Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Researc h

Vol. 17, December 1992, pp. 252-254

Wrap spinning technology- A critical review of yarn properties

V S ubra ma niam & A Pee r Mo hamed
De partment of Textile T ec hn o logy. A C Co ll ege of Technology. Anna Un iversi ty. Gui nd y. Madras 600 025. Indi a
Received 24 April 1992

The wrap spinni ng has the adva ntage o f using coa rser fibres for finer ya rns in additio n to its superiorit y in
prod uctio n a nd ya rn quality. This paper discusses the structure a nd properties o f wrap spun yarns a nd
identifies areas tha t necd researchers' a tte nti o n to have a better unders ta ndi ng of the application s o f these
ya rns.

Keywords: Composite ya rn . Cover ya rn. Ho llow spindle. Wra p den sity, Wrap spinning

I Introduction was produced on co nventi o na l rin g fram es a nd

The stre ngth of staple fibre ya rn is dependent on
inte r-fibre fricti o na l forces which a re due to twi stin g
of fibres. An a lterna ti ve method is to bind th e staple
fibres by wra ppin g co ntinu o us filaments a bout th e
untwi sted fibre assembl y which is in th e core. Th e
filament-wrapping twist can either va ry in directio n
as in th e se lfil syste m o r be continuous as in th e
ho llow-spindl e system.
The ho ll ow-spindle system has beco me very
popular in recent yea rs a lth o ugh the technique is no t
new. Machines by Leesona. Swenen Well er, James
Macki e. a nd Gemmill Schlumberger and Dunsmore
have gained importa nce due to electronic controls. In
thi s meth od , the untwi sted loose dra fted fibre strand
is wrapped by the continuous filament , fo rming a
co mpos ite ya rn with a sta ple co re a nd filament
shea th. It is widely recognized that this new
tec hn o logy has the advantages such as hi gh
productivity, greater ya rn covering ability, higher
yarn tenacity and uniformity, possibility of using
coa rse r fibres for finer yarns, grea t potential of
product versatility, etc.
This paper di scusses the structure a nd properties of
bound or wrap spun yarn and identifies a reas where
further work is needed to have a better understa nding
of the applications of these yarns.
2 Developments in Wrap Spinning
The re have been many studies o n the structure and
properties of wrap spun ya rns. A number of patents
a lso di sc uss the principle of ho llow spindle.
Audivert 1. 2 di sc ussed a technique of blending staple
fibres with filament yarn in which sta ple fibres were
partially covered with continuous filament ; the yarn
termed 'covered yarn'. A con siderable improve ment
in ya rn properties was see n by usin g small quantities
of co ntinu o us fila men t ya rn .
Ca ban 3 introduced a new process for the
production of textil e ya rn s with improved properti es
usin g the technique of fil a me nt wrappi ng; thi s was
principa ll y carri ed o ut in wors ted spi nn ing, a nd the
results obtained were very encouraging. In 1970',
G eo rge Mitor, a Bulga rian textile engineer, designed
a ho llow spindle which was co mmercialized by the
British textile machinery ma nufacturer, Gemmill
a nd Dunsmo re.
Jung4 pointed out tha t the properties of wrap spun
yarns are la rgely depe ndent on the shea th material.
Taub s stated that the uniformity of wrapper fil ament
contributes to the evenness of the composite ya rn ;
thi s has been found to fare well in weaving and
knitting operations. Weisse r a nd Czapay6 attributed
the increase in yarn tenacity to the radia l press ure on
the core by the wrap ping filament. Weisse r 6 and
Haldon 7 stated tha t the filament content varies from
I % to 8% depending on the tex of the wra p spun yam .
Ta ub s stated that the choice o f the fil a ment depend s
on the tex and the end use requirements of the ya rns.
Depending on the type of yarns the kind of fil ament to
be used varies. A coarser fil a ment is generally
recommended for sewi ng thread s a nd industrial
ya rn s. Stei ner 8 stated tha t a monofi la ment winds
round the yarn like a wire whereas a multifilament
winds round the ya rn lik e a ribbo n. As is to be
expected, the higher strength of the composite yarn is
due to the filament mod ulus a nd inc rease in th e wrap
density; a low frequency of wraps prod uces a so ft and
bulk y ya rn . Maag 9 demonstra ted tha t when the wra p
 SUBRAMANIAM & MOHAMED : WRAP SPINNING
spun yarn is st ressed, fibre slippage becomes
predominant until the filament locks into the staple
core. This results in a more compact yarn structure
and increases the frictional force between the fibres .
J ung4 pointed out tha t there is an optimum distance,
usually 20-30 mm , between the front roller and the
ho llow spindle. At di stances greater than 30 mm ,
di so rientation of core fibres results in a drop in yarn
strength and elongation.
Srinivasan 10 , in an extensive study on the
hollow-spindle ya rns , demonstrated that most yarn
