Objective of Testing

Reasons for Textile Testing:

Checking the quality and suitability of raw material and selection of material.

Monitoring of production i.e. process control.

Assessment of final product, whether the quality is acceptable or not, (how will be the yarn
performance in weaving? etc).

Investigation of faulty materials (analysis of customer complaint, identification of fault in

machine etc.).

Product development and research.

Specification testing: Specifications are formed and the materials are tested to prove
whether they fall within the limits allowed in the specification (e.g. specified by a customer).

Standardization of Testing:

Requirements of results

(a) Explicit (how they will perform or how they meet the specification).

(b) Implicit (variability of results obtained either from time to time, operator by operator or lab
to lab).
The lack of reproducibility of results of material may be due to:

a) Variation in the material

It can be solved through,

By proper sampling

Use of suitable statistical methods to analyze the results

b) Variation due to test methods

Due to operator (care in mounting of specimen, adherence to the test procedures, etc.)

Specimen size

Atmospheric condition

Type of test equipment

Test condition – speed, pressure, etc.

To minimize these variation standard test methods are followed

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) – India

British Standards (BS) – Britain

American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) - USA

Deutsches Institut fur Normung (DIN) – Germany Standards Institute

TERMS RELATED TO TEXTILE EVALUATION

A) QUALITY: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

“Ensemble of properties and characteristics of a product or a service which confer on it the

capacity to satisfy expressed or implicit requirements” - “suitable for use” or “fitness for use”.

B) TESTING

A means of determining the capability of an item to meet specified requirements by subjecting the
item to a set of physical, chemical, environmental or operating actions, and conditions.

C) INSPECTION

Activities such as measuring, examining, testing, one or more characteristics of a product or

service, and comparing these with specified requirements to determine conformity (end breakage
study in R/F, looms, fabric inspection etc).
D) QUALITY CONTROL

The operational technique and activities used to fulfill requirements of quality D = f (B, C …)

E) STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL (SQC)

The application of statistical technique to the control of quality.

F) QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA)

All those planned or systematic actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that a product
or service will satisfy given requirement for quality. (Control of vendors for supply of raw material,
chemicals etc., time management, e.g. idle time of m/c)

SAMPLING
Sampling:

It is not possible or desirable to test all the raw material or all the final output from a production
process because of time and cost constraints.

Many tests are destructive so that there would not be any material left after it had been tested.
Because of this, representative samples of the material are tested.

Terms used in sampling:

Consignment:

This is the quantity of material delivered at the same time. Each consignment may consist of one
or several lots.

Test lot or batch:

This consists of all the containers of a textile material of one defined type and quality, delivered
to one customer according to one dispatch note. The material is presumed to be uniform so that
this is the whole of the material whose properties are to be characterised by one set of tests. It
can be considered to be equivalent to the statistical population.

Laboratory sample:

This is the material that will be used as a basis for carrying out the measurement in the
laboratory. This is derived by appropriate random sampling methods from the test lot.

Test specimen:

This is the one that is actually used for the individual measurement and is derived from the
laboratory sample. Normally, measurements are made from several test specimens.

Package:

Elementary units (which can be unwound) within each container in the consignment. They might
be bump top, hanks, skeins, bobbins, cones or other support on to which have been wound tow,
top, sliver, roving or yarn.
 Container or case:

A shipping unit identified on the dispatch note, usually a carton, box, bale or other container
which may or may not contain packages.

Sample:
It is a relatively small fraction which is selected to represent a population.

Reasons for sampling:

To minimize time requirement for testing.

Design nature of many of the tests.

For example :

1) Only 20mg of cotton sample is used from 250kg of cotton:

2) 10 random sample of cones from one container of 15ton of yarns:

Aim of sampling:
To produce an unbiased sample in which the population of the different fibre length in the sample
are same as those in the bulk or through sampling systems of each fibre in the bale should have
equal chance of being chosen for the sample.

Sampling methods are governed by:

1. Form of the material (fibre/yarn/fabric).

2. Amount of material available.

3. Nature of the test.

4. Type of testing instruments.

5. Information required.

6. Degree of accuracy required.

TYPES OF SAMPLE:
 RANDOM SAMPLE:

In this type of sample every individual in the population has an equal chance of being included in
it. It is free from bias, therefore truly representative of the population.

NUMERICAL SAMPLE:

A sample in which the proportion by number of, say, long, medium, and short fibers would be the
same in sample as in the population.

BIASED SAMPLE:

When the selection of an individual is influenced by factors other than chance, a sample ceases to
be truly representative of the bulk and a biased sample results.

Causes of bias in sampling:

Bias due to physical characteristics:

Longer fibers always have a greater chance of being selected.

Position relative to the person:

Lab assistant may pick bobbins from top layer of a case of yarn (whether to save himself the task
of digging down into the case or because he has never been told otherwise, we do not know), but
the bobbin chosen will be biased due to their position.

Subconscious bias:

Person selecting cones will pick the best looking ones free from ridges, cubwebbed ends, etc.,
without thinking about it.

FIBRE SAMPLING FROM BULK:

1.ZONING TECHNIQUE:

Handful of samples from at least 40 zones.(x: no. of original handfuls)

Take a quarter from each tuft to make the final sample looking ones free from any damages, etc.

From the bulk, a sample of about 2oz is prepared by selecting about eighty large tufts
chosen, so far as possible, over the bulk.

Divide this sample into four quarters.

Take 16 small tufts at random from each quarter, the size approximately 20mg.

Each tuft shall be halved four times, discarded alternately with right and left hands and
turning the tuft through a right angle between successive halvings. 16 'wisps' are thus produced
from each quarter sample.
 Click on Image to run the animation

Combine each set of wisps into a tuft.

Mix each tuft in turn by doubling and drawing between the fingers.

Divide each tuft into four parts.

Obtain four new tufts by combining a part of each of former tufts.

Mix each new tuft again by doubling and drawing.

Take a quater from each tuft to make the final sample.

2.CORE SAMPLING:

It is used for assessing the proportion of grease, vegetable matter in samples taken from
unopened bales of raw wool.

It means half way into the bale i.e. samples from centre. The tube enters in the direction of
compression, so perpendicular to the layers of fleece.

Cutting tip dia is lesser than coring tube.

helps sliding the core upside the tube penetrates.

helps retaining the core as it is withdrawn.

 No. of cores are extracted and combined.

Different sizes of tube 14, 15, and 18mm.

After removal cores are kept in air tight container immediately.

Hydraulic coring machine for large number of samples.

Fiber Sampling from Combed Slivers/Rovings/Yarns:

Very difficult to obtain “unbiased” samples, because unless special precaution are taken, the
longer fibres are more likely to be taken by the sampling procedures, leading to length-biased
sample.

Two ways of dealing with this problem:

Prepare a numerical sample (unbiased).

Prepare a length-biased sample in such way that the bias can be allowed for in any
calculation (based on some assumptions).

Remove all fibres which are started left of A (X zone) .The green fibres will be
unaffected.

Again remove fibres, the fibre will be unchanged.

If the removal of one sample does not affect the composition of the remaining samples, then it
can be considered as “ numerical sample” and each segment is representative of the whole.

LENGTH-BIASED SAMPLE:

In sample the ratio of proportion of 10mm, 20mm, and 30mm would be 1:2:3.

Removal of length biased sample will change the proportion of fibres in the remaining bulk as
longer fibres will be removed at higher proportion.

In the earlier figure chance of fibre crossing the lines A and B is proportion to its length. If by
some way the fibres crossing this area (between A and B are selected ) then the longer fibres will
preferentially selected.
Random/tuft sample:

RANDOM DRAW METHOD:

Take out fibre (2mm at each stage) and discard until a distance
equal to that of the longest fibre in the sliver has removed. After
that each draw will be of numerical samples.
Click on Image to run the animation

CUT SQUARE METHOD:

Cut all the projected fibres and discarded. The glass plate is then
moved back few mm, exposing more fibres with “natural length”
without cut. In each case projected fibre ends must be removed.
YARN SAMPLING:
1. Use of random numbers:

Table of random sampling number are normally used a small

number of yarn bobbins are to be selected from comparatively
small bulk size.

Total 10 package are to be selected at random from the

consignment.

2. a) If consignment contains more than five cases, they are

selected at random from it.& then two packages are selected at
random from each case.

b) If no. of cases <5, then 10 packages are selected at random

approximately, equal from each package.
2. Count of yarn removed from fabric:

Rectangular strips two for warp and five for weft.

Normal size = 20'' width at least 50 threads.

Different warp or weft in each rectangle.

3. Twist in yarn in package form:

 Specimens in equal no. of from 10 packages.

No specimen from within 1yard of the end of package.

Minimum 1yard distance between consecutive

specimens.

4. Lea strength of spun yarns:

20 complete leas, one each from 20 packages.

If no. of packages is less than 20, then 20 leas are

selected at random approximately equal from each packages.
FABRIC SAMPLING:

Fabric samples from warp and weft are taken separately.

Warp direction should be marked before it is cut out.

No two specimens should contain same warp or weft threads.

Samples should not be from within 50mm of selvedge.

FIBRE LENGTH
Why fibre length?
 Quality assessment, Fibre breakage study, machine
settings, combing efficiency, etc.

Length of staple fibre is one of the most important

characteristics. In general a longer average fibre length is to
be preferred because it confers a number of advantages.
Firstly, longer fibres are easier to process. Secondly, more
even yarns can be produced from them because there are
less fiber ends in a given length of yarn. Thirdly, a higher
strength yarn can be produced from them for the same level
of twist.

The length and fineness are sometimes related in

natural fibres whereas for man-made fibres, length and
fineness can be controlled separately.

The cut length of man-made fibres is often influenced

by the fibre length of natural fibres.

The measurement of natural fibres is a task as there is a

greater variation in the length of different types of same
material and even within the same type.

The properties of cotton fibre vary

for different varieties of cotton.

for different growth areas.

for different climatic conditions.

from year to year.

Measurement of
Individual Fibre
Length: (Cotton
fibre length)
A representative sample is taken and the individual fibre length is measured. These
arranged accordingly and the mean and coefficient of variation are calculated. This m
used for the man made staple fibres as the variation in length is not much.

The fibres are straightened and placed on an oil plate and the individual length of fib
500) is measured.

(A) Hand stapling

method : (By trained
classers):
 Selecting a sample and preparing the fibres by hand doubling and drawing
well straightened tuft of about ½ inch wide.
This is laid on flat black background and the staple length is measured.
The shorter fibres will lie in body of the tuft and extreme ends (tips) will n
used for measurement of staple length.
The classer chooses the length where there are reasonably well defined ed

Subjective in nature, so difference in results between classers.

(B) Comb Sorter Method:

In the diagram

OQ = 1/2 OA

OK = 1/4 OP

KS = 1/2 KK’

OL = 1/4 OR

Short fibre percentage =

(RB/OB) × 100%

LL’ = Effective length

(because many m/c settings
are related with this length)

LL’-MM’ = NL’=Inter-quartile
range

Dispersion% = NL’/LL’

(For flatter middle zone,

dispersion is minimum)

Frequency distribution in
opposite way, i.e. the curve
is known but the frequency
distribution is to be obtained.
 Mean length (x 1/8) in. = (Sum of base line readings / Base line length)
= (453.2 / 64) = 7.1
Mean length (x 1/32 in.) = 4 x 7.1 = 28.4

Comb sorter diagram

analysis:

Staple length US'' + 3/32'' =

EL'' (34/32'' - 39/32'')

Staple length US''+ 1/8'' =

EL'' (longer cotton)

Staple length US'' + 1/16'' =

EL'' (shorter cotton)

Staple length US'' = 0.91 ×

EL''

Staple length Uk''- 1/32'' =

EL'' (long staple)

Staple length Uk'' + 1/32'' =

EL'' (medium staple)

“Effective length is a
characteristic of the bulk
of the longer fibres”.

(C) Single fibre length measurement:

Each fibre is taken separately and gently straightened over

the slide and length is recorded.
(Tedious and time consuming; not used in mill practice,
used where number of fibres are small).

(D) Length measurement by weighing

method:

After combing, the fibres are placed on a velvet pad.

Then ranked into groups so that length range in each group

is 1/8''.

Groups are then weighed on a sensitive balance.

Mean length =∑WL/ ∑W

where L = Group length

W = Mass of fibre in length group

Upper Quartile Length ( 1/4 th of the fibres by mass is

longer than that length).

(E) Clamped tuft method (Weighing method):

Clamping.

Combining to remove loose un gripped fibres.

The protruding tufts are cut from edge of the

clamp and weighed.

The clamps then opened and fibres in side

clamps are weighed separately.

Mean fibre length / Total mass = (W x Total mass of

combed tuft) / mass of clamped fibre

where W is the width of clamp

(F) Thickness gauging method (Uster
stapler):

It is designed to reduce the time taken to produce sorter

diagram and, at the same time, eliminate some operator
errors by the use of mechanized fibre control systems

Draw frame sliver may be used and has the advantage of

well mixed fibres

Where the raw cotton is used a sample between 10 and

30mg is prepared as described for bear sorter apparatus.
(G) Shirley photoelectric stapler:

• For quicker measurement of length (staple length).

• Objective measuring technique of earlier staple

length measuring method. (Classer judges by eye).

Fringes of fibre are prepared by hand and carefully

placed over black velvet pad (The density of the fringe
should be such that traces of the black velvet can be seen
through central part where density is highest).

The photoelectric stapler detects the distance between

where the density gradient are maximum (on either side).

Two photoelectric cells connected opposition to each

other
 Depending on light intensity, the opposed cells pass a
current, which is proportional to the difference in the
intensity.

Variation in current is shown in sensitive galvanometer.

As the fringe is advanced inside the instrument, two maximum density gradient point will be
there and this distance is “staple length” (max. deflection of galvanometer in opposite direction)

E.L. = P. E. Staple length × 1.1

(H) Photoelectric method (Fibro graph):

Optical method of measuring the density along the length of a tuft of parallel fibres.

Samples are prepared by “fibro sampler”.

