Transmittance of Infrared Radiation Through Fabric in the Range 8-14 μm

Abstract

A mathematical model of measuring transmittance of infrared (IR) radiation through fabric is presented here. Combined with a specially made blackbody, a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectral radiometer was developed to measure the transmittances of polyester (PET) and cotton fabrics within the range of 8—14 µm at different ambient temperatures. The results showed that the influence of cover tightness on transmittance was much in evidence. For cotton fabric, the transmittance was less than 65 %, but for PET fabric, it was less than 75 %. As expected, IR radiation transmitted fabric easily, but it was limited to some extent. The hairiness in the fabric, especially those made of staple yarns, played an important role in the shading parts of IR radiation. The relationship between transmittance and cover tightness was very complicated for different fabrics (the exponential equation for cotton fabric, the linear function for polyester fabric). Similarly, the exponential relationship between transmittance and fabric thickness, the linear relationship between transmittance and area density could be obtained. The blackbody’s temperature did not have an effect on transmittance below 200 °C.

Keywords

infrared (IR)fabrics transmittance testing

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Wu, Z.F. , Liu, M.L. , Zhang, Sh. J. , Zhao, Y.Z. , and Li, H.B. , "Infrared and Twilight Technology," National Defence Industry Press, Beijing, China ( 1998).

Therien, N. , Cote, B. , and Broadbent, A.D. , Statistical Analysis of a Continuous Infrared Dyer, Textile Res. J. 61(4), 193- 202 (1997).

Stuart, I.M. , and Holcombe, B.V. , Heat Transfer Through Fibre Beds by Radiation with Shading and Conduction, Textile Res. J. 54(3), 149-157 (1984).

Ghosh, S. , Cannon, M.D. , and Roy, R.B. , Quantitative Analysis of Durable Press Resin on Cotton Fabrics Using Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy, Textile Res. J. 60(3), 167- 172 (1990).

Slitine, M.D.S. , Therien, N. , and Broadbent, A.D. , Real-time Parameter Identification for a Control-oriented Model of Continuous Infrared Drying of a Wet Fabric, Textile Res. J. 71(1), 31-37 ( 2001).

Rodgers, J.E. , Ghosh, S. , and Cardwell, W.D. , Measuring Nylon Carpet Yarn Heat History by Remote NIR Spectroscopy Part II: Applying Remote Fibre Optic NIR Techniques to the Manufacturing Environment, Textile Res. J. 71(2), 135- 144 (2001).

Carr, W.W. , Sarma, D.S. , Johnson, M.R. , Infrared Absorption Studies of Fabrics, Textile Res. J. 67(10), 725-738 (1997).

McFarland, E.G. , Carr, W.W. , Sarma, D.S. , Effects of Moisture and Fibre Type on Infrared Absorption of Fabrics, Textile Res. J. 69(8), 607-615 (1999).

Furuta, T. , Shimizu, Y. , and Kondo, Y. , Evaluating the Temperature and Humidity Characteristics of a Solar Energy Absorbing and Retaining Fabric, Textile Res. J. 66(3), 123-130 (1996).

10.

Sun, G. , Yoo, H.S. , Zhang, X.S. , Radiant Protective and Transport Properties of Fabrics Used by Wildland Firefighters, Textile Res. J. 70(7), 567-573 (2000).

11.

Shalev, I. , and Barker, R.L. , Protective Fabrics : A Comparison of Laboratory for Evaluation Thermal Protective Performance in Convective/Radiant Exposures, Textile Res. J. 54(10), 648-654 (1984).

12.

Barker, R.L. , and Lee, Y.M. , Analyzing the Transient Thermophysical Properties of Heat-resistant Fabrics in TPP Exposures, Textile Res. J. 57(6), 331-338 (1987).

13.

Xu, W.L. , Zhang, B.G. , Yao, M. , A Study on Transmitting Property of Infrared in Fibre Assembly, J. Textile Res. 18(5), 13-15 (1997).

14.

Zhang, H. , Protection from Infrared Radiation and Testing Method of Fabric, Master Thesis, Xi’an University of Engineering Science and Technology , Xi’an, China (1995).