Volume 3, Issue 2

The present state of the European Union textile & clothing industry and its changes within the period of the late 1980’s and the 1990’s are described. The transition in textile production and trade characteristic for this period is special emphasised. On the basis of the present and recent situation in export and import a trend analysis of selected segments of the textile - clothing market, such as knitwear, industrial textiles, tapestry, and clothing are presented. A review of export and import data concerned with the total amounts for EU & CEFTA countries and Poland, as well as the values for the individual countries (within the period of 1995 - 2000) are listed together with export and import dynamic data presented each time in relation to the previous year.

Differentiating flax and hemp is a long-time analytical problem, which is becoming more and more relevant with the wider loading of bast fibres. Flax and hemp are very similar fibres in all aspects, and their differentiation is often controversial. In this work, the literature is researched for the classic methods of differentiating these two types of fibres. Additionally, a further to twist discrimination methods (the twist test method and the method using polarised light) were analysed. The method most suitable for practical use was tested on a wide spectrum of fibres and compared with the usual methods.

The proposed model is based on the simplified description of the thread structure, and it works with the textile description of thread structure. The following textile parameters are used in the model: fineness of fibres, and number of fibres at the cross-section in the bundle and the filling. The formation of the liquid in the longitudinal textile is described in detail, and particular phenomena are discussed. Important parameters are used in the model of wicking. The parameters with very small influence in usual threads are disregarded. The proposed wicking model allows a functional dependence of suction height on the parameters of the fibre bundle to be expressed in analytical form.

The barrier properties of model fabrics as a protection against UV radiation have been examined by measuring the UV absorbing capacity of polymers of selected fibres containing dulling agents and optical brightening agents.

Sound absorption materials are generally classified into three types, porous, resonator, and panel. All of these three types are based on the theory of energy transforming from sound energy to thermal energy. In this paper, we examined the sound absorption coefficient of recycled polyester nonwovens for the purpose of substituting the conventionally used materials such as glasswool and rockwool. The use of recycled polyester nonwovens has many advantages compared to conventional sound absorbers, including reduced product cost, good handling, and environmental protection. The sound absorption coefficient of the recycled polyester nonwovens was determined by a two-microphone impedance measurement tube; the determination of the noise absorption coefficient is nothing more than the absorption energy rate of the material against the incidence energy. We have determined the relationship between the acoustic absorption values measured and the nonwoven parameters including fibre properties and web properties.

By Schotten-Bauman's esterification of starch with (meth)acryloyl chlorides, an ester derivative of starch - (meth)acryloyloxystarch - was prepared, which contains double bonds. The original starch and (meth)acryloyloxystarch were characterised by FTIR, 1 HNMR, 13 C-NMR, GPC and TGA. (Meth)acryloyloxystarch was polymerised in solution by the free-radical process and by photopolymerisation in a solid state to obtain a crosslinked product.

Dyes with two monochlorotriazine or with two monochlorotriazine and two vinylsulphone reactive groups have been investigated for establishing an enhancement of the dyeability of cotton fabrics. The effect of the diamine bridge linking two chromophore systems on the degree of dye exhaustion from the dyebath and dye bonding with the cellulose fibre was examined. The excellent water solubility of these dyes make them useful in the exhaustion method of dyeing. The kind of diamine used as a bridging group has a significant influence on exhaustion and fixation values. The application of diamine, which assures the chemically linear structure of the dye, affects the increase in the amount of the dye fixed on the fibres. Apart from the derivatives of ethylene-1,2-diamine and phenylene-1,2-diamine, the remaining dyes are characterised by a very high degree of dye exhaustion from the dyebath. The dyes examined can be successfully used for dyeing cellulose fibres by the exhaustion process.