravel sample, all fabrics showed low warp and weft directional tensile strength values except in plain fabric. Warp directional tensile elongation of plain fabric was the highest in unravel sample. Satin fabric showed the highest warp directional tensile elongation in the ravel sample. Warp directional tensile elongations of all the fabrics in the semi-ravel sample became low. Weft directional tensile elongation of satin fabric was the highest in unravel sample. In addition, satin and plain fabrics showed the highest weft directional tensile elongations in the ravel sample. Weft directional tensile elongations of all the fabrics in the semi-ravel sample became low except in ribs fabric.     

Pull-out properties of polyester woven fabrics: Effects of softening agent and interlacement on single and multiple yarn pull-out forces and analysis by statistical model

The aim of this study was to understand the effects of softening treatment on pull-out properties of plain, ribs and satin fabrics. Polyester woven fabrics were used to conduct the pull-out tests. Data generated from these tests included pullout force, crimp extension and fabric displacement. A developed yarn pull-out fixture was used to perform single and multiple pull-out tests on treated and untreated polyester fabrics. Yarn pull-out forces depend on fabric treatments, fabric density, fabric weave, and the number of pulled ends in the fabric. The results of regression model showed that multiple and single yarn pull-out forces of treated fabrics were lower than those of untreated fabrics. The multiple yarn pull-out force was higher than that of the single yarn pull-out force, and that dense fabric had a high pull-out force. Treated and untreated plain fabrics had high single and multiple pull-out forces compared to those of treated and untreated ribs and satin fabrics. Yarn crimp extension depends on directional crimp ratios in the fabric and the number of pulled yarn ends. High directional crimp ratio fabric showed high directional yarn crimp extension. Fabric displacement depends on the number of pulled yarn ends and also fabric treatments. Fabric displacement in multiple pull-out tests showed high fabric displacement compared to that of single pull-out tests. On the other hand, the regression model could be used in this study as a viable and reliable tool.     

Mechanical characterization of flocked fabric for automobile seat cover

In this study, the tensile and tearing properties of substrate, substrate with adhesive and flocked fabric were studied with developed regression model which explains the relationships between fabric forms and tensile and tearing strength of the flocked fabrics. Warp and weft tensile strengths of wet flocked fabric are generally higher than the warp and weft tensile strengths of dry flocked fabric due to the high wet properties of cotton yarn. Weft tensile elongation of the flocked fabric is generally higher than warp tensile elongation due to the higher crimp ratio of the flocked fabric in the weft direction. Warp and weft tearing strengths of wet form substrate with adhesive and flocked fabric are higher than those of dry forms of substrate with adhesive and flocked fabric. One of the reasons could be the decrease of inter-yarn frictional forces due to the lubrication effect of the wet form of acrylic adhesive in substrate with adhesive fabric. Generally, tearing strength of flocked fabric is low compared with substrate. It was concluded that the regression model used in this study could be viable and reliable tools and flocked fabric could be considered as an alternative seat cover material to use in automotive industry.     

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.     

Reflectance prediction of colored polyester fabrics by a novel formula

This paper focuses on the reflectance prediction of colored (unicolored) fabrics considering relationship between fractional reflectance values and cover factors of fabrics woven from polyester yarns. A novel equation for the calculation of relation between fractional reflectance and cover factor was proposed and usage of the equation was assessed by reflectance measurements. 48 dyed polyester fabrics having different constructional parameters were used and fabrics differed from each other by their cover factors. Warp yarn type and count, warp density and warp yarn twist were the same but weft yarn count, weft yarn fiber count and weft density were different for the fabrics in experimental sub-groups. The reflectance measurements were conducted on the dyed fabric samples as well as on the individual yarn systems (warp and weft) of the same fabrics. The proposed equation was tested according to different fabric constructional parameters and reasonable results with the experimental data were obtained. The possibilities of general use of derived mathematical relations between theoretical and measured reflectance values were researched. The relation obtained was used to explain the effects of different constructional parameters on reflectance behavior of fabric surfaces.     

Empirical modelling of tensile strength of woven fabrics

Aesthetic properties of fabrics have been considered as the most important fabric attribute for years. However, recently there has been a paradigm shift in the domain of textile material applications and consequently more emphasis is now being given on the mechanical and functional properties of fabrics rather than its aesthetic appeal. Moreover, in certain woven fabrics used for technical applications, strength is a decisive quality parameter. In this work, tensile strength of plain woven fabrics has been predicted by using two empirical modelling methods namely artificial neural network (ANN) and linear regression. Warp yarn strength, warp yarn elongation, ends per inch (EPI), picks per inch (PPI) and weft count (Ne) were used as input parameters. Both the models were able to predict the fabric strength with reasonably good precision although ANN model demonstrated higher prediction accuracy and generalization ability than the regression model. The warp yarn strength and EPI were found to be the two most significant factors influencing fabric strength in warp direction.     