Assumptions:

I. A fibre is caught on the comb in proportion to its length as compared with the total length of
all fibres in the sample (longer fibres has greater chance)

II. The point where it is caught is at random along its length.

Distance traveled from base line

Floating fibre (%) = [2.5%SL / L – 0.975} × 100

U.R. = (50%SL / 2.5% SL) × 100 [apprx. 40-50% for normal cotton]

Where L = avg. length of fibre

WOOL FIBRE LENGTH (Capacitance Method)

WIRA fibre diagram machine:

(length for combed wool fibre)

a. Parallel fibres have one end sealed between strips of plastic.

b. Measurement carried out by pulling the fibres “draw” through measuring slots.

c. M/c measures the capacitance as the ‘draw’ passes through slots. (capacitance is proportional
to amount of material)

d. Measured Length is calculated from ten-length reading taken at 10% interval between 5% and
95% (= S Li / 10).

FIBRE LENGTH
WOOL FIBRE LENGTH

(Capacitance Method)
WIRA fibre diagram
machine:

(length for combed wool fibre)

a. Parallel fibres have one end sealed between

strips of plastic.
b. Measurement carried out by pulling the
fibres “draw” through measuring slots.

c. M/c measures the capacitance as the ‘draw’

passes through slots. (capacitance is
proportional to amount of material)

d. Measured Length is calculated from ten-

length reading taken at 10% interval between
5% and 95% (= S Li / 10).

Click on Image to run the animation

Wool fibre length

measurement by Almeter:

(capacitance method)

Automatic version of WIRA fibre diagram

machine, with modification.

Sample is prepared by fully automatic m/c

known as “fibroliner”.

During measurement the sample is moved

(trapped between two plastic films) at a
constant speed with longest fibre entering the
capacitor first.

Change in capacity caused by amount of

fibre.

FIBRE FINENESS
Importance:
Fineness is one of the three
most important fibre characteristics.

The fineness determines how

many fibres are present in the cross
section of a yarn of given thickness.
Additional fibres in the cross-section
provide not only additional strength,
but also a better distribution in the
yarn.

Thirty fibres are needed at the

minimum in the yarn cross-section,
but there are usually over 100.
Influences:

Fibre fineness influences

primarily:

Spinning limit

Yarn strength

Yarn evenness

Yarn fullness

Drape of the fabric product

Lustre

Handle

Productivity of the process.

Why Fiber Fineness is so

important:

It has been known since long that

fibre fineness plays an important
role in determining the quality of
resultant yarn and hence that of the
resultant fabrics. In general fiber
fineness is important due to the
following factors:

1. It affects Stiffness of the

Fabric

As the fiber fineness increases,

resistance to bending decreases.

It means the fabric made from

yarn of finer fiber is less stiff in feel.

It also drapes better.

2. It affects Torsional Rigidity of

the Yarn

Torsional rigidity means ability

to twist.
 As fiber fineness increases,
torsional rigidity of the yarn reduces
proportionally.

Thus fibers can be twisted

easily during spinning operation.

Also there will be less snarling

and kink formation in the yarn when
the fine fibers are used.

3. Reflection of Light

Finer fibers also determine the

luster of the fabric.

Because there are so many

number of fibers per unit area that
they produce a soft sheen.

This is different from hard

glitter produced by the coarser
fibers.

Also the apparent depth of the

shade will be lighter in case of
fabrics made with finer fibers than
in case of coarser fibers.

4. Absorption of Dyes

The amount of dye absorbed

depends upon the amount of
surface area accessible for dye out
of a given volume of fibers. Thus a
finer fiber leads to quicker
exhaustion of dyes than coarser
fibres.

5. Ease in Spinning Process

A finer fiber leads to more

fibre cohesion because the numbers
of surfaces are more so cohesion
due to friction is higher.
 Also finer fibers lead to less
amount of twist because of the
same increased force of friction.

This means yarns can be spun

finer with the same amount of twist
as compared to coarser fibers,

6. Uniformity of Yarn and Hence

Uniformity in the Fabric

Uniformity of yarn is directly

proportional to the number of fibres
in the yarn cross section.

Hence finer the fiber, the

more uniform is the yarn. When the
yarn is uniform it leads to other
desirable properties such as better
tensile strength, extensibility and
luster.

It also leads to fewer

breakages in spinning and weaving.
Influence of Fibre
Fineness and Maturity
on spinning Process
(1) Fibre Fineness:

Minimum 30 fibres are needed;

usually over 100 fibres are
required.

Fibre fineness influences

spinning limit, drape of the fabric,
yarn strength, lustre, yarn
evenness, handle, yarn fullness
and productivity.

Productivity is influenced by
reduced end breakage rate.

Fibre fineness determines how

many fibres are present in the
cross section of a yarn of given
thickness.

Additional fibres in the cross

section not only provide additional
strength but also a better
distribution in the yarn.

In a conventional spinning process,

fine fibers accumulate to the core
and coarse fibers in the periphery.

Fiber fineness is measured in

dtex which is equal to ratio of mass
in grams and length in 10 km.
Decitex is equal to the product of
Micronaire value of the cotton and
0.394.

Cotton fibers are generally

classified as very fine if they have
a micronaire value upto 3.1;

Fine if they have value

between 3.1 to 3.9;

Medium if they have value

between 4.0 to 4.9;

Slightly coarse between values

of 5 to 5.9 and

Coarse if they have a

micronaire value above 6.
Fibre Maturity:

Cotton fiber consists of cell

wall and lumen.

The maturity index depends

upon the thickness of the cell wall.

The fibers are considered

ripe if they have maturity index
between 50-80%, unripe if they
have MI between 30 to 45% and
dead when they have it less than
25%.

Unripe fibers have neither

adequate strength nor adequate
longitudinal thickness. They lead to
loss of yarn strength, neppiness,
high proportion of short fibers,
varying dyeability, processing
difficulties mainly at the card.

Measurement of fiber maturity:

 To measure maturity some
method of measurement is
required. The degree of cell wall
thickening may be expressed as
the ratio of the actual cross-
sectional area of the wall to the
area of the circle with same
perimeter (see figure)

The direct method for fiber maturity is not practicable routine test. So indirect method can
be used for the same.

After sorter diagram test tufts of cotton are left on the velvet pad. Each tuft is laid on a
microscope slide. the fibres are parellel but separated, and a cover slip put over the middle.

The fibres are then irrigated with a small amount of 18% caustic soda solution which has
the effect of swelling them. After the fibers should be observed under projection microscope. This
enables the fibers to be classified into three groups:

1) Normal fibers (N): mature fibres with a well-developed cell wall cotton fibre become
Rod-like after swelling. These fibres are classed as 'normal'.
2) Thin-walled fibres: these category fibres lying between the other two classes.
 3) Dead fibres (D): if the wall is less than one-fifth of the total width the fibre is classed as
As dead (see figure)

It is desirable to express the results as a single figure which would give actual maturity.

From a sample of 100 fibres it would be abnormal to find that all the fibres could be classed
as ‘normal’ fibres.

The standard chosen was

N –D = 67 – 7 = 60

It is also desirable that the result should be proportional to the ‘degree of thickening’.

Assuming a constant specific volume, and a perimeter, p, constant for a pure strain of cotton
, then

A ∞H (hair or fibre weight per centimeter)

Therefore,

θ∞H

The maturity ratio to be derived from these conclusions is the ratio which expresses the
actual fibre weight per cm, H, in relation to a standard fibre weight per cm H s. Thus,

Maturity ratio M = H / Hs

By definition, the standard fibre weight per cm, H s, is that which the fibre would have if it
were fully matured in the arbitrary sense of having an N-D of 60.

The relation between the immaturity count and fibre weight.

A linear relationship found between H and N-D:

H = 0.937 (N-D) + 135.2

Hence,

H/H s = [0.937 (N-D) + 135.2] / [0.937 (67 – 7) + 135.2]

= 0.0049 (N-D) + 0.706

To round the figures,

 Maturity ratio M = [(N-D)/200] + 0.7

The maturity ratio is therefore directly proportional to the degree of thickening of the cell
wall.

The relationship between M and θ

θ = 0.577 M

The theoretical range for the value of M will be from 0.2, all dead, to 1.2, all mature or
normal.

Fibre fineness:

Fibre fineness is another important quality characteristic which plays a prominent part in
determining the spinning value of cottons.

If the same count of yarn is spun from two varieties of cotton, the yarn spun from the
variety having finer fibres will have a larger number of fibres in its cross section and hence it will
be more even and strong than that spun from the sample with coarser fibres.

Fineness denotes the size of the cross-section dimensions of the fibre.

As the cross-sectional features of cotton fibres are irregular, direct determination of the
area of cross-section is difficult and laborious.

The Index of fineness which is more commonly used is the linear density or weight per unit
length of the fibre.

The unit in which this quantity is expressed varies in different parts of the world.

The common unit used by many countries for cotton is micro grams per inch and the
various air-flow instruments developed for measuring fibre fineness are calibrated in this unit.

Following are some methods of determining fibre fineness

Gravimetric or dimensional measurements.

Air-flow method.

Vibrating string method.

Some of the above methods are applicable to single fibres while the majority of them deal
with a mass of fibres.
 As there is considerable variation in the linear density from fibre to fibre, even amongst
fibres of the same seed, single fibre methods are time-consuming and laborious as a large
number of fibres have to be tested to get a fairly reliable average value.

It should be pointed out here that most of the fineness determinations are likely to be affected by
fibre maturity, which is another important characteristic of cotton fibres.

How small or large the diameter of a fibre is?

If a given count is spun from a fine or a coarse fibre, a more uniform and a stronger yarn
will result from the fine fibre.

A finer fibre can be spun to finer count yarn than a coarse fibre.

Measurement of fibre fineness cannot be done by measuring the diameter (except for
some fibres) because

Cross sections of most of the fibres are not circular.

Variation in the diameter along the length is very high (for natural fibres).

The cross section shape of the fibres within a sample may not be uniform.

So, the most convenient way of expressing fibre fineness is by measuring the weight of a known
length of fibre, i.e. linear density.

Mass = Volume × Density

= Cross-sectional area × length × Density

So, Mass/length a Cross sectional area

Tex = mass in gms of 1000 mts of yarn

Decitex = mass in gms of 10000 mts of fibre/yarn

Denier = mass in gms of 9000 mts of fibre/yarn

Micronaire = mass in µgms of 1 inch of fibre (for cotton)

Decitex = 10-2× ρ ×( (π × d 2)/4) = 7.85 × 10-3 × ρ ×d2

ρ = density in gm/cc, d = diameter in µm

Methods of Measurement
a) Gravimetric method (Cotton):
From comb sorter diagram, fibre tufts are taken and at spacing of 1 cm tufts sections are
 sliced out with the help of razor.

100 fibres are counted and weighed on a sensitive micro-balance.

Convert into mass/length.

b) Gravimetric method (for wool):

Wool has almost circular cross-section.

After completing a fibre length test the fibres are collected and thoroughly cleared of oil,

allowed to condition and then weighed on microbalance.

The total fibre length is calculated and knowing the number of fibres weight/unit length is derived.

Mean Wt/unit length = W / ∑hn

where, h = the class length (cm)

n = number of fibres in each class

W = total wt of all the classes (mg)

dgrav (microns) = √(97190×W / ∑hn)

Assuming wool cross section is circular and density of wool is 1.31 g/cc
c) By microscope:

Applicable to the fibres with circular cross section.

A suitable random and representative sample is conditioned for 24 hrs in standard testing atmosph

Fibres are cut into suitable small length and slide is prepared by carefully mixing the fibres into mo
 The mounting agent should be non-swelling and have a suitable refractive index (liquid paraffin) [s

The mixture of fibres and mount is spread thinly on the slide and covered with a cover glass.

The slide is traversed in zigzag fashion, to cover all the fibres randomly.

d) By air-flow method:
AIR-FLOW METHOD (MICRONAIRE INSTRUMENT):

The resistance offered to the flow of air through a plug of fibres is dependent upon the specific s

Fineness tester has been evolved on this principle for determining fineness of cotton.
 The specific surface area which determines the flow of air through a cotton plug, is
dependent not only upon the linear density of the fibres in the sample but also upon their
maturity.

Hence the micronaire readings have to be treated with caution particularly when testing
samples varying widely in maturity.

In the micronaire instrument, a weighed quantity of 3.24gram of well opened cotton sample is
compressed into a cylindrical container of fixed dimensions. Compressed air is forced through the
sample, at a definite pressure and the volume-rate of flow of air is measured by a rotometer type
flow meter. The sample for Micronaire test should be well opened cleaned and thoroughly mixed
(by hand fluffing and opening method). Out of the various air-flow instruments, the Micronaire is
robust in construction, easy to operate and presents little difficulty as regards its maintenance.

Suitable for mill practice due to its speed of measurement

Air flow at a given pressure difference through a uniformly distributed mass of fibres is
determined by the total surface area of the fibres (Drag on water by river bank).

For a constant mass of fibre ( i.e. the actual volume) the air flow is inversely proportional
to the specific surface area
By measuring the rate of air flow under controlled conditions, the specific surface area (s) of fibre

can be determined and consequently the fibre diameter (also the fibre weight/unit length)

Two types

a) Measurement of air flow at a constant pressure drop.

b) Measurement of pressure drop at a constant air flow.

e) OFDA (Optical Fibre Diameter Analysis):

Automates the conventional projection microscope system

Microscope stage moves with the help of two computer controlled stepper motor (X-Y scan of

slide)

Image is controlled with a video camera and digitized by frame grabber board with a

256×256 pixel matrix.

The fibre diameter is then measured with the help of pattern recognition software, which

identifies and measures fibres to resolution of up to about 1 micrometer.

f) Light scattering method (FDA: Fibre Diameter Analyzer):

It is a non-microscopically method of measuring fibre diameter and operates by light

scattering.

The fibre (cut into snippets 1.8mm long) and suspended in Isopropanol (to give a slurry) are

caused to intersect a circular beam of light in a plane at right angles to the direction of the

beam (not greater than 200 micrometer dia).