properties depend on the wrap density and the type
and fineness of the filament used. The use of a false
twisting device does not affect the ten sile properties or
the yarn but influences the regularity and hairiness of
the yarn, th e direction of threading of th e filament
around the false twister bein g of importance . He also
showed that when a wrap spun yarn is subjected to
stress, the extension of the filament in the yarn and the
compressive radial force exerted by the filament are
affected by the wrap angle and the type and fineness of
the filament.
On the basis of hi s intensive work with wool fibres
on wrap spinning, Srinivasan 10 concluded that:
(i) A coarser filament result s in a stronger wrap
spun yarn.
(ii) A lower level of wrapping draft produces a more
uniform yarn.
(iii) Yarn s spun with a monofilament are stronger
than those spun with a multifilament of the sa me
linear density .
(iv) The length of the pirn ha s no effect on the
properties of the wrap spun yarn.
(v) The position of the false twi ste r does not
influence significantly the properties of the wrap spun
yarn.
Table I- Factors affec tin g wrap ya rn characteristics
Factor Effect o n ya rn / fabric
properties
Wrapped filament a nd its type Significant o n strength a nd
elongation
Yarn bending ri gidit y. friction.
abrasio n resistance. and fatigue
Wra p density
Type of co re used
Hea t se tting of the filament
Wrapped yarn characte ri sti cs Fabric mechanical properties
253
(vi) For spinning yarns with a low level of wrapping
draft (0.9), the maximum possible delivery speed ror
spinning without end breaks is 55 m/min .
(vii) Comparatively less fly liberates at the front
rollers of the drafting system while spinning yarns
with long pirns . .
Srinivasan I 0 also studied the effect of unwinding
ten sion of the pirns and its effect on the yarn
characteristics, and concluded that the unwinding
ten sion of the filament increases as the pirns wind
down, mainly due to the frictional resi stance offered
by the surface of the yarn. He studied the whole
dynamics of the pirns during unwinding and,
doubtle ss, hi s work has shed a lot of light on the
technology of wrap spinning. A preliminary work on
the characteristics of wrapped yarn has been carried
out by Rajkhowa ef a/. II
A number of studies on the mechanism of breakage
of wrap spun yarns have been carried out and notably
among them is the one by Behery and Nunes l 2 . Their
work dealing with 100 % polyeste r core wrapped by
polyester continuous filament yarns, shows that the
tenacity and breaking elongation of the composite
yarn increase with an increase in the linear density of
the wrapping yarn, its tenacity and wrapping den sity;
the structure of the yarn is affected by the linear
density of the wrapping continuous filament yarn and
the wrapping density introduces geometrical changes
in the fibrous core and leads to an increase in the
inte r-fibre frictional forces between the individual
fibres of the core. Another study by Sengupta et al. 13
revealed that the heat setting of the wrapped yarn
improves the breaking energy of the yarns by more
than 20%.
Xie ef al. 14 - 16 examined a general model of wrap
spun yarn which can be used to predict the
Co mmen ts on research
Yarn s produced with monofilament are stronger th an
those with multifilament
More research needed
Low level has led to a more even yarn
Ins uflkic nt data
Insui"fici cn t data
No study conducted
254 INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. R ES., DECEMBER 1992
relationship between yarn strength and structural
parameters. They have shown that by applying
appropriate ass umption s to a general model of wrap
spun yarns, it is possible to obtain a much simplified
relationship between ten sile behaviour and
structural parameters. This simplified model has
been used to predict the effect ofbinder type and twist
on yarn strength and the data have been found to be in
reasonable agreement with the experimental data. It.
should be stated here that whereas most of the authors
have ca rried o ut experimenta l work, Xie et al. have
done a theoretical evaluation of the wrap spinning.
3 Concluding Remarks
There have been many repetitions in the work
reported by va rious workers. Further work on the
effect of wrapping on the bending and torsional
rigidity and fatigue resistance of the composite yarns
is required . A little work has been done on the fabrics
produced with wrap yarns. The fabrics can be
investigated with special reference to their handle,
appearance and tailorability.Table 1 shows the
various factors affecting wrap yarn characteristics,
their effects on yam/fabric properties and the areas in
which R&D efforts are needed .
References
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2 Audivert R, Advantages of staple-fibre yarns covered with a
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