Volume 23, Issue 1

Implementation of Lean and Six Sigma methodologies enable companies to boost their competitiveness and their efficiency. However, the adoption of these approaches is very much restricted in the Textile and Clothing sector in Morocco. In fact, despite all the advances in these methodologies and practical approaches, defining a rational implementation strategy such as the adequate chronology and the prediction of the expected success level are still a part of a fierce debate and an impediment for practitioners. The result is that only 11 companies out of 1,200 Moroccan clothing companies have successfully implemented Lean and Six Sigma. This article, based on an intelligent model, draws up a support tool to the clothing stakeholders, or otherwise aims to successfully integrate Lean and Six Sigma using Deep Learning. The neural network was trained for the prediction of success level rate and customizing of Lean and Six Sigma implementation chronology with the help of weights and maturity of a set of common critical success factors (CSFs). These CFSs were selected as input data. Then, the dataset have been used for training, testing, and validating the neural network model. To evaluate the trained network, 25% of the data have been used and a tuning hyperparameter process has been designed to reinforce the model performance. For the performance indices such as Categorical Cross Entropy (CCE), the defined loss function, accuracy, and precision have been evaluated and optimized. The developed model can then define the adequate chronology and predict success level with an accuracy of 97%. The trained neural network was then applied to a clothing company as a guide to the success of its continuous improvement project.

Cocoon is a kind of natural biopolymer material with reasonable structure and various functions. However, its structure and functions are often destroyed in practical application. In this study, we took common Bombyx Mori as the research object, and provided different cocooning sites for single or multiple silkworms to construct common stereoscopic cocoons (“normal cocoons” [NC]) and flat cocoons (“single-silkworm flat cocoons” [SFC] and “multi-silkworm flat cocoons” [MFC]), respectively, and compared the morphological structure and basic properties of these cocoons. The study found that the flat cocoons have similar multi-layered variable structure and characteristics compared to those of the common cocoons; also, morphological characteristics and physical and chemical properties of silk fiber from outer layer to inner layer, such as sericin content, fiber fineness, and change rule of basic mechanical properties, are completely consistent with those of the common cocoons. It can be considered that the flat cocoons are constructed by silkworms in the same “procedural” process as that of common cocoons. Due to the expansion of cocooning space, the mechanical properties of fibers are significantly improved. By controlling the size of the cocooning space or the quantity of silkworms cocooning simultaneously, and the time of spinning, a cocoon material with controllable thickness, weight per square meter, porosity, and number of cocoon layers can be obtained as a composite material for direct application.

Premature birth is considered to be a substantial problem in perinatal medicine, which in the vast majority of cases (>60%), concerns African and South Asian countries. Nevertheless, prematurity is a global problem and is faced by both less-developed (where 12% of babies are prematurely born) and well-developed countries (with 9% prematurity rate) [1, 2]. The percentage of children born prematurely, i.e., before the 37th week of pregnancy, was 8.7% in Europe, while, in Poland, it was 7.34% [3]. Care of prematurely born babies is a huge challenge for parents and medical staff in the neonatal intensive care unit. Preterm infants, because of their low weight and gestational age, are prone to health problems and even death. For this reason, continuous monitoring of health parameters plays an important role. It is achieved by the use of various sensors that are inserted in infants’ garments. Sensor systems monitor an infant’s health condition, and then the data are transmitted to doctors or parents. This article is for illustrative purposes, aimed at presenting solutions such as the use of sensors for monitoring infants’ physiological parameters.

The protective clothing packages, which protect the human body against hot factors in a foundry are in continuous development to increase their resistance and comfort of use. The problem of heat transfer through textiles is the active field of research and reliable numerical modeling of this process can be helpful to design high-quality protective products. Therefore, the numerical model of heat transfer through the package based on the aluminized basalt fabric was developed. The macroscopic geometry of weft and warp threads was reproduced in agreement with samples of plain weave basalt fabric. Mapping the stochastically distributed individual monofilaments in basalt threads, as well as modeling the heat transfer between them, was impossible at the microscopic level. Therefore, the weft and warp threads were modeled as a porous material with a homogeneous distribution of basalt and air in their structure. Data from measurements of the bare and aluminized basalt fabrics by the Alambeta device were used to determine the model parameters. The model was used to simulate the heat transfer through the protective package composed of the aluminized basalt fabric, wool clothing, and cotton underwear. A good agreement of model results was found for measurement results in such a package. The presented procedure allowed for the determination of the main thermal properties of tested basalt fabrics.