The intensity of scattered light is proportional to the projected area of

fibre, i.e. diameter.

Only fibres that completely cross the beam are recorded, so that the
scattered light pulse
is then proportional to the fibre diameter.
 The flow rate and concentration of the slurry are such that fibre intersect
the beam one at a time.

Click on Image to run

the animation

The snippets which do not fully intersect the beam are rejected.

Capable of measuring 50 fibres per second.

The beam diameter is maximum 200 micrometer to reduce the effect of any curvature due to

fibre crimp

g) Vibration method (Vibroscope or Vibroskop by Lenzing ):

Used for individual fibre (one fibre at a time)

An indirect method of estimating the mass/unit length of fibre, based on the theory of
 vibrating strings.

The natural frequency, tension and fineness (mass/length) of a string are corrected as follows,

F= (1/2l) √(T/M)
×

M= T x (1/2lf)2

Where,

F = natural fundamental frequency of vibration (c/s)

T= tension

M= mass per unit length (gm/cm)

L= free length

l = wave length

The string is clamped at one end and led over a knife edge support loaded by ‘W’ and is
induced a natural vibration of ‘f’ frequency.

M = T /λ2 f2 = (W×g / λ2 f2) ×9×105 Denier

Tension range = 0.3 to 0.5 cN/tex, usually applied by weighted clip on the end of the fibre.

Click on Image to run

the animation
 The fibre is then caused to vibrate either by vibrating the top comb or by using transducers;

the amplitude of the vibrations is measured over a range of frequencies.

The frequency which given maximum vibration amplitude is the fibre resonance frequency.

From which the linear density is measured.

Refinement of above equation (to allow for stiffness of fibre, since different fiber have different

Young’s modulus)

M = (W×g / λ2 f2) ×9×105 {1+ (R / l) √Eπ/T}2

Where ,

R = radius of fibre

E= Young’s modulus

l= length
Introduction:
In textile industry raw material is the most dominant factor as it contributes 50-75% in
total manufacturing cost.
In quality conscious scenario, quality of raw material plays a vital role. But the quality of
raw material is decided by measuring its properties.

Now measurement through conventional techniques is very laborious and time consuming.

Hence the researchers focus their attention towards the inventions of such instrument,
which gives accurate and quick result and one of the wonderful development is AFIS –
Advanced fibre information system.

BASICS PRINCIPLE:
The AFIS method is based on aeromechanical fibre processing, similar to opening and carding,
followed by electro-optical sensing and then by high speed microprocessor based computing and data
reporting as shown in Figure.

✓ A fibre sample is introduced into the system and is processed through a fibre
 individualizer, which aero mechanically separates the sample into three components
consisting of cleaned fibre, micro dust, and trash.

✓ Each of these components is transported in a separate pneumatic path and may be

analysed electro-optically or by other means.
✓ The data processing and reporting are handled by an industrialized PC.

AFIS provides basic single fibre information and is distinguished from earlier and existing methods by
providing distributions of the basic fibre properties. These distribution measurements provide more
accurate, precise, and basic information about fibre.

CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF INSTRUMENT:

Fibre individualizer:
The fibre individualizer (in Figure) uses unique cleaning and separating techniques
to present the fibres pneumatically to the electro-optical sensor.

✓ The fibres are opened and cleaned using specially designed, pinned and perforated cylinders,
which are similar to open end spinning beaters and stationary carding flats.
✓ Airflow into the perforations of the cylinder allows for thorough engagement and efficient
dust and trash removal.
✓ A specimen of fibre is hand teased into a sliver-like strand and is inserted into the feed
✓ assembly.
✓ It passes between a spring-loaded feed roll/feed plate assembly and is engaged by the pinned and
perforated cylinder.
✓ The fibres are combed and carded; dust is released and removed through the perforations in
the cylinder.
✓ Trash is released after the carding action by the "counter flow" separation slot.
✓ Heavy trash particles are separated from fibres and transported out of the system, whereas,
the smaller dust and fibres are returned to the cylinder aerodynamically by the air drawn into the
slot, thus the term "counter flow slot".

A secondary stationary flat is used to further clean and comb the fibres. They are then directly
transferred to a second cylinder. A second "counter flow" slot removes additional trash. Its counter flow
air is used to transport fibres out of the system after a final combing from a third stationary carding flat.
The separated components (cleaned fibre, micro dust and trash) are transported along three different
production paths.

Fibre individualizer motor/Motor controller:

Versions 3 and 4 units have a separate drive motor for fibre individualizer.

These brushless DC motors are noiseless in operation, allow for direct monitoring and
control of the motor speed, and are easier to service and replace.
The brushless DC motor has its own motor controller board which monitors and
controls and motor speed.

The motor speed can be adjusted by a potentiometer located on the board.

Feed motor/Motor controller:

Versions 3 and 4 units feed belts and feed rollers are driven via worm gear with a stepper
motor.
The motor speed is variable from 140 steps/sec to 1116 steps/sec.
The feed motor controller is a motor driver that accepts pulses and direction information
from the control board.
The initial direction of the stepper is determined by the orientation of the motor's 7-pin
plug on the controller.
If the direction is "backward" after installation, reverse the plug.

Sliver detector:
The sliver detector is located between the feed tray and feed plate.

Its function is to signal the control system when sliver is being presented to the
individualizer and when sliver is no longer present.

The sliver detector consists of an infrared LED source and detector.

During operation, the sliver (fibre specimen) passes between the source and detector
'breaking" the beam which signals the control board to slow the feed rate to the
sampling speed.
When the trailing end of the sliver passes through the source/detector the beam is
"made" once again.
A 15second delay is triggered to allow the remaining sliver to continue processing
through the system before the "end of sample" sequence is initiated by the control board.

Electro-optical sensors:

The electro-optical (E-O) sensors consist of three basic elements tapered entrance and exit
nozzles (on Version 4 lint sensor, a single piece accelerating nozzle) beam forming and
collection optics.
 The detection circuitry (in Figure). ).

Individualized fibres (and neps) are transported pneumatically from the fibre individualizer

by an air stream. They enter the E.O. sensor through an accelerating nozzle which

straightens, separates, and aligns the fibres in proper orientation to the source detector.

The fibres penetrate a collimated beam of light and scatter and block that light in

proportion to their optical diameter and in direct relation to their time of flight through the

sampling volume.

Generally, rectangular waveforms are produced by the light scattered by individual fibres. Nep

signals are much greater in magnitude and duration and generate a characteristic nep "spike".

Trash particles produce smaller spiked waveforms, which are distinguishable from neps in

magnitude and duration.

From these waveforms, which are microseconds in duration, the pertinent data are acquired,
analyzed and stored in the host computer. Distributions based on size, length or diameter can be

generated.

DATA ANALYSIS:
I) Lengths by number (n):
Fibre length by number is the length of the individual fibres. This method measures the
length of each fibre and places them into length categories.
These categories are added together to obtain the length measurement for short fibre and
average or mean length.

Length by number measurements is pure measurements that are not influenced by the

Weight of the fibres. Typically this means that the length by number results are always

shorter than the same sample tested using the by weight method. In textile processing,

it is recommended that the length by number be used to determine machine and equipment settings and
also to
 determine fibre damage as represented by short fibre content. Instrument such as the AFIS is

capable of providing the length by number information.

II) AFIS Trash data Analysis:

Figure: AFIS trash data analysis

The Advanced Fibre Information System (AFIS) was developed to measure traditional
fibre neps (entanglements) often times called mechanical neps.

A recent breakthrough development has furthered the technology for classifying neps into
two categories fibre neps and seed coat neps. AFIS nep classification is the newest
addition to the modular AFIS system providing a more detailed summary of nep type
imperfections from ginned cotton through carded and combed sliver.

III) Seed coat nep detection method:

The lint channel contains fibres, short fibres, mechanical neps and seed coats with
fibres attached.
The trash channel contains trash, dust, some fibre fragments and very large seed
coats with little or no attached fibre.
The seed coats, which remain with the fibre during opening are termed seed coat
neps by the AFIS.
These are masses that are most likely to remain with the good fibre during the
textile opening, cleaning, carding, and combing processes.
Large seed coats, termed seed coat fragments, are collected in the trash port of
 the AFIS and are more easily removed from the fibre.

As illustrated in Figure, the fibre individualizer separates the sample in to three main
components: lint, trash, and dust.
The AFIS nep classification module counts and sizes seed coat neps. The classification module
is able to identify the distinct electrical waveforms produced by fibres, fibre clumps, seed coat
neps, etc. This improved nep module uses a digital signal processor (DSP) to classify all
incoming waveforms and to calculate nep size. Figure illustrates a typical nep waveform and
the values extracted by the standard nep module. Figure illustrates the same signal analyzed
by the DSP system. The DSP system is capable of recording and analyzing all information
contained in the nep signal, therefore providing better information about the sample
characteristics. The classification software compares each sampled waveform to a standard
waveform to determine which classification it most resembles. These standard waveforms are
based on models of seed coat neps and mechanical neps travelling through the sensor and
are verified on numerous simulations using manually introduced fibre neps and seed coat
neps.

ADVANCED FIBER INFORMATION SYSTEM (AFIS)

AFIS APPLICATIONS:
(1) Card nep analysis:
 Neps are created by mechanical handling and cleaning of cotton fibres.
Due to fibre individualizer provided inside the machine we can analyze neps hence
we can check nep in carded or combed sliver.

(2) Card wire maintenance analysis:

We can judge the grinding frequency required for card wires by appropriate checking
of sliver quality on AFIS instrument.

(3) Length applications

This instrument will provide various fiber length data so that it will be helpful to
control the imperfection in the final yarn.

(4) Length analysis of comber and D/F:

This instrument provides the data on histogram i.e. in form of fibre distribution so it
will give accurate idea about length.

(5) Trash application:

By using this instrument we come to know the exact amount of trash present in
material so that we can decide the material is suitable for processing or not.

ADVANTAGES:

High degree of accuracy, which gives precise results.

Testing speed is high.

It avoids laborious time work needed for measurement of nep count.

The results are free from human and machine error.

It can analyze process performance.

HIGH VOLUME INSTRUMENT TESTING (HVI)

THE BASICS:
The Uster HVI 900 system measures the seven physical characteristics defined by the United

States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its cotton marketing system.

The Uster HVI 900 system measures :

1. Fibre length

2. Fibre strength

3. Length uniformity

4. Elongation

5. Micronaire

6. Color

7. Trash

All these properties are important in fiber research,

 In the development of improved fiber blends, and

In verifying that purchased fiber meets specifications.

The HVI 900 fiber testing system offers precise and reliable automated operation
with computer controlled calibration and diagnostics.
All functions are controlled by dedicated microprocessors to simplify operation and
to provide flexibility in testing parameters.

BACKGROUND:
The testing of fibers was always of importance to the spinner.
It has been known for a long time that the fiber characteristics have a decisive
impact on the running behavior of the production machines, as well as on the yarn
quality and manufacturing costs. In spite of the fact that fiber characteristics are
very important for yarn production, the sample size for testing fiber characteristics
is not big enough.

This is due to the following:

The labour and time involvement for the testing of a representative sample was too
expensive. The results were often available much too late to take corrective action.
The results often depended on the operator and/or the instrument, and could
therefore not be considered objective
One failed in trying to rationally administer the flood of the raw material data, to
evaluate such data and to introduce the necessary corrective measures.

Only recently technical achievements have made possible the development of automatic computer-contro
their use, it is possible to quickly determine
the more important fiber characteristics.
Recent developments in HVI technology are the result of requests made by textile manufacturers for add
property information. Worldwide competitive pressure on product price and product quality dictates close
in the manufacturing process.

ADVANTAGES:
Following are the advantages of HVI testing:
the results are practically independent of the operator

the results are based on large volume samples, and are therefore more significant

the respective fiber data are immediately available

the data are clearly arranged in summarized reports

they make possible the best utilization of raw material data

problems as a result of fiber material can be predicted, and corrective measures instituted
before such problems can occur
Cotton classification does not only mean how fine or clean, or how long a fibre is, but
rather whether it meets the requirements of the finished product.
To be more precise, the fibre characteristics must be classified according to a certain
sequence of importance with respect to the end product and the spinning process.
The ability to obtain complete information with single operator HVI systems further
underscores the economic and useful nature of HVI testing.
Two instrument companies located in the US manufacture these HVI systems. Both the
systems include instruments to measure micronaire, length, length uniformity, strength,
color, trash, maturity, sugar content, etc.
HVI 900 system modules:
The HVI 900 system is housed in two floor-standing cabinets:

(1) The larger cabinet contains the Length/Strength Module and

(2) The smaller cabinet contains the Micronaire, Color/Trash and NIR Modules
A system may include any combination of the following measuring modules:

Length/ Strength Module

Micronaire Module

Color/ Trash Module

900 Semi- Automatic

The Length/ Strength Module consists of a brushing mechanism, an optical system for

measuring length and uniformity, and a clamping jaw system for measuring strength and

elongation.

14. MOISTURE & TEXTILES

Atmospheric Conditions and Relative Humidity:
The dampness of the atmosphere can be calculated in terms of humidity

Absolute humidity:
The weight of water present in a unit volume of moist air, i.e. grams/m3
Relative Humidity:
The ratio of the absolute humidity of the air to that of air saturated with water

vapour at the same temperature and pressure, expressed as a percentage.

Std. Testing Atmosphere:

R. H. % : 65% ± 2%

Temp.: 20o C ± 2o C (cold countries)

27o C ± 2o C (tropical & subtropical countries)

Measurement of R. H. %:
Hygrometer – Wet and Dry bulb hygrometer

Dry bulb reading – 68o F

Wet bulb reading – 61o F

Difference – 7o F

R. H. % from table 67 %
Moisture Regain:
Moisture Content:
 YARN HAIRINESS
Importance of yarn hairiness:
It is in most circumstances an undesirable property, giving rise to problem of fabric
production and also deteriorates the fabric appearance.

Measurement of hairiness dependent on the method chosen for detecting the hairs.

Fibres protruding out from the main body of the yarn is called hairiness.

