Volume 17, Issue 2

Soft and clean surface of fabric without any floating fibers is one of the factors important for better marketing of clothing. The most common method for having such clean fabric surface is the removal of protruding (floating) fiber from the surface of the fabric. Many studies have proved that enzymatic treatment, commonly called biopolishing, removes the floating fibers from the surface of fabric and gives a smooth surface to the fabric. This study is an effort to assess and measure the impact of biopolishing of knitted fabric through objective and subjective evaluation on warm-cool feeling of fabric because of change in surface profile of the fabric. For testing purposes, 31 knitted fabric samples of various kinds were produced. Alambeta has been used for measuring thermal absorptivity values of fabric. Thermal absorptivity is an indicator of warm-cool feeling. For subjective evaluation, a group of 30 people were asked to give their opinion about warm-cool feeling. Both subjective and objective assessments confirm that biopolishing has a significant impact on warm-cool feeling. Fabric gives cool feeling after biopolishing. This study explores that clean surface will have higher thermal absorptivity and will give cool feeling when it will be touched by human skin.

In order to create realistic loop primitives suitable for the fast computer-aided design (CAD) of the flat knitted fabric, we have a research on the geometric model of the loop as well as the variation of the loop surface. Establish the texture variation model based on the changing process from the normal yarn to loop that provides the realistic texture of the simulative loop. Then optimize the simulative loop based on illumination variation. This paper develops the computer program with the optimization algorithm and achieves the loop simulation of different yarns to verify the feasibility of the proposed algorithm. Our work provides a fast CAD of the flat knitted fabric with loop simulation, and it is not only more realistic but also material adjustable. Meanwhile it also provides theoretical value for the flat knitted fabric computer simulation.

The factors influencing for fit and suit of women’s clothing have been studied. The main reason of misfit is the nonconformity between the front and back width of pattern block, the corresponding body sizes taken across the hipline, and the textile materials properties. To predict the behavior of textile fabrics in real clothes including the shear deformation and wrinkles appearing, the special test and device have been designed. The developed method of pattern block making includes the test of clothes proportionality based on the female bodies sizes, pattern block indexes, and textile fabrics properties. Features of “figure-clothes” systems in-cluding the vertical designing lines, styles, volume of clothes, ease allowance and its distribution between the back, armhole, and front of the pattern blocks were taken into consideration. Recommendations in terms of selecting the proper design of style for different sizes of female bodies have been made.

The effect of the patternmaker’s proficiency on the creation of clothing was investigated by the observation of the patternmaking process for clothing that satisfies the designer. We asked Japanese and French patternmakers to make a clothing pattern for the same design. The reasons for the differences in resultant clothing patterns and toiles made by the two patternmakers are discussed. Although the patternmaking processes used by the proficient patternmakers were similar, the resultant patterns were different owing to different recognition of the design. In particular, the shape and size of the collar that the designer emphasized in the illustration were different in the resultant patterns. Differences in patternmaking originated from differences in the patternmakers′ levels of expertise in terms of education, experience, and proficiency. However, the designer was satisfied with both patterns.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/Co(OAc) 2 /carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composite nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent, and by carbonization and activation of the above precursor nanofibers, porous carbon composite nanofibers were successfully obtained. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, ASAP 2020, and Solartron 1470 were used to characterize the surface morphology, the phase composition, specific surface area, and electrochemical property of the nanofibers, respectively. The result showed that some of the fibers were broken after sintering, and the surface area and pore volume of the porous C/Cu/CNTs were 771 m 2 /g and 0.347 cm 3 /g, respectively. The specific capacitance of the composite nanofibers reached up to 210 F/g at the current density of 1.0 A/g. Its energy density and power density were 3.1 Wh/Kg and 2,337 W/Kg, respectively, at the current of 0.5 and 5 mA.

In this research, thermal and water vapor resistance, components of thermal comfort of 65/35 and 33/67% polyester/ cotton (PES/CO) blend fabrics woven with 2/2 twill, matt twill, cellular and diced weaves, which are commonly used for clothing, were determined. The results indicate that both the fabric construction and the constituent fiber properties affect thermal comfort properties of clothing woven fabrics. Cellular weave, which is derivative of sateen weave and diced weave, which is compound weave, has the highest thermal resistance appropriating for cold climatic conditions. On the other hand, the 2/2 twill weave and matt twill weave, which is derivative of sateen weave, depicted the lowest water vapor thermal resistance, making it convenient for hot climatic conditions. Besides, fabrics woven with 65/35% PES/CO blend yarns have higher thermal resistance, so they are suitable for cold climatic conditions. Fabrics woven with 33/67% PES/CO blend yarns have lower water vapor resistance, so they are convenient for hot climatic conditions.