This work concerns the comfort-related properties of seersucker woven fabrics made of cotton. Seersucker woven fabrics are characterized by alternating puckered and flat strips in the warp direction. Some researchers consider that due to this structure seersucker fabrics are characterized by very good comfort-related properties. In this work seersucker fabrics with differing repeats of the seersucker effect and different weft yarns were investigated in intense heat and high moisture transfer. Results showed that the structural factors significantly influence the comfort-related properties of the investigated cotton fabrics.

The main aim of this research is to improve the protective thermal performance of fabrics. Flame-resistant fabrics characterizing comparable thermal properties were chosen, cotton fabric with a flame-retardant finish and Nomex ® fabric. To improve thermal parameters the coating mixture, based on silica aerogel, was applied on one side of the sample surface. Parameters such as the thermal conductivity, resistance to contact, and radiant heat were determined based on the standards, which set high expectations for the protective clothing. Analysis of the coated fabrics surfaces was conducted based on confocal microscopy. It was found that the coating mixture caused a decrease in thermal conductivity. All the modified fabrics reached 1st efficiency level of protection against contact and radiant heat. The best sample from the point of view of protection against contact and radiant heat was modified cotton fabric with a flame-retardant finish. The coating mixture contained 45 wt% of silica aerogel. Moreover, better adhesion of the coating mixture to the cotton fabric compared with Nomex ® fabric was observed.

In this paper, a new method to simulate the structure and loop deformation behavior of double-bar reflex-lapping warp-knitted fabrics based on the structural characteristics is proposed. A simplified mass-spring model was built in which loops knitted by filaments were considered as particles with the uniform mass distribution connected by structure springs for overlaps and shear springs for underlaps. Deformation forces and direction on particles were analyzed to describe the displacement and deformation behavior of particles. A loop model with eight control points was established, and the relationship between control points and particles was studied combining the quadratic Bezier curves. The deformation simulation was implemented by a simulator program with C# and JavaScript via web technology on Visual Studio 2015. The stereoscopic sense of filaments was realized by changing the direction and intensity of the light. The results show that the fabric deformation and the loop shape can be accurately achieve using the simplified mass-spring model compared with the real sample.

Electrospinning (ES) is a versatile and diverse technique to fabricate nano and micro fibers that could be utilized as drug delivery systems. The aim of this research was the fabrication and characterization of drug loaded nanofibrous scaffold produced by single-needle ES using poly(Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(ethylene glycol-400) (PEG) and to investigate the potential of this material as a drug delivery system. A model drug, Ibuprofen (IBU), was used. Ibuprofen is a medicine that is a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Two concentrations of IBU, 5 wt% and 7 wt%, were incorporated for the ES of PCL and PCL/PEG nanofibers. Characterization of nanofibers was done by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Water Contact Angle Measurements. The impact of IBU on nanofibers’ properties such as morphology, diameters, hydrophilicity, and tensile strength was investigated. Finally, the drug release kinetics of IBU from nanofibers was analyzed and their percentage release efficiency of IBU (RE%) was determined by UV-vis spectroscopy during 24 h.

This study presents the effects of a novel plied yarn structure consisting of different yarn components and yarn twist levels on the Poisson's ratio and auxetic behavior of yarns. The plied yarn structures are formed with bulky and soft yarn components (helical plied yarn [HPY], braided yarn, and monofilament latex yarn) and stiff yarn components (such as high tenacity [HT] and polyvinyl chloride [PVC]-coated polyester yarns) to achieve auxetic behavior. Experimental results showed that as the level of yarn twist increased, the Poisson's ratios and the tensile modulus values of the plied yarns decreased, but the elongation values increased. A negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) was obtained in HT–latex and PVC–latex plied yarns with a low twist level. The plied yarns formed with braid–HPY and braid–braid components gave partial NPR under tension. A similar result was achieved for yarns with HT–latex and PVC–latex components. Since partial NPR was seen in novel plied yarns with braided and HPY components, it is concluded that yarns formed with bulky–bulky yarn components could give an auxetic performance under tension.

Drawing inspiration from nature for the design of new technological solutions and smart materials constitutes an important development area for engineers and researchers in many disciplines. Biomimetic materials design brings numerous benefits, especially the possibility of implementing promising interdisciplinary projects based on effective existing solutions that have emerged in the course of natural evolution. A major aspect of biomimetic materials design, especially relevant to protective gloves, is the identification of an optimum combination of the physicochemical properties and microstructural characteristics of a surface with a view to its potential applications. Properties such as wetting and adhesion can be adjusted by modifications of the surface morphology both on micro- and nanoscales. From the standpoint of the occupational safety performance of polymeric protective gloves, biomimetic materials should exhibit two crucial properties: reversible adhesion (via a large number of contact points) and hydrophobicity (water repellence). This review analyzes the superhydrophobic and reversible adhesion patterns found in nature that can be used to improve the properties of polymeric protective gloves with major commercial implications.