In most circumstances it is an undesirable property, giving rise to problems in fabric

production.
In natural short staple fibre yarns, the reason behind being wide differences in fibre
thickness, maturity and inadequate spinning process.
In filament yarns, hairiness occurs due to weak monofilaments, inadequate finish,
rough surfaces, loose running monofilaments which break at subsequent process.
(due to loose run, denier is reduced hence weaken yarn)
It is not possible to represent hairiness with a single parameter because the number of
hairs and the length of hairs both vary independently.
A yarn may have a small number of long hairs or a large number of short hairs or any combination
in between. The problem is then which combination should be given a
higher hairiness rating.
It is considered that there are two different exponential mechanisms in operation, one
for hairs above 3mm long and one for these below.
The number of hairs exceeding 3mm in length as a percentage of the total number of
hairs is found to be linearly related to the linear density of the yarn, i.e. there are more
hairs in a fine yarn than there are in a coarse one of the same type.
Causes of Higher hairiness:
a) Raw Material:
Maturity: In case of cotton 70% maturity of the fibres is needed, if less then cause
hairiness.

Immature and dead fibres result in hairiness.

Micronaire (fineness): Range of micronaire value for cotton yarn is (4.2 ± 0.2).

Micronaire value of (4.2 ± 0.6) results in increased hairiness which is used in flannel like

fabrics having soft feel.

Uniformity Ratio: Normally fibres uniformity ratio is 40-50%. If it is less than hairiness
results.

b) Process:

Inadequate drafting and orientation

Spinning triangle

c) Maintenance:

Rubbery surfaces, life of devices or machine parts.

Significance of Hairiness:
It causes problems in printing.

Fine designs are difficult to make.

Machine parts life is reduced.

Benefits :

Flannel type fabrics

Adverse of Hairiness:
1. Yarn:

Low strength in yarns

2. Fabric:

Sizing: If yarn is fuzzy, size material will not penetrate to required amount and a greater
amount will accumulate on yarn surface (coating is more and penetrating is less)
Shedding problems: In case of air jet, clear shed is not produce. Similarly if fabric
density is more the two consecutive yarns due to hairiness causes problems.
Wear out: The machine parts; drop wires, heald wires and reed.

Knitting: In knitting needles are worn out quickly.

Measurement of Hairiness:
a) Shirley yarn hairiness tester:

Shirley yarn hairiness tester consists of a light beam shining on a small diameter photoreceptor
opposite to it. The yarn under test is run between the light and the receptor at a constant speed. As a
hair passes between the light and receptor the light beam is momentarily broken and an
electronic circuit counts the interruption as one hair.

Click on Image to run

the animation

It counts the number of hairs longer than a pre-selected length (between 0 and 10mm),
usually 3mm.

Consists of a light beam shining on a small diameter photoreceptor opposite to it.

Yarn under test is run between light and photoreceptor.

As the hairs pass between the light and receptor, the light beam momentarily broken and an
electronic circuit counts the interruption as one hair.

The instrument has two sets of yarn guides as shown. The lower set leads the yarn over a

guide at a fixed distance of 3mm from the receptor. The upper set leads the yarn over a movable guide

which can be set at a distance of between 1 and 10mm from the receptor.
The total number of hairs in a fixed length of yarn is counted by counting for a given time, the

yarn running at a known speed.

b) Zweigle hairiness tester G565:
This apparatus counts the number of hairs at distances from 1-25mm from the yarn edge.

The hairs are counted simultaneously by a set of photocells which are arranged at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8,
10, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 25mm from the yarn as shown.

The yarn is illuminated from the opposite side from the photocells and as the yarn runs
past the measuring station the hairs cut the light off momentarily from the photocells,
which causes the electrical circuits to count in a similar manner to that of the Shirley
instrument.

The instrument measures the total number of hairs in each length category for the set
test length.

Click on Image to run

the animation

The yarn speed is fixed at 50m/min but the length of yarn tested may be varied.

The zero point that is the position of the yarn edge relative to the photocells is adjusted
while the yarn is running by moving the yarn guides relative to the photocells.

A further set of photocells is used to locate the edge of the yarn during the setting up
procedure.

The instrument calculates the total number of hairs above 3mm in length which can be
used as a comparison with the Shirley instrument.

In above two instruments, hairiness = no. of hairs/meter

c) USTER TESTER 3 (Hairiness meter attachment):
Optional attachment of UT3 evenness tester.

A parallel beam of IR-light illuminates the yarn as it runs through the measuring head.

The direct light is blocked from reaching the detector.

Only the light that is scattered by fibres protruding from the main body of the yarn reaches
the detector.
The amount of scattered light is then measure of hairiness and it is converted to an electric
signal by the apparatus.
It is thus monitoring total hairiness.
UT3 hairiness data collection system can monitor changes in hairiness along the yarn by

means of a diagram, spectrogram of hairiness and mean hairiness (similar to that of mass

variation)

This device is produced as an attachment for the Uster evenness tester and is connected in

place of the normal measuring capacitor. In this instrument the yarn is illuminated by a

parallel beam of infrared light as it runs through the measuring head. Only the light that is

scattered by fibres protruding from the main body of the yarn reaches the detector as shown.

The direct light is blocked from reaching the detector by an opaque stop.

The amount of scattered light is then a measure of hairiness and it is converted to an electrical signal
by the apparatus. The instrument is thus monitoring only total hairiness, but using the Uster

evenness data collection system can monitor changes in hairiness along the yarn by means of

a diagram, spectrogram, CV of hairiness, and mean hairiness in a manner similar to that used

in evenness testing.

Click on Image to run the animation

Hairiness index (H):
Total length of the protruding fibres with reference to the sensing length of 1cm of yarn. So it is

dimensionless.
YARN BULK
YARN BULK:
The WRONZ Bulkometer test gives an indication of the covering power
of a yarn when it is incorporated into finished products such as
knitwear or carpets.
Yarn bulk is defined for the purpose of this test as the volume occupied
by 1gram of yarn at a given pressure, measured in cm3/g.
To carry out the test a hank of yarn containing a known number of
turns is placed in a channel 10cm long by 5cm wide so that all the
strands of the hank are aligned as shown in Figure.
A load of 50Og is then placed on the sample, so compressing the yarn.

When the load comes to rest the height of it above the base is measured.

From the area of the channel (50cm2) and the height of the load, the volume occupied by the yarn
can then be calculated.
The size of hank used in the test depends on the linear density of the yarn; a suitable size can be

calculated from the formula:

Number of turns = 90000 / linear density in tex

It is preferable when comparing similar yarns to keep to the same number of turns.

EVENNESS
Introduction:

Whether we say evenness or unevenness, regularity or irregularity, all these mean the
degree of uniformity of a product.

For textile products such as laps, slivers, rovings, and yarns, which are the products of
various spinning machines, the level of uniformity is expressed in terms of evenness or regularity
or in terms of unevenness or irregularity.

Producing a yarn of uniform characters such as uniformity in weight per unit length,
uniformity in diameter, turns per inch, strength etc., is indeed a work of very great magnitude
and perfect uniform are only dreams.

This is so, because in the case of staple fibres, that too with natural fibres, this work of
transforming millions of individual fibres of varying fineness, maturity, length, colour, diameter,
etc., into a yarn of uniform character is really hypothetical.

Another important aspect about natural fibres is a lot of variation in length, colour,
thickness, etc., which results in variations in yarns and fabrics.

Types of Irregularity:
1) Weight per unit length:
 Variation in weight per unit length is the basic irregularity in yarn. All other irregularities are dependent on
it. This is because weight per unit length is proportional to fibre number i.e.; number of fibres in cross section
of yarn.

Variations in number of fibres are the factor influenced by drafting. So any improvement in drafting or
spinning will first reflect in improvement in variability of weight per unit length.
2) Diameter:

Variability in diameter is important because of its profound influence on appearance of yarn.

Variations in diameter are more easily perceived by eye.

Latest models of evenness testers have therefore a module for determining diameter variability.

Diameter variability is however caused by weight variability.

As twist has tendency to run into thin place, variability in weight gets exaggerated in diameter variability.

3) Twist:

Twist variation is important because of its influence on performance of yarn and fabric dye
ability and defects.

Soft ends are a major cause of breaks in weaving preparatory and loom shed. They arise
from twist variations.

Soft twisted yarns take more dye and so uneven dyeing is caused by high twist variation.
Weft bars and bands are also caused by low twisted yarns.

Twist variations come from slack spindle tapes, jammed spindles. A certain amount of
variation is also present along the chase of cop.

4) Strength:

Importance of strength variation is easy to appreciate.

Yarn breaks at the weakest element and so yarns with high strength variability will result in
high breakages in further processes.

Strength variability is partly dependent upon count variability and partly upon spinning
conditions and mechanical defects.

5) Hairiness:
 High variation in hairiness leads to streaky warp way appearance and weft bars in fabric.

More light will be scattered from portions of weft where hairiness is more and this leads weft bands.

High hairiness disturbs warp shed movement in weaving and results in breaks, stitches and floats.

Among other factors, worn out rings and travellers, vibrating spindles, excessive ballooning and variation
in humidity in spinning room cause variations in hairiness from bobbin to bobbin.
6) Colour:

Variations in colour of yarn cause batch to batch variation in fabric colour, which leads to
rejects. This is particularly critical in cloth marketed to garment units.

Variations in colour of yarn and fabric are caused by variations in colour of cottons used in
mixing. Larger lot sizes made from a large number of bales help to mitigate this problem.

Checking of cotton and mixing for colour will also minimize large variations in colour.

HVI testing equipments have therefore a module for checking colour.

Index of irregularity:

Two expression for irregularity has been given:

1. The average value for all the deviations from the mean is calculated and then expressed as a
percentage of the overall mean (Percentage mean deviation, PMD). This is termed U% by the uster
company.
2. The standard deviation is calculated by squaring the deviations from the mean and this is then
expressed as a percentage of the overall mean (coefficient of variation, CV%).
11When the deviations have a normal distribution about the mean the two values are related by the
following equations:

111111111111111111 CV = 1.25PMD

It is possible to achieve a lower irregularity for a given count by a selecting a better type of cotton
than would be normally chosen, a practice known as 'spinning down'.

Limit irregularity:

Martindale has shown that the most uniform strand of material which our present machines can
produce is one in which the fiber ends are laid in a random order in the sliver, roving, or yarn.
For such a strand of material the irregularity is given by the formula

Vr2 = ((100)2/N) + (Vm2/N)

where

Vr = coefficient of variation of weight per unit length

N = the average number of fibers in a cross-section of the strand , and

Vm = Coefficient of variation of the fiber weight per unit length

Thus, for a particular fiber and count of yarn, there is limit or basic irregularity upon which our
present machinery cannot improve. By calculating the limit irregularity and then measuring the
actual irregularity, we have a means of judging the spinning performance.

Let
Vr = the calculated limit irregularity, and
V = the actual irregularity
Then, the index of irregularity is :
I = V / Vr
Hence, a value of unity for this ratio corresponds to the limit irregularity, i.e. the
best possible yarn: the higher the value of I the more irregular the yarn. For cotton
fibers the limit irregularity formula may be reduced to, Vr2 = (106)2 / N, and for
wool fibers, (112)2 / N. For blended of cotton with other fiber the Vr2 = (118.8)2 /
N.
Addition of irregularity:

In formula given in limit irregularity the square of the coefficient of variation is used; in this form it is
known as the ' relative variance', often abbreviated to 'variance'. By using the squares of the
coefficients of variation it becomes possible to add and subtract the irregularities produced at various
stages in yarn preparation and spinning
Suppose the coefficient of variation of a sliver is V1 and it is fed to a machine which adds irregularity to
its during processing. Let V be the coefficient of variation of the processed sliver. Using the squares of
the coefficients,

V2= V12 + V22

Where V2 is the coefficient of variation of the added irregularity.

Reduction of irregularity by doubling:
One of the objects of doubling is to reduce the irregularity. If 'n' strands of material, each having the
same coefficient of variation, are doubled, then the coefficient of variation of the combined strands is
given by,

C.V. of doubled starnds = C.V. of individuals / √n

Thus, by doubling two rovings, the coefficient of variation is divided by √2.

Variance-length curves:

A. Between lengths:

Weight of each length (l) is measured and CV % is calculated [l varies]

This CV% is the CV% of between l yard lengths and is given by symbol CB(l).

The corresponding square, i.e. the variance, has the symbol B(l).
B. Within length:

CV% of each individual length (l) is determined and mean of CV% is calculated as CV%
within l yard length.

The symbols are CV (L) and V (L) respectively.

V (T) = B (L) + V (L)

a) At zero length, V (L) =0

b) The initial rapid rise is because as the length become longer, the individual length becomes a
more representative samples of the whole.
Causes of irregularity:
1) Irregularity caused by raw material:

The natural fibres have variable varieties. They have no true fixed length, fineness, shape of
cross-section, maturity, crimp, etc., which have effect on yarn properties specially evenness.

These variations are due to different rates of cell development due to changes in
environmental conditions (nutrients, soil, and weather).

In man-made fibres, variations in mass/unit length occurs due to changes in polymer

viscosity, roughness of spinneret orifice, variation in extrusion pressure and rate, filament take-
up speed, presence of delustrant or additives, which can modify the particular shape and fibre
surface geometry.

2) Irregularity caused by fibre arrangement:

Textile fibres are not rigid. Their manipulation during conversion into yarn is an immensely
complex combination of mechanical movement which usually requires some degree of
compromise.

The desirable results of relocating large number of fibres at high speed and arranging in well
ordered form tend to be difficult.

Fibres assembled into the form of a twisted strand constitute a yarn.

Fibres are not precisely laid end to end, and gaps are present between them. As a result of
yarns twist, fibres arrange in spiral form in a series of folds, kinks, and doublings.

3.)Effect of fibre behaviour:

Fibres shape directly affects yarn regularity.

The fibre cross section, arrangement of fibre section and space between the fibres will vary from yarn section t

Hence the mass of each section will differ.