This study examined the far-infrared emission characteristics and wear comfort properties of ZrC-imbedded heat storage knitted fabrics. For this purpose, ZrC-imbedded, heat storage PET (polyethylene terephthalate) was spun from high-viscosity PET with imbedded ZrC powder on the core part and low-viscosity PET on the sheath part using a conjugated spinning method. ZrC-imbedded PET knitted fabric was also prepared and its physical properties were measured and compared with those of regular PET knitted fabric. In addition, ingredient analysis and the far-infrared emission characteristics of the ZrC-imbedded knitted fabrics were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal properties, moisture absorption, and drying properties of the ZrC-imbedded PET knitted fabric were measured and compared with those of the regular PET knitted fabric. The mechanical properties using the FAST (fabric assurance by simple testing) system and the dye affinity of the ZrC-imbedded knitted fabric were also measured and compared with those of regular PET knitted fabric.

Knitted fabrics have excellent comfort properties because of their typical porous structure. Different comfort properties of knitted fabrics such as air permeability, thermal absorptivity, and thermal conductivity depend on the properties of raw material and knitting parameters. In this paper, an investigation was done to observe the effect of yarn count, loop length, knitting speed, and yarn input tension in the presence of two uncontrollable noise factors on selected comfort properties of single jersey and 1×1 rib knitted fabrics using the Taguchi experimental design. The results show that yarn count and loop length have significant influence on the thermo-physiological comfort properties of knitted fabrics.

The limitation of aramid fiber is its surface property, which results in its very poor interfacial adhesion to most of commercial resins. In order to improve the surface property of the aramid fiber, ozone treatment was carried out in this work. The aramid fabrics were evaluated in terms of surface morphology, wicking effect, tensile property, and ball bursting test. The results showed that the surface morphology of aramid fabrics did not undergo an obvious change; the wicking effect increased slightly with an increase in ozone treatment time; the tenacity and elongation of aramid fibers and fabrics did not significant change after ozone treatment, but the tenacity and elongation of aramid yarns showed significant improvement after ozone treatment, and increased with the increase of ozone treatment time; the ball bursting load and penetration displacement had a slight increase as well after ozone treatment. Therefore, ozone treatment could be one method to improve the surface property of the aramid fiber.

The contact resistance of two interlacing electro-conductive yarns embedded in a hybrid woven fabric will constitute a problem for electro-conductive textiles under certain circumstances. A high contact resistance can induce hotspots, while a variable contact resistance may cause malfunctioning of the components that are interconnected by the electro-conductive yarns. Moreover, the contact robustness should be preserved over time and various treatments such as washing or abrading should not alter the functioning of the electro-conductive textiles. The electrical resistance developed in the contact point of two interlacing electro-conductive yarns is the result of various factors. The influence of diameter of the electro-conductive stainless steel yarns, the weave pattern, the weft density, and the abrasion on the contact resistance was investigated. Hybrid polyester fabrics were produced according to the design of experiments (DoE) and statistical models were found that describe the variation of the contact resistance with the selected input parameters. It was concluded that the diameter of the stainless steel warp and weft yarns has a statistically significant influence on the contact resistance regardless of the weave. Weft density had a significant influence on the contact resistance but only in case of the twill fabrics. Abrasion led to an increase in contact resistance regardless of the weave pattern and the type of stainless steel yarn that was used. Finally, a combination of parameters that leads to plain and twill fabrics with low contact resistance and robust contacts is recommended.

The presented research deals with the development of comfortable male underwear taking into account the development of pattern block methods and the analysis of the relationships existing between the compression pressure, the knitted materials properties, and some push-up effects. The main aim of this study is to achieve the technical selection of the materials based on KES-FB evaluations.The ease value has been used as the main index to connect the structural design of underwear, on one hand, and the body sizes, on other hand. A “bodyshell” system for testing the soft tissue of male bodies by FlexiForce sensor has been implemented. The pressures under the shells at six different places on the male body with ease changing have been tested.The collected results including maximum-possible pressure and material tensile indexes measured thanks to KES-FB have been analyzed in order to find the most relevant indexes of the material properties. A mathematical equations based on relationships combining theoretical model with practical application have been established. These equations will be helpful for the consumers and designers to select “the suitable knitting materials for male underwear” and they can be used too in the perspective of parameterization in CAD, in order to improve product developments efficiency.

Toxicological research on the influence of noxious nanoparticles on human health indicates the need to develop efficient protective devices. In particular, this concerns respiratory protective equipment employing filtration nonwovens. This paper presents a methodology for the improvement of the filtration efficiency of electret nonwovens against nanoparticles by enriching amorphous polycarbonate (PC) with additives of different electrostatic potentials. We introduced perlite granules (positive charge) and amber granules (negative charge) to the polymer stream in melt-blown technology. Filtration efficiency was assessed by a standard method using paraffin oil and sodium chloride aerosol, as well as by a non-standard method using NaCl nanoparticles. The experiments showed that strengthening the effects of electrostatic forces by the introduction of modifiers is a promising approach to improving the efficiency of electret nonwovens against nanoparticles.