Predicting bending rigidity of woven fabrics using artificial neural networks

This paper reports an investigation on the predictability of bending property of woven fabrics from their constructional parameters using artificial neural network (ANN) approach. Number of cotton grey fabrics made of plain and satin weave designs were desized, scoured, and relaxed. The fabrics were then conditioned and tested for bending properties. Thread density in fabric, yarn linear density, twist in yarn, and weave design were accounted as input parameters for the model whereas bending rigidity in warp and weft directions of fabric formed the outputs. Gradient descent with momentum and an adaptive learning rate back-propagation was employed as learning algorithm to train the network. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to study the robustness of the model.     

Using artificial neural network to predict colour properties of laser-treated 100% cotton fabric

In this paper, artificial neural network (ANN) model was used for predicting colour properties of 100 % cotton fabrics, including colour yield (in terms of K/S value) and CIE L, a, and b values, under the influence of laser engraving process with various combination of laser processing parameters. Variables examined in the ANN model included fibre composition, fabric density (warp and weft direction), mass of fabric, fabric thickness and linear density of yarn (warp and weft direction). The ANN model was compared with a linear regression model where the ANN model produced superior results in prediction of colour properties of laser engraved 100 % cotton fabrics. The relative importance of the examined factors influencing colour properties was also investigated. The analysis revealed that laser processing parameters played an important role in affecting the colour properties of the treated 100 % cotton fabrics.     

Assessment of color strength and color difference values of polyester fabrics containing continuous weft yarns after abrasion

This paper assesses the color difference and color strength values (K/S) obtained for eight disperse-dyed polyester fabric samples with different fabric construction parameters (weft yarn type, weft yarn count, weft density and fabric weave) after four sets of abrasion cycles. Warp yarn type and count, warp density, and warp yarn twist are the same for all fabrics. Fabric samples are dyed in a commercial red disperse dye (C.I. Disperse Red 74:1) and four different abrasion cycles (2500, 5000, 7500, 10000) are used. TheK/S values of the abraided fabrics and color difference values between the control fabric (dyed but not abraided) and abraded fabrics are calculated. The main differences in theK/S and color difference values are observed between 0–2500 abrasion cycles. The high tenacity of the polyester fibers and continuous polyester yarns causes some fuzz but no pilling formation on the fabric surface that lead to increasedK/S values and color differences. Fiber dullness, yarn thickness, yarn density and fabric weave are concluded to have different effects on the appearance after abrasion.     

Investigating ballistic impact on fabric targets with gripping yarns

The purpose of the research is to investigate the fabric structure (with gripping yarns) in influencing ballistic performance aiming to improve the ballistic performance of the currently used body armour materials. Thirteen different fabrics having gripping yarn were designed along fabric warp and/or weft directions. Their ballistic performance in terms of energy absorption has been studied and comparisons made among the single layered fabrics and between the two double layered fabrics, as well as to the conventional used a plain woven fabric for both cases. It was found that fabrics with gripping yarns have improved fabric ballistic performance. The inter-jointed two-layer fabric performed better than the un-jointed two-layer fabric, and it showed a 16.6 % increase in the energy absorption. The implication of the research is that body armour can be made lighter without reducing ballistic impact performance by using gripping yarns.     

Selection of yarn for the predefined tensile strength of cotton woven fabrics

In order to meet the required strength of a fabric, selection of yarn is difficult because tensile strength of woven fabric depends upon a number of factors. Still, the manufacturers have to use hit and trial method in order to select the yarn for the required tensile strength of fabric. This study was carried out to develop regression equations for the prediction of yarn tensile strength suitable for the predefined strength of cotton woven fabrics. These equations were developed by using empirical data obtained from two hundred and thirty four fabric samples prepared under a systematic plan with different constructions. Prediction proficiency and precision of these regression equations were evaluated by correlation analysis of the predicted and actual warp and weft yarn strength values of another set of thirty six fabric samples. The results show a very strong prediction precision of the equations.     

New production method for a plain weave figured fabric

A new production method for figured fabric has been developed. The figured fabric generated in this study is a plain weave piled fabric and it shows the same figure on both sides unlike those fabrics woven on dobby or jacquard looms. It is woven by a specialty yarn called the chenille yarn which is obtained by separating each warp of a base fabric woven in leno structure. The base fabric is woven by inserting different colored weft each time in a certain sequence arranged according to the target figure image. A CAD software and a computerized controller have been developed to control all the motions of a conventional rapier loom and to handle the numerous weft insertion schedule efficiently.     

Taguchi analysis of fabric shrinkage

This article reports on the effects of fabric constructional factors such as fabric sett, warp tension, back rest position, and pick insertion rate, on the warp-way and weft-way shrinkages of a three-up-one-down twill woven fabric using a Taguchi design of experiments. It was observed that the fabric shrinkage in the warp direction was mostly affected by the change in the number of picks per inch, followed by warp tension, number of ends per inch, number of picks per minute, and back rest position, respectively. The fabric shrinkage in the weft direction was found to be mostly affected by the change in number of ends per inch, followed by number of picks per inch, back rest position, number of picks per minute, respectively and least affected by warp tension. It was observed that the aforesaid five factors were able to explain 99.02 % and 82.81 % of the total variation of fabric shrinkage in the warp and weft directions, respectively.