A thin place in yarn will have lower mass and less strength. In thin regions, yarn twist tends to be higher since
deformation is lower.

4) Inherent shortcoming of machinery:

In many engineering processes the units from which the final product is assembled are positively controlled by
machine and positioned with only a few thousands of an inch tolerance.

In spinning it is surprising how often the individual fibres are only negatively controlled at times they are carrie
currents or jostled along by surrounding fibres, or they are held in position by friction and twist.
 Fibre manipulation by rollers, aprons, gills, and other machine parts is hampered by fibre variation, and the ma
be set to give the best results within the limitations imposed by the material.

The drafting wave is one example of irregularity due to the inability of a drafting system to control each fibre. W
drafting is used, the distance from one nip to the other is greater than the length of the shorter fibres.

These short fibres ‘float’ in the drafting zone and move forward in an irregular but cyclical manner which results
strand having thick and thin places.

The wavelength of this type of irregularity is about 2-5 times the mean fibre length but it is not necessarily con
particular strand.

In addition to a varying wavelength, the amplitude of the drafting wave is also variable.
5) Mechanically defective machinery:

Since machines even in good condition produce irregular yarns, it is reasonable to assume
that defective machinery will increase the amount of irregularity.

The implementation of an efficient maintenance system is essential if the level of irregularity

is to be kept within bounds.

Machines drift out of adjustment, bearings become worn, components get damaged, and
lubrication systems clog and dirt works its way into the mechanism.

Faulty rollers (top roller eccentricity) and gear wheels usually produce periodic variation.

Classification of Variation:
There are two types of variation and they are classified as the
following:

(1) Random variation

(2) Periodic variation

(1) Random Variation:

Random variation is the variation which occurs randomly in

the textile material, without any definite order.

Suppose a yarn is cut into short equal lengths, say, of 1 inch, and weight of each consecutive
lengths are found out.

The weights are plotted in a graph against the lengths similar to the figure shown below,
By joining the points a trace is produced, called irregularity trace.
(2) Periodic Variations:

All traces of irregularity do not show random distribution of the deviations from the mean.

Suppose traces show definite sequences of thick and thin places in the strand of material. These forms of irreg
called as periodic variations.

Periodic variations are the variations with definite sequences of thick and thin places in the strand of material.

Two terminologies wave length and amplitude are used in order to describe a periodic variation from the figure.

Wave length is the distance from the one peak of the wave to the next on the same side of the mean line.

Amplitude is a measure of the size of the swing from the mean level. Usually this is expressed as a percentage
mean.

Short, Medium and Long Term Variations:

Using the fibre length as a length unit, the periodic variations in the fibrous strand are classified
according to their wavelength with respect the fibre length used to form that particular strand.

There classification is as follows:

1. Short term variation: wave length 1 to 10 times fiber the length

2. Medium term variation: wave length 10 to 100 times fiber the length

3. Long term variation: wave length 100 to 1000 times fiber the length

This classification is used when causes of faults are being investigated.

The amplitude of short-term variation are generally greater than long-term variation
because they are occur at the last machine, and have had no chance of being reduced by doubling.

CV of doubled strand = CV of individuals / √n

1111where 'n' is number of doublings

1) Short term variation:

These variations are of the wave length 1-10 times of fibre length.

Amplitude of these variations is greater than long term variations.

These result due to faulty processing at the last machine.

Such variations if excessive produce a fabric of objectionable appearance.

2) Medium term variations:

These variations are of the wave length 10-100 times the fibre length.

Such variations do not cause a pattern as it hides into the adjacent warp yarn.

In weft it will appear as a thick line again hidden by adjacent weft. However excessive variations give the cloth
appearance.
3) Long term variations:

These variations are of the wave length 100-1000 times the fibre length.

Such variation cause periodic faults known as diamond bars or block bars in the woven fabric
along the weft direction.

A weft yarn to cause a diamond bar pattern must have a long term periodic variation of wave
length less than twice the pick length.

Importance of yarn evenness:

Irregularity can adversely affect many of the properties of textile materials. The most obvious consequenc
unevenness is the variation of strength along the yarn. If the average mass per unit length of two yarns is
one yarn is less regular than the other, it is clear that the more even yarn will be the stronger of the two.
one should have more thin regions than the even one as a result of irregularity, since the average linear d
same. Thus, an irregular yarn will tend to break more easily during spinning, winding, weaving, knitting, o
process where stress is applied. However, due to the twist migration, thin place may not be necessarily w
 A second quality-related effect of uneven yarn is the presence of visible faults on the surface of fabrics. If
amount of irregularity is present in the yarn, the variation in fineness can easily be detected in the finishe
problem is particularly serious when a fault (i.e. a thick or thin place) appears at precisely regular interva
length of the yarn. In such cases, fabric construction geometry ensures that the faults will be located in a
is very clearly apparent to the eye, and defects such as streaks, stripes, barre, or other visual groupings d
the cloth. Such defects are usually compounded when the fabric is dyed or finished, as a result of the twis
accompanying them.

Twist tends to be higher at thin places in a yarn. Thus, at such locations, the penetration of a dye or finish
be lower than at the thick regions of lower twist. In consequence, the thicker yarn region will tend to be d
shade than the thinner ones and, if a visual fault appears in a pattern on the fabric, the pattern will tend t
emphasized by the presence of colour or by some variation in a visible property, such as crease-resistanc
by a finish.

Other fabric properties, such as abrasion or pill-resistance, soil retention, drape, absorbency, reflectance,
may also be directly influenced by yarn evenness. Thus, the effects of irregularity are widespread through
of the production and use of textiles, and the topic is an important one in any areas of the industry.

Effects of irregularity:

1. Strength:

Thin places in sliver, roving or in yarn will be weak places. The greater will be the chance of
breakage for more irregular yarn.

2. Fabric appearance:

Yarns free from strong periodic variations but with a high degree of general irregularity will
tend to produce patchy fabric.

Under certain conditions yarns with periodic thick and thin portions will cause the fabric to
exhibit an unwanted pattern.
a) In warp it gives streaky appearance.

b) In weft – “Diamond Bars” and block bars can arise

The conditions for diamond bars:

W = (R+x) × λ

Where, λ = wave length of periodic variation

R = an integral multiple of ½

x = value less than ¼

This means, to cause a “diamond bar” a weft must have a periodic variation whose wave length
is less than twice the fabric width.

λ<2W

3. Dyeing faults:
One effect of yarn irregularity on the dyeing process is the thicker and the softer parts of the yarn take
up more size than the thinner and harder region; after the desizing process prior to dyeing, the
distribution of the residual size may be uneven and cause difficulty in achieving a level dyeing.
. Yarn breakage:
Processability of the material is affected by yarn irregularity. For example passing neps through heald
eye or reed in weaving, needle eye during knitting or in sewing machine leads to yarn breakage.

Methods of Measuring Yarn Evenness:

In fact, to measure irregularity, many methods are available involving from no equipments to
electric instruments. Of all these we are to see

Visual Examination Methods:

Using Black Boards, Drums, Photographic Devices, Projectors, and Lap Meter.

Cutting and Weighing Methods:

Lap Scale, Lap meter, Sliver, Roving, and Yarn Wrapping.

Electronic Capacitance Testers:

Fielden- Walker Evenness Tester and Uster Evenness Tester.

Variation In Thickness Under Compression:

WIRA Roving Levelness Tester and LINRA Roller Yarn Diameter Tester.

Photoelectric Testers:

WIRA Photoelectric Testers and LINRA Tester.

Miscellaneous Methods:
 Airflow, Mercury Displacement, etc.

Before actually going into the methods in detail it must be kept in mind that the most important
property of a yarn is the number of fibres in a cross-section and the variation of this number
along the yarn is the fundamental measure of irregularity.

1. Visual Examination Method:

(a) Yarn appearance board:

Yarn to be examined is wrapped onto a matt black surface in equally spaced turns.

The black boards are then examined under good lightening conditions using uniform non-directional light.

A.S.T.M. has a series of Cotton Yarn Appearance Standards which are photographs of different counts with

the appearance classified in four grades.

The test yarn is then wound on a blackboard approximately 9.5 x 5.5inches with the correct spacing and

compared directly with the corresponding standard.

 Motorized wrapping machines are available: the yarn is made to traverse steadily along the board as it is

rotated, thus giving a more even spacing.

It is preferable to use tapered boards for wrapping the yarn if periodic faults are likely to be present.

This is because the yarn may have a repeating fault of a similar spacing to that of one wrap of yarn.

By chance it may be hidden behind the board on every turn with a parallel sided board whereas with

a tapered board it will at some point appear on the face.

Subjective measuring technique

Provides important additional information that can be correlated with the appearance to be expected in

fabrics made from yarn.

Grading after viewing a sample of yarn wound with a designated traverse (depend on count) on a black

board.

ASTM standard test method describes the yarn appearance into five grades. The board is compared with

standard photographs and then graded.

Grade A: No large neps, very few small neps, must have very good uniformity, less fuzziness.

Grade B: No larger neps, few small neps, less than 3 small pieces of foreign matters per board, slightly more

irregular and fuzzy than A.

Grade C: Some larger neps and more smaller neps, fuzziness, foreign matters more than B, more rough

appearance than B.

Grade D: Some slubs (more than 3 times diameter of yarn). More neps, larger size neps, fuzziness, thick and

thin places, foreign matters than Grade C yarn. Overall rougher appearance than C.

Grade E: Below grade D, more defects and overall rougher appearance than grade D yarn

2.Gravimetric Method (Cutting and Weighing Method):

Lap-to-lap variation:

By weighing individual laps, i.e. cut length in this case being the lap length.

a) Lap meter:
 • Automatically unrolls the lap, break off a 1 yard length, and deposit into the pan of a scale
• Weights are recorded subsequently.
• Data analysis.

b) Slivers, roving and yarn:

• The count (hank) and count CV% are checked by measuring a test length and weighing it on an accurate

balance.

• Normally, for sliver - 6 yard– by wrap block

• For roving -15 yard – by wrap block
• For yarns - 120 yard– by wrap reel

3. By Measuring Variation in Thickness Under Compression:

(a) WIRA Roving levelness tester (sliver may also be used):

b) Yarn testing by compression method:

i) Anderson yarn tester:

The recording of yarn thickness variation taken from an optical arrangement.

 The reflected light beam falls on a strip of moving photographic paper and trace is gene

ii) Roller yarn diameter tester (LINRA):

Four thicknesses so measured are equally spaced within 1''.

The movement of top roller can also be measured by mechanical or electrical pen recorder.

4. Electronic capacitance method: (USTER Tester 3 or 4):

Indirect method of measuring the change in mass per unit length

The yarn is passed though a parallel plate condenser in a continuous fashion

Change in capacity are monitored electronically

A change in mass of the dielectric (non-conducting material) in the condenser changes its capacitance.
Change in capacitance 'a' mass of material

If the material is drawn at constant speed through the condenser continuously, the changes in capacitance
will follow the variation in weight/unit length of the strand.

The unit length being the length of the capacitor (e.g. for Zellweger USTER it is 8 mm).

U% = [a/(X×T)] ×100 ]

= (100/X×T) × ∫Ix-xi I. dt

CV % = 100×σ/X = 100/X [1/T∫(x-xi)2dt]0.5

Larger deviation from mean in case CV% (as it is in squaring)

CV% values have greater impact of yarn appearance and their processing behavior, so CV% is a better

measure of unevenness than U%.

Diagram:

The graphical representation of mass per unit length variation along the length of sliver, roving or yarn is referred as diagra

It indicates the nature of variability present in the material.

We get following information from diagram:

1. Long wavelength variations, even with periodic variation which spectrogram cannot confirm.

2. Extreme thick and thin places.

3. Slow changes and step changes in the mean value.

4. In many cases, it can confirm the numerical values of instrument.

Imperfections:

Staple fibre yarns, at a number of places along their length, contain large variations in mass per unit length which are referred to

Causes:

Due to defective raw material or manufacturing process.

1. Thick places: +50% If the counter is actuated, the mass per unit length (cross section) at the thick place is 150% or more of

(Ranges: +100%,+70%,+50%,+35%)

2. Thin places: -50% only 50% of yarn mean value or less.

(Ranges: -60%, -50%, -40%, -30%)

3. Neps: +200% The thick place based on 1 mm length, is 300% of the yarn mean value or more. Length shorter than 4 mm (ho
(Ranges: +400%,+280%,+200%,+140%)

Spectrogram:

Amplitude of periodic mass variation is plotted against the wavelength in a spectrogram.

From the speed at which the yarn is running (through capacitance type sensor) the frequencies are converted to wavelengths a
steps.

Histogram is then plotted automatically.

Amplitude is a measure of the number of times a fault of that repeat length occurs.

Helps in locating the generating point of a periodic fault.

Spreading of humps are due to periodic faults generated due to “drafting waves” and the wavelength due to drafting wave will

Theoretical spectrogram:

For yarn with its staple fiber all the same length L (but in actual practice it is different, due to fault induced during processing)
S = f( λ ) = (1/√ π n)×sin ( π l0 / λ ) / √ ( π l0 / λ )
Where,

n = No. of fibers in cross section,

l0 = Fiber length,

λ = Wavelength

For natural fiber with variable length (L = mean fiber length)

Deviation rate:

It indicates the ratio of the total length of yarn irregularities determined on the basis of the yarn irregularity signals averaged over
the preset level to the total measured yarn length.

DR % = [Σ d / L] x 100

It shows correlation with the evaluation by the naked eye of the appearance of fabric.

Uster statistics:

A comprehensive data bank on quality parameters of yarns or fibres.

Large number of samples are collected and tested for various parameters in a standard testing laboratory.
 In 1997 Uster statistics total 5840 samples were collected

(8% from North America, 12% from South America 40% from West Europe, 5% from East Europe, 13% from Africa and Middle ea

All data are entered into data bank and with the help of application software the percentile curves are plotted.

It helps in assessing the level of the quality of product with international standards.

The Uster Statistics value changes in every 5 years.

5. Photoelectric method:

When the beam of light is directed onto photoelectric cell, an electric current is produced.

