Journal of Industrial Textiles

Antibacterial activities and UV-blocking properties of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) containing fabrics are easily achieved by surface modification via alkaline hydrolysis, to generate surface carboxyl groups on polyester component, followed by treatment with certain basic dyes, metal salts, or antibiotic. The results showed that the improvement in antibacterial activities and anti-UV-B protection properties are governed by the type of substrate (polyester > polyester/viscose > polyester/cotton), the pretreatment history (alkali-treated > untreated), and type of basic dye (C.I. Basic Blue 9 > C.I. Basic Red 24). On the other hand, the extent of improvement in both the antibacterial efficacy against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria and the UV-protection properties are governed by the nature of loaded metal ion and followed the decreasing orders (Zn > Cu) and (Cu > Zn), respectively. Additionally, the results proved that post-treatment of modified substrates with Doxymycin® antibiotic brings about a significant enhancement in antibacterial activity along with an improvement in the UV-blocking properties regardless of the used substrate. After 10 washing cycles, the imparted functional properties show some reduction. Possible reaction mechanisms have been given.

A study of single-stage antimicrobial and crease proof finishing of cotton materials has been reported. The bleached and reactive dyed cotton woven fabrics have been selected for this finishing process. The various concentrations of DMDHEU and triclosan and temperature have been selected to analyze the crease recovery and antimicrobial properties of fabric using Box–Behnken design. It was observed that increasing the concentration of DMDHEU and triclosan increases the crease recovery angle. It is also observed that the breaking strength retention properties have been reduced when increasing the concentration of DMDHEU and triclosan and temperature. It is also found that the antimicrobial effect was increased when the concentration of DMDHEU and triclosan increased.

A series of sulfadimidine dyes has been synthesized via coupling of sulfadimidine diazonium salt with N-substituted anilines in acetic acid. This series was embedded in a chitosan colloid and applied to the surface of cotton fabric by using the pad-dry cure technique. The cotton fabric treated with sulfadimidine dye/chitosan was characterized by infrared spectra and scanning electron microscope images. The antibacterial activities of the prepared cotton fabric samples treated with chitosan and/or sulfadimidine dye/chitosan against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) were evaluated.

Metallic wire based single jersey knitted fabrics were produced in different construction to study the electromagnetic shielding characteristics. In one construction, bare silver coated copper wire along with cotton yarn was used to knit fabric by ‘plating’ technique. In another construction, core spun metallic wire yarn produced by ring spinning was used to knit fabrics in two different loop lengths. Scattering (S) parameters for reflection (S₁₁) and transmission (S₂₁) obtained for the fabrics by ASTM D4935 standard using coaxial transmission fixture and network analyser were analysed in the frequency range of 30–1500 MHz. All fabrics exhibited shielding effectiveness of 40 dB and above in low frequency region, the minimum mark for safer application to solve electromagnetic interferences. Fabric produced by ‘plating’ technique showed better electromagnetic shielding than core spun yarn knitted fabrics whereas no marked difference in shielding was noticed between the core spun yarn fabrics produced in two different loop lengths. However, fabric with smaller loop length showed a marginal increase in shielding at low frequency. Core spun yarn knitted fabrics show resonance peaks of reflection at different frequencies which suggest the possibility of tailoring frequency selective surfaces for high pass/no pass filtering. Antibacterial activity of the fabrics as per AATCC 100 test method was moderate with 60–63% bacterial reduction against the bacterium Escherichia coli.

Flax yarn and polypropylene yarn were used as weft and warp, respectively, for producing interwoven fabric. Unidirectional flax fiber-reinforced composites with different fiber orientation such as (0)₆, (45)₆, (60)₆, (90)₆, and (0/90)s were fabricated by hot pressing method. The effects of different angle orientation such as parallel, off-axial, and cross lamination on tensile, flexural, and impact energy of unidirectional flax yarn composites were studied. Thermal behavior of fiber and composite was observed by thermo gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. Tensile, flexural, and impact value of the composites are showing the decreasing trend for off-axial laminates compared to (0)₆ axial-oriented laminates. Tensile and flexural strength values of (0)₆ laminates are showing the maximum value such as 71 and 79 MPa, respectively. But, flexural strength value of ((0/90)s cross-ply arrangement is showing the reasonable value compared to off-axial lamination such as (45)₆, (60)₆, and (90)₆ layup combination. Maximum impact energy value is observed around 334.66 J/m for (0)₆ axial-oriented laminates. The influence of interwoven fabric on the processability of the composite fabrication is explained in detail. Fractography studies of the damaged surface are also demonstrated.

