Fabrics evaluation

AATCC methods for determining water repeUency are AATCC 22 (spray test) and AATCC 70 (tumble jar dynamic absorption test). In the spray test, water is sprayed against the taut surface of the test specimen to produce a wetted pattern the size of which depends on the repeUency of the fabric. Evaluation is by comparing the pattern with a series of patterns on a standard chart. The latter method evaluates the percentage by weight of water absorbed by a sample after dynamic exposure to water for a specified period of time. 

Fabric hand is defined as the estimated quality of a fabric, evaluated as reaction of the sense of touch, which is integrated in our brain to a total value. Important components of the sensory perception are the smoothness, compressibility and elasticity of the textile sample. As the hand of fabrics is primarily a subjective feeling - similar to the impression of colour - there have been many efforts to find methods for objective evaluation of the fabric hand. While instrumental colour measurement is very common in textile quality control, the automated measurement of fabric hand is still a topic of discussion and subjective manual hand evaluation is still the most important method. Simple methods to measure some aspects of fabric hand were described by Dawes and Owen. Many factors such as the colour of the textile, the hght and the surroundings, influence the manual evaluation of fabric hand. The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists has published guidelines for subjective hand evaluation. ... 

Two cases have been used in evaluating the fuel cost. The base case assumes that the fuel is reprocessed and fabricated using the ALMR reprocessing and fabrication evaluations directly, in which case the cost per kg is the same as for the ALMR, or US 5.2 million per tonne. The alternative case assumes that SSTAR is fuelled with uranium in which case the reprocessing cost is replaced with the cost of enriching the fuel to 20%. In this case, the cost of fuel is assumed to be US 7.1 million per tonne. 

Tu, Y, Lin, Y, Yantasee, W. et al. 2005. Carbon nanotubes based nanoelectrode arrays Fabrication, evaluation, and application in voltammetric analysis. Electmanalysis 17 79-84. 

Hu and Chan [50] considered the relationship between the fabric drape from the Cusick Drapemeter and sixteen values fi om the Kawabata Fabric Evaluation System. They used foin... 

There have been numerous efforts to inspect specimens by ultrasonic reflectivity (or pulse-echo) measurements. In these inspections ultrasonic reflectivity is often used to observe changes in the acoustical impedance, and from this observation to localize defects in the specimen. However, the term defect is related to any discontinuity within the specimen and, consequently, more information is needed than only ultrasonic reflectivity to define the discontinuity as a defect. This information may be provided by three-dimensional ultrasonic reflection tomography and a priori knowledge about the specimen (e.g., the specimen fabrication process, its design, the intended purpose and the material). A more comprehensive review of defect characterization and related nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods is provided elsewhere [1]. 

Textiles. A unique combination of desirable quaUties and low cost accounts for the demand for acetate ia textiles. In the United States, acetate and triacetate fibers are used ia tricot-knitting and woven constmctions, with each accounting for approximately half the total volume. This distribution changes slightly according to market trends. The main markets are women s apparel, eg, dresses, blouses, lingerie, robes, housecoats, ribbons, and decorative household appHcations, eg, draperies, bedspreads, and ensembles. Acetate has replaced rayon filament ia liner fabrics for men s suits and has been evaluated for nonwoven fabrics (79—81). 

Standard polyester fibers contain no reactive dye sites. PET fibers are typically dyed by diffusiag dispersed dyestuffs iato the amorphous regions ia the fibers. Copolyesters from a variety of copolymeri2able glycol or diacid comonomers open the fiber stmcture to achieve deep dyeabiHty (7,28—30). This approach is useful when the attendant effects on the copolyester thermal or physical properties are not of concern (31,32). The addition of anionic sites to polyester usiag sodium dimethyl 5-sulfoisophthalate [3965-55-7] has been practiced to make fibers receptive to cationic dyes (33). Yams and fabrics made from mixtures of disperse and cationicaHy dyeable PET show a visual range from subde heather tones to striking contrasts (see Dyes, application and evaluation). 