Click on Image to run the animation

 The magnitude of the current is proportional to theintensity of light falling.

If path of light is cut off by the yarn /roving/ sliver, the current flowing will vary as thickne
light will varies.

6. Optical method (IR Method): Zweigle G580:

Optical method of determining the yarn diameter and its variation.

The instrument consists of IR-Transmitter and two identical receivers.

Click on Image to run the animation

 The yarn passes at speed through one of the beams, blocking a portion of the light measuring receiver.

Intensity of this beam is compared with that measured by the reference receiver and difference in intensities is a measure of y

Optical method is claimed to be nearer to the human eye in the way that it sees fault. (The capacitance method feels the fau

7. Yarn faults classification (Capacitance method):

The yarn imperfections which have greater size (>100% mass) or longer lengths or both are regarded as Faults.

Imperfections are more frequent, while faults are seldom events.

Faults have greater impact on performance of yarn.

Faults are classified in different groups, and based on the requirements some of them can be removed at the winding stage by

In Uster Classimat-II: 23 Categories of Faults

Uster CLASSIMAT defect classification matrix:

Short thick faults:

A4, B4, C3, C4, D3, D4 are objectionable faults.

Stricter norms: A3, B3, C2, D2 are also considered as objectionable.

Long thick faults:

E & G are objectionable.

Thin faults:

H2, I1 & I2 are more critical, because they cause break during further processing. They also show up as thin lines in fabric.

The objectionable faults are cleared by yarn clearer

CLASSIMAT III: classifies the faults in 33 categories.

KEISOKKI Class fault II: Classifies in 40 categories.

Here option of free choice of limits.

A1 - E4: 20 Slub
F1 – J2: 10 Thick faults
K1 - O2: 10 Thin faults
Keisokki CLASSIFAULT defect classification matrix:

8. Electronic inspection board:(EIB- by Lawson-Hamphill):

Objective method of grading yarn appearance electronically : It can store the images of yarns for future comparison.

Yarn is run and scanned between the light source and the camera at a rate of 2 scans per mm when running at speed of 100m

Information from the camera is digitized and transmitted to a computer.

The yarn profiler program produces a profile image of the yarn as well as a graph of variation of the diameter- gives visual un

The inspection board program allows counting an event or defect based on the event’s diameter and length and analysis of de

9. Online monitoring of yarn evenness and faults:

Schlafhorst has incorporated yarn monitoring system on the rotor spinning machines using a opto-electronic sensor ‘Corolab
details about the evenness, imperfections, detection of faults etc.

Uster polyguard is an online yarn supervisory attachment for the automatic rotor spinning machines

- Based on capacitive measuring principle.

- Gives detail information for all the rotor heads.

TENSILE TESTING

Importance of Testing:
To know the level of strength provided by fibers, yarns or fabric :
a) For Industrial and Technical products - It is very important to know the strength in products likes,
industrial rope,conveyor belt, etc.
b) For household or apparel use - Merely need an adequate strength in order to withstand handling during
production and use.

Fibre Strength:
Fibre strength is generally considered to be next to fibre length and fineness in the order of importance amongst fib

Fibre strength denotes the maximum tension the fibre is able to sustain before breaking.

It can be expressed as breaking strength or load, tenacity etc.

Elongation denotes elongation percentage of fibre at break.

Factors affecting the strength of fibres:

Molecular structure

No. and intensity of weak places

Coarseness or fineness of fibre

Relative humidity

Elasticity

Fibre strength is determined by either testing individual fibres or group of fibres.

Manmade fibres are usually tested for their individual strength as there is very less variation in length and fineness of the fibres.
their bundle strength due to high variation in terms of length and fineness.
Bundle fibre strength testing:
A bunch of fibres are put in to two jaws. The jaws are moved until the fibres break. The breaking load and elongation at break

Bundle strength of cotton:

The “Stelo”meter – the name coined from strength and elongation which functions on pendulum lever principle.

Pressley fibre strength tester - functions on pivoted beam balance principle.

Uster spin lab High Volume Instrument

TERMINOLOGY AND DEFINITIONS:
1) Load:
The application of a load to a specimen in its axial direction causes a tension to be developed in the
specimen.

The load is usually expressed in grams or pounds.

2) Breaking Load/Breaking Strength:

This is the load at which the specimen breaks.

It is usually expressed in grams or pounds.

3) Stress: It is the ratio between the force and the area of cross-sectional of the specimen.

i.e., Stress = Force applied / Area of cross section

But in case of textile material, only for circular materials, it can be measured.

Cross section of yarns and fabrics, due to unknown packing characteristics the exact cross-sectional area is
very difficult to measure.

Also the cross-section of yarns, fibers or fabrics are irregular.

4) Specific/Mass Stress:
In case of textile material the linear density is used instead of the cross sectional area.

It also allows the strength of yarns of different linear densities to be compared.

Specific stress = Force/Linear density (initial)

The preferred units are N/tex or mN/tex, other units which are found in the industry are gf/denier and cN/dtex.

5) Tenacity or Specific Strength:

The tenacity of material is the mass stress at break.

It is defined as the specific stress corresponding with the maximum force on a force/extension curve.

The nominal denier or tex of the yarn or fibre is the figure used in the calculation; no allowance is made
for any thinning of the specimen as it elongates.

Units are grams/denier or grams/tex.

6) Breaking Length:
Breaking length is an older measure of tenacity.

It is the theoretical length (in Km) of a specimen of yarn whose weight would exert a force sufficient to
break the specimen.

It is usually measured in kilometres.

e.g. 10 tex yarn breaks at a load of 150grams

Breaking length would be = 15km (RKm)

The numerical value is equal to tenacity in g/tex (150/10)

7) Strain:
When a load is applied to a specimen, a certain amount of stretching takes place.

The elongation that a specimen undergoes is proportional to its initial length.

 Strain expresses the elongation as a fraction of the original length.

i.e., Strain = Elongation / Initial length

8) Extension percentage:
This measure is the strain expressed as a percentage rather than a fraction.

i.e., Extension % = Elongation / Initial length

9) Breaking extension:
Breaking extension is the extension percentage at the breaking point.

10) Gauge length:

The gauge length is the original length of that portion of the specimen over which the strain or change of
length is determined.
When an external force is applied to any material it is balanced by the internal force developed in the
molecular structure of the material.

Stress-Strain Curve:

Click on Image to run the animation-1

click here to run Load-Elongation Vs Stress-Stain animation

Initial Modulus or Initial Young’s Modulus (within Hook’s region)

When an external free is applied it is balanced by internal force developed in the molecular structure of the material

Secant modulus:

Slope of the straight line drawn between zero and a specific point (D), i.e. known strain or stress.
a) OA - Elongation is due to stretching of primary or secondary bonds, totally recoverable, elastic zone.
b) By further increasing the stress, the curve bends sharply at ‘C’, where larger strain at smaller stress - ‘Yield
point’, OC' - Yield strain,OC" - Yieldstress.

After this a plastic flow occurs, breaking of some secondary bonds. Rearrangement of molecules.
c) This rearrangement puts the material in a better position to withstand further stress.
d) The nature of curve varies, depending on the molecular structure of fibre or yarn structure.
e) Work of rupture: Measure of toughness of material. It is the energy of work required to break in specimen. Area
under the load- Elongation curve (Area of shaded position) (gm. Centimeters)

click here to run the Work of rupture animation

For comparison purpose
= g. cm / Den.cm
Because it is proportional to cross section and length. The effective unit will be, g/den or g/tex.

Nature of stress – Strain curve of yarn can also be changed by changing the spinning parameters, e.g. spindle speed,
traveler weight, T.M., etc.
TM3 > TM2 > TM1

f) Work factor: If the curve follow Hook’s law up to breaking point, then;

click here to run the Work factor animation

This is work factor.

Work factor > (1/2)

Work factor < (1/2)

It describes the nature of curve numerically

g) Elastic recovery: It is the property of a material by which it tends to recover its original size and shape after
deformation.

AB – original length

CD – elastic extension

BD – total extension

click here to run the Elastic recovery animation

BC – permanent set.
 Elastic recovery = (CD/BD)

For perfectly elastic material, BD = CD

So, Elastic recovery = 1.0
For perfectly plastic materials, CD = 0
Elastic recovery = 0

Effect: Bagging or dimensional stability of garment.

h) Time dependent effect:

Click on Image to run the animation

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqTime dependent extension or creep

Factors affecting tensile results:

a) Specimen length:

Breaking strength is the “load to break” at the “weakest” point of a specimen of a specified length.

For length L1, the breaking strength S1 and so on (fig).

With gauge length OO the breaking strength would be S1, because S1 is the weakest point (fig).

When we test two halves, i.e. OO"² , O"O , we get S1 and S2, the average

Hence, by testing yarn with shorter gauge length the apparent yarn strength has increased. This effect is known as

For more irregular yarn, the “effect” is more

Hence by adjusting gauge length, the test result may be changed (so, standardization of gauge length is important

For processing point of view, slightly lower average strength with regular yarn is better.

.
 b) Rate of loading and time to break:

Most textile materials show an increase in breaking strength with increasing rate of extension
together with a decrease in extension.

Due to visco-elastic nature of textile material, they require certain time to respond to the
applied stress.

Different types of textiles (fibres/yarns/fabrics) respond differently depending on the

structure.

Peirce’s empirical equation

 So standard time to break a specimen has been specified, e.g. (20 ± 3) sec. B.S. (only for CRL, not for CRT )

c) Capacity of machine:
If a very weak specimen is tested in a machine with very high capacity, the time to break will be short, so
optimistic result will be produced.
Also the break of the specimen should not be at the extreme of the instrument capacity (1mg in 1ton capacity
equipment).
1. Previous history of the specimen:

Specimen have been strained beyond the yield point earlier.

Specimen have been subjected to any chemical treatment before test

d) Effect of humidity and temperature:

Behaviour of textile material changes with the relative humidity of the atmosphere.

So standard humidity and temperature is recommended.

Temperature, although have not much effect, but at very high temperature fibre may be degraded.

Also at very low temperature fibres may be brittle.

e) Clamping problem:
Jaw slip -----> Too low clamping pressure

Jaw damage ------> Too high clamping pressure

Principles of Tensile Testing:

Three ways to carryout tensile test:

1. CRE: Rate of increase of specimen length is uniform with time (the load measuring mechanism moves a negligible dis
2. CRL: Rate of increase of the load is uniform with time and rate of extension is dependent on the load-elongation char
of the specimen.
3. CRT: Pulling one clamp at a uniform rate and the load is applied through the other clamp. Which moves appreciably t
a load measuring mechanism so that the rate of increase of either load or elongation is usually not constant.

CRE V/S CRL:

With CRE principle, maximum load reaches before 3 sec., and rest of the time the specimen remains at higher load
very high rate of loading).

For CRL, initial extension was very low and afterwards very high extension with small time (very high extension rate

So, nature of the curves of same specimen under two different principles will be different.

If specimen length increase in a CRE machine, the rate of loading will decrease.

a) Pendulum Lever Principle (CRT):

M=Mass of pendulum and its C.G. is at R distance from the pivot

For extensible material, v >u

 Click on Image to run the animation

Assuming the specimen is in extensible,

Taking moments about pivot,

Machine rate of loading (µ)

Increase in the load per unit increase in the displacement of upper jaw (J1)
The displacement of upper jaw (J1)=rdθ
dF/dθ =(MgR/r)cosθ , dF/ rdθ = µ = (MgR/r2)cosθ

MgR/r2is constant for a particular m/c and known as “standard machine rate of loading” or µ0

Ratio of µ at start and at 450 is (1:0.707), i.e. cos00:cos450

Time rate of loading (L):
Some considerations in Pendulum Principle:
(i) Inertia Effect :
Overthrow at end and at start also (extension without showing any load)
(ii) Effect of specimen extension:

(iii) Scale :

b) Stelometer (CRL):

Capable of measuring strength as well as elongation of fibre bundle.

Works with Pendulum lever principle .

The loading of the specimen is carried out by a pendulum system, which is mounted in such a way that it rotates ab
its C.G.

It eliminates the inertia effects associated with normal pendulum principle.

The beam and pendulum start in a vertical position but the C.G. of beam is such that when it is released the whole
rotates.
The speed of rotation is controlled by adjusting the dashpot.
For Extensible Material:

Example– Let extension at breal - 7%

Gauge length -8inch

Breaking load - 220gm

Std. Machine rate of loading, µ0 -1100gm/in

Rate of traverse - 2.28 inch/min

Calculate time of break

T=[{(220/1100) +8 x 0.07}/2.28] x 860 sec

=20sec

c. The beam balance principle:

P x BC = F x AC

The load on the specimen ‘P’ can be varied by changing F, or

by changing the distance from fulcrum,

keeping F constant.
1. Pressley Fibre strength tester:

The beam AB is pivoted at O.

When B rises, the clamp C1 moves upwards.
Initially the beam have a slight inclination of a few degree to the horizontal.
The heavy rolling weight (W) when released from the catch, it rolls down the beam.
A 'O increases until the fibres break.
As soon as the break occurs, the arm AO drops and the brake arrangement stops the carriage
instantly.

The distance A'O is the measure of breaking force. The scale is directly graduated on the beam AB.

If we can control the velocity of rolling wt. by a specially made device, we can achieve CRL test
condition.
In HVI, this principle is used.
d. Loading by spring (both CRL and CRE):

The instrument is used for single fibre or fine yarns

(i) To test with CRL condition:

Motor M1 runs continuously

As motor M1 starts, the H1 moves upwards at a constant speed.

The spring extends and load is applied on the specimen at a constant rate.
The extension of specimen will cause the leaf spring to touch upper contact C2, which starts the motor M2 and
H2 moves down for a short period. This cycle continues until the specimen breaks

G1 and G2 are the sample grips

 The upper grip G1 is connected to a leaf spring, which has a restricted
movement between the electrical contacts C1 ad C2

(ii) To test with CRE condition:

Motor M2 runs continuously

The M1 starts and stops intermittently, as described above.