Polysulfonamide polymers are defined by their heat-resistant ability subjected to a high temperature. The thermal behaviour of polysulfonamide polymers can be tailored by using the polymer as a matrix of multiphase composites. Multi-wall carbon nanotubes were blended with polysulfonamide polymers and the corresponding fibers were prepared by wet spinning. In the present paper, we have presented thermal behaviour of functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotube-reinforced polysulfonamide polymer by thermal gravimetric analysis and presented a heat conducting model to explain its thermal conductive behaviour. The experimental results showed that the thermal behaviour of developed multi-wall carbon nanotube-reinforced polysulfonamide composites were influenced by multi-wall carbon nanotube weight fraction in the polymer matrix. Multi-wall carbon nanotube in the polysulfonamide does have much influence on the thermal decomposition ratio of the polysulfonamide/multi-wall carbon nanotube composites.

The objective of this paper is to propose an artificial neural network model to predict the dimensional properties of a weft-knitted double cardigan structure made from 100% cotton ring spun yarns. Through experimental study, various U-values (K-constants of derivative knitted structures) were established for the given structure. The factors investigated were yarn count, structural-cell stitch length, course and wale density and stitch density in different relaxation states. A predictive model of artificial neural network was developed with experimental results. Further, the artificial neural network model was compared with U-values established using test set of inputs. The prediction of the dimensional properties produced by the neural network model proved to be highly reliable (R²> 0.98).

Cotton fabrics were alkali-treated with sodium hydroxide at different concentrations in the range from 1 M to 6 M in order to investigate the effect of alkali treatment on the formation of silver nanoparticles. Alkali-treated fabrics were dipped into the silver nitrate solution followed by chemical reduction, which caused in situ formation of silver nanoparticles on the surface of fabrics. As-prepared fabrics were characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis and also antimicrobial test was carried out. In addition, the color variation, antibacterial durability, and mechanical properties of the fabrics were assessed. The considerable effect of alkali pre-treatment on loading and stabilizing silver nanoparticles was demonstrated. Fabrics treated at higher sodium hydroxide concentrations have higher silver content. Silver nanoparticles are homogeneous and evenly distributed on fibers with high surface coverage. Treated fabrics exhibit strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, even after 10 laundering cycles. This procedure is facile, cost-effective and versatile and provides a simple route to manufacturing of cotton textiles with high silver content.

During the weaving process, damages to yarns are observed and can lead to severe loss of mechanical properties in the final woven material. A complete and detailed analysis of the different steps, from the yarn spinning to the three-dimensional interlock weaving, has been carried out to measure the loss of properties of para-aramid warp and weft yarns. Thanks to special devices adapted to the weaving process, the maximum values of loss of mechanical properties are 10% for the warp yarns and 6% for the weft yarns. Among the different three-dimensional warp interlocks tested (orthogonal, through-the-thickness and layer-to-layer), best results in limiting warp yarn damage are obtained considering the through-the-thickness three-dimensional interlock fabric and for the weft yarn damage the layer-to-layer three-dimensional interlock fabric. The main interest of these results is to obtain an optimized solution after a weaving process on three-dimensional woven interlock fabrics. Moreover, thanks to the study we can realize that a three-dimensional weaving process could lead to damage the yarns and the structure before the final use as composite material.

Aramid and aramid copolymer fibres are used in a wide variety of military and civilian applications; however, the effects of environmental exposure on mechanical properties are still not well understood. This paper analyzes the changes of Aramid 1414’s mechanical properties after its exposure to high temperatures, chemical solvents and sunlight, and then compares them with the properties of poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) as-spun and polysulfonamide fibres. The experimental results suggest that the overall environmental resistant performance of aramid filaments is better than poly (p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) as-spun and polysulfonamide materials, some conclusions are put forward for the applications of aramid filaments.

Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment is a surface modification technique, which can be used for surface finishing and pretreatment of textiles using a broad range of reactive gases. In this study, atmospheric pressure plasma was created using a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and was applied to polypropylene spunbond fabric. Physical properties like moisture vapor transport, pore size distribution and tensile strength were evaluated to understand the effect of the plasma treatment on spunbond polypropylene. Chemical composition of the fabric before and after plasma treatment was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The spectra showed that oxygen and nitrogen containing groups were generated on the surface of the plasma-treated fabric. Scanning electron microscope was used to observe the surface morphology of the substrate. It is evident from the capillary flow porometer results, pore size increased after plasma treatment resulting in enhanced moisture vapor transport rate. No significant decrease in breaking load was observed after the plasma treatment.