In this paper, the influence of micro PA66/PU in multi-layered biaxial weft knitted (MBWK) fabric reinforced composites on thermal and impact resistance was studied. The main objective was to investigate the role of micro PA66/PU in terms of improving material performance. The results showed that the addition of micro PA66/PU improved the thermal stability of the MBWK composite. It is observed that the onset degradation temperatures increased by 1.6°C in thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) test and the Tg increased by 2.8°C in the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test. Besides, the impact energy absorption of composites increased by 5.3% after the addition of micro PA66/PU. The addition of micro PA66/PU effectively reduced the impact damage area from the failure morphology after impact. In simple words, the addition of micro PA66/PU effectively improves the comprehensive properties of composites.

The thermodynamic behavior of 3-D orthogonal woven composite is studied to explore its structural heat transfer mechanism in a non-uniform heat load field based on finite element analysis (FEA). The temperature distribution characteristics of the resin matrix and the fabric reinforcement are observed to compare the heat absorption. Furthermore, the dynamic expansion and distribution characteristics of temperature in the 3-D orthogonal woven composite structure have also been quantitatively studied, together with simultaneously obtaining the path characteristics of the heat transfer in each system (i.e., warp yarns, weft yarns, and Z-yarns). In addition, the spatial temperature distribution characteristics of each yarn system in the fabric reinforcement are also explored. Thus, the structural mechanism of heat conduction for 3-D orthogonal woven composite is obtained.

This research aims to study woven fabric construction with natural indigo dyeing with finishing for home textile applications. The physical and mechanical properties, including color fastness tests, of these woven fabrics according to ISO standards for home textiles exported to the European Union were characterized. Tensile strength, tear strength, and pilling resistance of these woven fabrics were appropriate to design, and had enough strength for bed linens, duvet covers, and pillowcases. The color fastness to washing, water, and light of these woven fabrics passed the requirements for bed linens and pillowcases, except for color fastness to wet rubbing, due to the low performance of natural dyestuff. Thus, a finishing technique of water repellency was applied to improve these properties. This design of natural fiber fabrics dyed with natural indigo was developed for home textile products whose fabrics were produced by community enterprise. These home textile products can be used as a collection prototype for a spa room in a hotel.

The process of retting bast fiber plants for the production of long fiber has presented major challenges. Water retting, dew retting, chemical extraction, and micro-organism (fungi, enzymes) techniques were applied to the extraction of natural fibers. The two nettle samples were extracted with water retting for 14 days and dew retting for 4 weeks. This research investigated the effects on the traditional retting process of nettle fiber by fungi and bacteria formation in lignocellulosic. The latter biological extraction methods successfully degraded the lignin and pectin materials of the fiber and increases the cellulose content. These extraction methods produced high quality fiber and tensile strength at a low cost. This study determined the chemical, physical, and mechanical characteristics such as fiber cellulose, non-cellulosic content, tensile strength, tenacity, and elongation break to see how treatments affected them. The treated fiber surface morphology was characterized using scanning electron microscopy. To evaluate functional group alterations, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used on the fiber specimen.

Yarn linear density and linear density unevenness between fragments involve the mass and mass variation of yarn per unit length, which are important indices to reflect the uniformity of yarn thickness. Aiming at the shortcomings of the traditional testing method, which uses a yarn length tester to test these indices by counting length first and then cutting and measuring weight, a testing device that measures weight and counts length synchronously is designed and developed, so that the yarn can be continuous, recyclable, and reusable. Length counting is conducted by a length-counting disk connected to a photoelectric coded disk, and the result of length counting can be accurate to 0.01 m. The original skein frame with a perimeter of 1 m is replaced, so that the error caused by yarn overlapping is avoided. Through program control, the testing of a plurality of groups of linear density values can be completed at one time to calculate the linear density unevenness of different fragments of yarn, and the yarn can be led to a recovery spool through a yarn guide cylinder to form a new package. Polyester/viscose 65/35 blended yarn was taken as a test sample and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS software. It is found that the results of the newly developed device are closer to the arbitration value; the whole experiment is completed at one time, which avoids the secondary error and reduces the labor intensity; and the raw materials can be recycled, which saves labor and raw material costs. The device has high value for industrialization and popularization.