In addition to dyeabiHty, polyesters with a high percentage of comonomer to reduce the melting poiat have found use as fusible biader fibers ia nonwoven fabrics (32,34,35). Specially designed copolymers have also been evaluated for flame-retardant PET fibers (36,37). 

Advanced composites and fiber-reinforced materials are used in sailcloth, speedboat, and other types of boat components, and leisure and commercial fishing gear. A ram id and polyethylene fibers are currentiy used in conveyer belts to collect valuable offshore minerals such as cobalt, uranium, and manganese. Constmction of oil-adsorbing fences made of high performance fabrics is being evaluated in Japan as well as the constmction of other pollution control textile materials for maritime use. For most marine uses, the textile materials must be resistant to biodeterioration and to a variety of aqueous pollutants and environmental conditions. 

A. F. Readdy, Jr., Plastics Fabrication by Ultraviolet, Infrared, Induction, Dielectric and Microwave Rwidiation Methods, Plastic Report R43, Plastics Technical Evaluation Center, Picatinny Arsenal, Dover, N.J., 1972. 

Alternatively, fabric patches treated with permethrin have been evaluated against natural and laboratory strains of human body flee in Pern. Permethrin-treated fabric is toxic to flee on contact and quickly affects feeding behavior, even when washed up to 20 times. Thus permethrin-treated clothing intermpts disease transmission, and offers a passive louse control not previously feasible (39). 

New product introductions are generally heavily supported by the technical service function. Many customers using chemical feedstocks to produce multicomponent products for the consumer market require extensive on-line evaluations of new raw materials prior to their acceptance for use. An example of this would be the use of a new engineering polymer for the fabrication of exterior automobile stmctural panels. Full-scale fabrication of the part foUowed by a detailed study of parameters, such as impact strength, colorant behavior, paint receptivity, exterior photodurabiHty, mar resistance, and others, would be required prior to making a raw materials change of this nature. 

Regardless of whether the fabric stmcture is woven or knitted, accurate characterization of constmction parameters is necessary to evaluate test results for other properties and to explain differences noted when comparing test data from fabrics of different constmctions. 

A second snag test method, described by ASTM D5362, is the bean bag snag test. Each fabric specimen is made into a cover for a bean bag, which is randomly tumbled for 100 revolutions in a cylindrical test chamber fitted on its inner surface with rows of pins. Evaluation is similar to that for the mace snag test. 

Inflated Diaphragm Method (ASTM D3886). This method is appHcable both to woven and knitted fabrics. The specimen is abraded by mbbing either unidirectionally or multidirectionally against an abradant having specified surface characteristics. The specimen is supported by an inflated mbber diaphragm under a constant pressure. Evaluation of abrasion resistance can be either by determination of the number of cycles required to wear through the center of the fabric completely or by visual examination of the specimens after a specified number of cycles. 

Resilience of textile fabrics when compressed in the bent state is related to wrinkle resistance and retention of shape, drape, and hand. Resilience is an important parameter for evaluating blankets, wearing apparel in which warmth is a factor, pUe fabrics including carpets, and bulk fiber utilization in mattresses, cushions, etc. The general method for determining compressional resilience is to compress and unload the material cycHcahy, creating a plot of compressive force versus fabric thickness. 

The science of color measurement has been explored by various authors (127,128). AATCC evaluation procedure no. 6 describes a method for instmmental measurement of color of a textile fabric. AATCC evaluation procedure no. 7 may be used to determine the color difference between two fabrics of a similar shade. Instmmentation may be either a spectrophotometer for measuring reflectance versus wavelength, or a colorimeter for measuring tristimulus values under specified illumination. If a spectrophotometer is used, however, the instmment must be equipped with tristimulus integrators capable of producing data in terms of CIE X, Y, and Z tristimulus values. 

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