Used for single fibre and fine yarns.

Recording of Load – Extension (for CRL):

A chart is mounted on a vertical cylinder.

Movement of H1 measures the load, therefore the pen moves vertically along with H1.
The motor M2, which runs only when the specimen extension is being taken up, also rotates the chart
cylinder, angular movement of the cylinder being proportional to the extension.

Similar for CRE

e. Inclined plane principle ( CRL):

Click on Image to run the animation

So, CRL condition is achieved.

Extension of the specimen will not affect the rate of loading, the carriage merely rolling further down the plane.
f. Ballistic or impact principle:

Measures ‘work of rupture’ of a specimen instead of max. breaking force.

Potential energy at point 1, W x h1.

When pendulum is released, it swings downward and when it is nearly vertical, it begins to
pull on the specimen (at 2)

Breaks the specimen and rises to position 3.

Work of rupture = W (h1 – h2) in lbs

‘K’ is known as centre of percussion of the pendulum. it is a point on the axis of pendulum
where a force may be applied without causing a reaction about the fulcrum.

Click on Image to run the animation

g. Strain gauge principle (Load Transducer):

Most of the modern tensile testers work on this principle.

When the beam bends the length of upper face (AB) increases and lower face (CD) decreases and (NL) remains
unchanged.

Resistance wire (R) cemented on AB also expand and thus the value of resistance changes.

Convert this value of change in resistance to load value (applied on specimen)

Two resistance wires are placed on upper and other two are on lower surface. (To form a Wheatstone Bridge).
With the beam un-deflected, no voltage across CD, when a voltage is applied across AB. The bridge is ‘balanced’.

When load is applied, the deflection occurs and the values of the resistances change and a voltage is produced acr
i.e., which is proportional to the load.
Advantages:

Free from inertia errors and friction.

The deflection of the end of the beam is very small, and thus it is tests under ‘CRE’ condition.

Versatility in the type of instrument (yarn, fibre, fabrics, wide speed and load range, etc.)

Disadvantages:
Expert technician is required for maintenance and repair.

Chances of ‘drift’ in electronic circuits.

High initial cost.

Instron tensile tester, UTM, Tensorapid, Zwick, Statimat and various other modern tensile testing instruments work in th

h. Constant tension winding tests:

It provides conditions somewhat similar to actual processing of yarn during winding, warping, sizing etc.

The test is closer to actual running condition.

A, B fixed pulleys and P movable pulley

Under static conditions the tension of the loop will be 0.5L (uniform throughout the loop)

The tension imposed on the yarn will cause it to stretch. “e” be the extension per unit length, v = u (1 + e)

Necessary means are required to adjust the input and output velocity.

The tension required to get the std. breakage rate

Breakage rate and applied tension.

Experimental data shows that

n1 = Breaks/1000 yard

At t1 tension imposed on the yarn will cause it to stretch “e” be the extension per unit length,

v = u (1 + e)

Necessary means are required to adjust the input and output velocity.

Standard breakage rate is “8 breaks per 1000yard of yarn”.

The tension required to get the standard break rate.

Breakage rate, applied tension and single thread strength:

Experimental data shows that

Breakage rate, applied tension and single thread strength:

Single thread strength:

Empirical equation

Dynamic mode T = Tension required to produce “n” breaks/1000yard

Static mode = Mean single yearn strength

σ = S. D. of single yarn strength.

Factor ‘K’ depends on “n” and also change with test length of single thread tensile test.

In B.S. Handbook, the 1st estimate of tension required to produce 8 breaks/1000 yard is,

K = 3.3., with 20” test length and 8 breaks/1000 yard.

Application of constant – tension winding test:

Results obtained may serve as a guide to the behaviour of yarn in subsequent processing i.e. forecast of probable end-b

- Comparison of yarn quality

Yarn A Yarn B Yarn C

Count 60.2 61.0 60.8
CSP 2255 2170 2216
Single Yarn Strength 150.5 147.3 148.5
Breaks/1000 yard 18.6 6.8 21.5

YARN STRENGTH:
(i) Single yarn strength:

Instron, Uster etc. 500mm gauge length and speed adjusted so that the time to break is 20 ± 3sec.

(ii) Skein Method (Lea Strength):

Advantages:

It tests a long length of yarn in one test.

Yarn is expected to break at its weak spots, so give more realistic strength values.

Same hank can be used to measure yarn count.

Disadvantages:
 Result depends on friction between yarn and also between yarn and hook.

No measure of strength variability.

FABRIC TENSILE STRENGTH

Fabric tensile strength depends upon

Raw material.

Yarn strength (twist: more twist for more strength)

Fabric construction (weave: plane weave is stronger than floats-satin, sateen which are
weaker, Density: low density cause weave slippage which result in seam slippage).
Finish applied (resin finish improves weave slippage).

Adverse of “finishing” process.

Measurement of fabric tensile strength

1. Strip Test: (British) BS 2576:
In this method a fabric strip is extended to its breaking point by a suitable mechanical means
which can record the breaking load and extension.
Five fabric samples both in warp and weft direction are prepared with each not containing the
same longitudinal threads.
Samples are prepared 60mm x 300mm and then frayed to get 50mm wide specimen.
The rate of extension is set to 50mm/min and gauge length is 200mm. pretension is 1% of
the probable breaking load.

Click on Image to run the animation-1

Any breaks that occur within 5mm of the jaws or at loads substantially less than the average
should be rejected.
The mean breaking force and mean extension % of initial length are reported.

Samples are cut (60mm x 300mm) parallel to warp/weft.

Frayed the threads from both sides of the width to bring down to 50mm wide.

For heavily milled fabrics, no fraying is done (50mm x 300mm).

2. Grab Test: (U.S) ASTM D1682:

The grab test uses jaw faces which are considerably narrower than the fabric, so avoiding the
need to fray the fabric to width and hence making it a simpler and quicker test to carry out.
The sample used is 100mm x 150mm jaws are 25mm square which stress only the central
25mm of the fabric.
A line is drawn 37.5mm from the edge of fabric to assist it in clamping so the same set of
threads are clamped in both jaws.
The gauge length is 75mm and speed is adjusted so that the sample is broken in 20±3s.

In this test, there is a certain amount of assistance from yarns adjacent to the central
stressed area so that the strength measured is higher than for a 25mm frayed strip test.
Fundamentally different from strip test.

Jaw faces are considerably narrower than fabric. No need to fray the fabric.

Simpler and quicker method.

3. USTER TENSORAPID (CRE Principle):

For tensile testing of single and ply yarn.

Testing of slivers, leas and fabrics is also possible.

Force measurements up to 1000N without exchanging the force transducer.

 The clamping force, the yarn tensioners and the suction-off of the yarn can be programmed.

All numerical and graphical results are displayed on a video screen. (Histogram, L-E curve, tables, etc.)

Package creel for the automatic measurement up to 20 packages.

Calling-up of test parameters of frequently tested yarn types from the memory (up to 40).

Pneumatically-actuated yarn clamps ; the clamp pressure is programmable.

Electronic elongation measurement.

Test speed – Continuously adjustable between 50 and 5000mm/min.

Test length.

----> With horizontal position of clamps, continuously adjustable between 200 and 1000mm.

----> With vertical position of clamps, continuously adjustable between 100 and 1000mm.

Self test - Automatic calibration check for accuracy through inspection.

TEARING STRENGTH
Introduction:
A fabric tears when it is snagged by a sharp object and the immediate small puncher is converted into
long rip by what may be a very small extra effort.
It is probably the most common type of strength failure of fabrics in use.
It is particularly important in industrial fabrics that are exposed to rough handling. (e.g. Tents, Sacks,
Parachutes, etc.)
In some applications low tear strength is require, e.g. Adhesive tape, bandages, etc.

Factors affecting tear strength:

Threads break singly or in very small groups. So single thread strength is of great importance.

In loose fabric structure, grouping of threads occurs, resulting higher tear strength.

Also fabrics with smooth yarns show higher tear strength.

High-sett fabric reduces thread movement, so tear strength drops considerably.

Closely related to point (2) is the effect of weave. Thus, a twill or 2/2 matt structure allows the
threads to group better than a plain weave. Twills and matt weave exhibit better resistance to
tearing than plain weave
Special fabric finishes such as drip-dry and crease-resist treatments may reduce the tearing
strength.

Measurement of fabric tearing strength:

a. Single rip tear test / Tongue tear test:
Tail ‘A’ is clamped in lower jaw and ‘B’ in upper jaw.

Speed 50mm/min or 300mm/min.

 The separation of jaws causes the tear to proceed through uncut part.

Averages of the five highest peaks are taken as tear strength.

Depending on the directing of testing, the tear strength of warp or weft yarns are report

b. Double rip tear test:

The central one is gripped in one jaw and outer two is other jaw.

Two tears are simultaneously made so it is known as double rip.

c. Wing rip tear test:
It does not transfer the direction of tear. In other methods, due to wide difference in tear
strength of warp and weft the direction of tear changes from high to low.
During the test, the point of tearing remains substantially in line with the centre of the grips.
Not suitable for loosely constructed fabrics, (fail by slippage of yarns rather than by rupture
of thread).
Tested at CRE m/c with 100mm/min speed.

Highest peak or mean of five peaks are taken.

d. Elmendorf tear tester:
Click on Image to run the animation
 Pendulum type ballistic tester which measures energy loss (gf) during tearing.

Energy loss = tearing force x distance

Loss of potential energy = work done.

BURSTING STRENGTH
Fabric Bursting Strength:
Bursting strength is a method of measuring strength in which the material is stressed in all the directions at the same t
therefore more suitable for materials such as knitted fabrics, lace or non-woven.
Fabrics used in parachute, filters, sacks and nets are simultaneously stressed in all the directions during service. In serv
is more likely to fail by bursting than by a straight tensile fracture;
Example: The stress present at elbows and knees of clothing. During a test a fabric fails across the direction which has
breaking extension

Tensile test is unidirectional and thus suitable for woven fabrics where definite warp and weft direction strength is

In case of knitted or nonwoven fabrics, where no definite alignment of yarns/fibres is there, multidirectional force i

Some fabrics (even woven also) stressed in all direction during use (parachute, filters, sacks, nets etc.)

These types of fabrics more likely to fail by bursting in service than it is to break by a straight tensile fracture.

Fabric fails across the direction which has lowest breaking extension. Because in all the directions the fabric underg
same extension. This is not necessarily the direction with the lowest strength.

Measurement of Fabric Bursting Strength:

In this test a 25mm diameter steel ball is pushed through the stretched fabric and the force required to do so is reco

The advantage of the test is that it can be carried out on a standard universal strength tester with a suitable attachm
 There is also no limit to the amount a sample can be extended as there is with the diaphragm test.

(a) Diaphragm bursting test:

In this test the fabric sample is clamped over a rubber diaphragm by means of an annular clamping

An increasing fluid pressure is applied to the underside of the diaphragm until the specimen bursts.

The operating fluid may be a liquid or a gas.

Sample:
Specimens of two sizes are used; 30mm and 113mm.

The specimen with the larger diameter fails at lower pressure (approximately 1/5 of the 30mm diam

The standard requires 10 specimens to be tested.

Procedure:
The fabric sample is clamped over the rubber diaphragm.

The pressure in the fluid increases at such a rate that the specimen bursts within 20 ± 3 sec. (P1).

The height (extension) of the diaphragm is noted

Another test is carried out without a specimen.

The pressure to do this is noted and then deducted from the earlier reading.

(P1 - P2) is the actual bursting strength of the specimen.

Mean bursting strength “kN/m2”

Mean bursting distance “mm”

Click on Image to run the animation

 Figure: A diaphragm bursting strength tester.
Disadvantages:
Fabrics with very high extensibility (knitted fabrics) creates problem because the rubber diaphragm h
to the same amount.

Blank test is required, which needs accuracy, or pressure – distance calibration chart is required.

Spilling of liquid may occur or chances of leakage.

Diameter of the specimen may be varied.

It is good to have a test length greater than the fibre length. A diameter of say 1.2'', which is recom
some standard, is little on the smaller side for woven cotton cloth.

For knotted fabrics the length of yarn (a 1.2'' circular fabric) is much longer due to looped structure.

Crimp percentage in warp and weft plays an important role. For similar yarn, the direction with lowe
percentage will break.

(b) Ball bursting strength:

The US standard ASTM D 3787 specifies a 1.0000 inch diameter ball (25.4mm) with a clamp diameter of 1.75 inch (44
and a speed of 12 inch/min (305mm/min).

The British Standard for coated fabrics BS 3424 specifies a very similar dimension with a ball diameter of 25.2mm, a cla
diameter of 45mm and a testing speed of 5mm/s. an example of a compression fixture to carry out this test is shown.
Diaphragm bursting test is not suitable for highly stretchable fabrics.

Errors due to diaphragm expansion.

This test can be performed using an attachment on a standard tensile testing m/c.

25mm diameter ball is pushed through the stretched fabric and force required is recorded.

In diaphragm pressure is measured, but here force is measured.

No limit to the amount that a sample can be extended.

The load cell operates in compression mode.

Figure: A ball bursting strength attachment.

PILLING AND ABRASION TESTING

Pilling:
A garment is considered to be serviceable when it is fit for its particular end use.

It is a fabric surface fault characterized by little pills of entangled fibre clinging to the cloth surface and giving t
garment an unsightly appearance.

Formed by rubbing action on loose fibres that are present on the fabric surface.

Stronger component in the blend aggravated its seriousness.

Higher breaking strength and lower bending stiffness results more pill.

Low twist factor, higher hairiness, and loose fabric structure results easy and large pills (knitwear)

Measurement of fabric pilling:

a) Objective method:

Counting the number of pills or by removing and weighting them.

Time consuming, also does not take into account the degree of colour contrast with the ground.

b) Subjective method:

By comparing it with either standard sample or with photograph or by the use of a written scale of severity.

Methods of Measurement:
1. ICI pilling box

2. Random tumbling pilling test

3. Pilling test by Martindale Abrasion Tester

1. ICI pilling box:

A specimen (125 mm x 125 mm) is cut from fabric (2 for warp 2 for weft).

Stitched face-to-face and turned inside out.

The fabric tube is then mounted on rubber tubes.

The loose ends taped with PVC tape.

All the four samples are then tumbled together in a cork-lined box 9'' x 9'' x 9'' and allowed for
required revolution cycle.

The specimens are taken out and removed from rubber tube and rated.

Also, pilling is mainly due to fibres with very high “lateral strength” or "bending strength" or
“low brittleness”.
 High “lateral strength” may be advantageous in some applications like technical textiles, floor
covering, etc.

However, the pilling tendency also increases, so in the apparel sector “low lateral strength" is
preferable, particularly in knitted goods.

Polyester fibres are deliberately made brittle for use in knitted products to avoid pilling (anti
pilling types).

Pills do not form where fibres with low lateral strength are used (wool and anti-pill man-made
fibres).

They can be easily scrubbed off.

But fibres with “high lateral strength” will have higher pilling tendency.

Pilling resistance and durability are inversely related.

PILLING GRADES:
Grade 5 No or very weak formation of pills.

Grade 4 Weak formations of pills.

Grade 3 Moderate formations of pills.

Grade 2 Obvious formations of pills.

Grade 1 Severe formation of pills.
2.Random tumbling pilling test:

Random tumbling motion produced by tumbling specimen in a cylindrical test chamber lined with mildly abrasive
material.

To resemble the pills those with actual wear, small amount of cotton lint are added.

Three specimen of 105 mm x 105 mm are cut an angle 45º to length and edges are sealed with rubber adhesive.

All these samples along with cotton lint are tumbled in the test chamber.

After certain time the fabric samples are assessed. The number and timing of the cycles depends on type of fabri
being tested and would be laid down in the relevant specification.

3.Pilling test by Martindale Abrasion Tester:

The specimens are mounted on large (bottom) and small (top) specimen holder.

Then rubbed against each other (source sample).

Two pressures are used : 2.5 cN/cm knitted fabric.

 6.5 cN/cm for woven and upholstery fabric.

In place of std. abradant, the fabric sample is placed in the lower holder.

If the degree of pilling is different on the upper and lower holder, the upper specimen is assessed.

The number and timing of the cycles depend on the type of fabric tested and would be laid down in the relevant
specification.

PILLING AND ABRASION TESTING

Abrasion Resistance:
Abrasion is the rubbing away of the component fibres and yarns of the fabric.
Abrasion is of three types :

Plain or flat abrasion - A flat area of material is abraded.

Edge abrasion - Kind of abrasion which occurs at collars and folds.

Flex abrasion - Rubbing is accompanied by flexing and bending.

FACTORS AFFECTING ABRASION RESISTANCE:

1. Fibre type:
High elongation, elastic recovery, and work of rupture are considered to be more important factors. (Nylon polymer) Ble
nylon or polyester with wool or cotton improves abrasion resistance.

2. Fibre properties:

Longer fibres incorporated into fabric confer better abrasion resistance, because they are harder to remove from yarn. F
reason filament yarns are more abrasion resistant than staple yarns made from the same fibre. Increasing fibre diamete
limit improves abrasion resistance. Above the limit the increasing strains encountered in bending counteract any further
and also a decrease in the number of fibres in the cross-section lowers fibre cohesion.
3. Yarn twist:

Optimum twist increases the abrasion resistance. At low twist, fibres can come out and at high twist more abrasion due
yarn.
4. Fabric structure:

If one set of yarn is predominantly on the surface then this set will wear most. Relative mobility of floats helps to absorb
Factors affecting abrasion test result:
Type of abrasion: Plane, flex or edge abrasion or combination.

Type of abradant: standard fabric, steel plates, abrasive paper or stones selected based on actual use.

Pressure: Higher pressure, more abrasion

Speed of abrasion: A rise in temperature of sample can occur with high rubbing speeds, which can affect the fib
properties (thermoplastic fibres).
 Tension: At higher tension abrasion is more.

Direction: In many fabrics abrasion resistance in the warp differs from that of the weft. Ideally the rubbing motion u
machine should be such as to eliminate directional effects.

Method of Assessment:

Abrade the sample until a predetermined end point, e.g. a hole and record the time on no. of cycles.

Abrade for a set time or no. of cycles and then assess some aspects of the abraded fabric, e.g. change in appear
of mass, change in thickness, loss of strength etc.

METHODS OF MEASUREMENT:

MARTINDALE ABRASION TESTER:

Four specimens (38 mm diameter) are mounted in the specimen holder.

The sample is abraded against standard abradant under standard load.

A complex motion (resultant of two s.h.m. at right angle to one another) is given to the specimen holder.
 Figure: MARTINDALE ABRASION TESTER

Assessment:

No. of cycles are noted when two threads are broken. The specimen is examined at suitable intervals. If likely
failure point is known, then first inspection can be made at 60% of that value.

Average rate of loss is mass:

Total eight specimens, out of that two specimens abraded up to two thread break.

Other pairs are abraded upto 25%, 50%, and 75% of the above and average loss in weightt can be
measured from a plot of loss in mass vs cycle (loss in mass in mg/1000 rubs).

For hosiery fabrics, a flattened rubber ball is pushed through the sample as the holder is tightened thus stretching
it. Tested at 12kpa pressure till hole appears.
Accelerator Abrasion Tester:
The fabric specimen is driven by rotor inside a circular chamber lined with an abrasive cloth.
The sample suffers abrasion by rubbing against itself as well as the linear.

Evaluation is made by (i) weight loss, (ii) loss in grab strength.

Size of specimen depends on GSM, after abrasion the specimen is taken out and any loose debris are removed an
then wished % loss in weight is calculated.

(ii) 100mm x 300mm specimen size.

Folded 50mm from short edge and stitched to have 100mm x 100 mm specimen size.

Folded edge is abraded.

After abrasion the stitch is removed and the grab strength is measured.

The fabric specimen is driven by rotor inside a circular chamber lined with an abrasive cloth.
The sample suffers abrasion by rubbing against itself as well as the liner.

Evaluation is made by:

(i) Weight loss: Size of specimen depends on g/m2. After abrasion the specimen is taken out and any loose debris are
removed and then weighed. % loss in weight is calculated.
(ii) Loss in grab strength:

100mm x 300mm specimen size.

 Cut in two pieces of 100mm x 150mm

Folded 50mm from short edge and stitched to have

100 mm x 100 mm specimen size.

FABRIC HANDLE
Bending:
For industrial fabrics performance characteristics are important like, smooth, rough, stiff or limp, draping, etc.
(1) Principle of measurement of bending characteristics:
Cantilever principle: (Shirley Stiffness Tester)
The horizontal strip of fabric is allowed to bend like cantilever, index its own weight.
Click on Image to run the animation

Pierce empirical equation,

Where,

M = Mass per unit area (g/m2)

G = Flexural rigidity.

C = Bending length (mm)

θ = Angle fabric bends

at θ = 7.1º, X = 1

Higher the bending length, stiffer is the fabric.

θ = 7.1º, C = L (mm)

So, pierce definition of bending length is “the length of rectangular strip of material which will bend under its
own mass to an angle of 7.1º.
Shirley Stiffness factor:
 200mm x 25mm specimen.

Allowing this strip to bend to a fixed (41.5º) under its own weight.

The over changing length is twice the bending length (C = L/2) at θ = 41.5º, X = 0.5.

(2) Hanging Loop Method:

Fabrics that are too limp to give a satisfactory result by the cantilever method may have their
stiffness measured by forming them into a loop and allowing it to hang under its own weight.
L - strip length, lo = undistorted length of loop, i.e. the distance between grip to the farthest
point.

After hanging, due to their own weight the distance becomes “l”

Stiffness is calculated from the difference ‘d’ = l – l0

Ring loop: lo = 0.3183 L

Bending length (C) = L × 0.133 × f(θ),

θ = 157º × d/lo,

Heart Loop: lo = 0.1337L, C = L x 0.1337 x f(θ)

θ = 32.85º x d/lo

Flexural Rigidity:
It is the ratio of the small change in bending moment per unit width of the material to the
corresponding small change in curvature . Flexural Rigidity,

G = M x C3 x 9.807 x 103 Micro N.m, where C = bending length in mm.

Bending Modulus:
The stiffness of a fabric in bending is very dependent on its thickness, the thicker the fabric, the stiffer
if all other factors remain the same. The bending modulus is independent of the dimensions of the strip
tested so that by analogy with solid materials it is a measure of ‘intrinsic stiffness’.
 Bending Modulus aWhere T = fabric thickness (mm)

Shearing:
It is the most important property which determines how a fabric will perform when subjected to a wide variety of
complex deformations during use.

The ability of a fabric to deform by ‘shearing’ (so conform to the contours of the body) differentiates, it from other
thin sheet materials such as paper or plastic film.

Difficult to measure, as textile materials are very flexible.

(A) For simple shear (A) stress ‘F’ acting opposite direction (parallel)

Area of ABCD = AB/CD (assumption)

tan θ = Shear strain, F = shear stress

F = G tan θ, where G is shear modulus.

(B) In case of flexible material, like fabric, to prevent buckling a vertical force W is applied.

An extra force ‘F’ = W tanθ will be these due to ‘W’. Effective shear force = F – F’ = F – W tanθ (Stress is
expressed as force per unit length)
 Hysteresis occurs due to frictional force at the intersection of warp and weft.

Initial shear modulus – Slope of the curve at the origin.

Shear modulus at zero shear angle – Slope at point B and D.

Hysteresis at zero shear angle and length BD.

Shear measurement by Extension (By Bias Leaf and Sheta):

Suppose 45º is the biased direction, i.e. 45º with warp.

G = Shear modulus

E45 = Youngs modulus at 45º.

E1, E2 = Youngs modulus of warp and weft directions

σ1, σ2 = Poisson’s ratios of warp and weft directions

E1& E2>> E45, So, E45 ~ 4G

Shear strain, tan θ ~ 2e + e2,

where e is very small

tan θ ~ 2e

and F – W tan θ ~ f/2 ~ Effective shear force for infinitesimal strain

Drape:
The term used to describe the way a fabric hangs under its own weight determines how good a garment looks in use.

It differs from fabric to fabric and depends on end use.

A particular value cannot be classified as either good or bad.

The multidirection curvature formed is dependent on shear property and bending stiffness.

Cusick Drape Test:

The shadow that the fabric casts, is traced onto an annular piece of paper. Paper mass per unit area is constant.

Click on Image to run the animation

Click on Image to run the animation
 Drape Co-efficient (D)= (Mass of shaded area / Total mass of paper ring) x 100
Mass of whole paper ring is taken and thin shadow part is cut and weighed

• Three different specimen diameter is recommended.

• 24 cm for very limpy fabric, D < 30%

• 30 cm is medium fabric
• 36 cm for stiff fabric, D > 85%.

• Drape coefficient has direct correlation with bending length and shear stiffness.
• For bending length (C) between 2 cm and 4 cm an almost linear relationship is predicted.
• D(%) = 30 C – 30
• 13-2

COMPRESSION:
Compressibility of fabric is defined as the extent or reduction in “Thickness” with the application of normal pressure.

During compression, the space between the fibres is decreased until they eventually come into contact with o
another.
 Changes within the strcture,

Elastic property:

(i) Bending of individual fibres

(ii) Slippage between fibres/yarns.

Compression of fabric is completed in 3 stages,

Individual protruding surface fibres are compressed (by bending) [Elastic Deformation]

Inter yarn or inter fibre friction resist the slippage [Plastic Deformation]

Lateral compression of the fibres themselves [Elastic Deformation]

Measurement of thickness and compression properties of fabrics form an integral part of objective evaluation
“Handle” properties of apparel fabrics.

During determination of the handle of fabrics, the fabric is compressed between the fingers.

Quality of a carpet or any other soft material is judged by testing the compressibility.

MEASUREMENT:
(i) By thickness gauge:
a)
Thickness of a fabric is measured as the distance between the reference plate, i.e. anvil, on which the
fabric rests and a parallel circular pressure-foot, which exerts a known pressure on fabric.

b) By applying a series of increasing and subsequently decreasing loads to the specimen.

c) Thickness for all the pressures are recorded and them plotted as compression-recovery curve.
(ii) CRD (Constant Rate of Deformation) Compression Tester:
The compression unit of the instrument developed for studying compressional behaviour of fabrics at constant rate
deformation (M - Induction motor, A - worm, B - change wheel, C - base gears, C’- idler, D - base plate, E – threa
rod, F – load cell, G – anvil, H – pressure foot, I – cross-head, J – frame and L1 L2 – LVDTs
Compression-Recovery Curve:

For textile fabric, the general equations for compression and recovery:
 The ability of the fabric to recover from compression is known as “compression resilience”, i.e. higher the resilienc
lower will be the energy loss. It is measured by EL or the area of the hysteresis loop.

Note: Fabric friction related properties are explained in the section of Kawabata Evaluation System
FAST SYSTEM (FABRIC ASSURANCE BY SIMPLE TESTING):
Much simpler than KESF system :
1) FAST 1 – Compression meter

2) FAST 2 – Bending meter

3) FAST 3 – Extension meter

4) FAST 4 - Dimension stability test

1. Dried at 105ºC and length (warp/weft) – L1

2. Soared in water and wet relaxed length –L2

3. Redried in oven and measure again - L3

Relaxation shrinkage =
Hygral Expansion=

Derived Properties:
Some values of produced by FAST are not measured directly but are calculated using a combination of values from d
instruments and in some cases using Mathematical Constants. These properties are known as Derived properties bec
directly measured by any one instrument. Bending Rigidity, described earlier, is a derived property because in additio
Length, fabric weight is brought into the calculation. The measurements obtained from FAST-3 are important in calcu
derived values, Formability and Shear Rigidity.
Formability:

Formability is calculated using values obtained from both FAST-

2 and FAST-3. It can be described in scientific terms as "a measure
ability of a fabric to absorb compression in its own plane without bu

In practical terms, this type of compression is imposed upon the fabric by a combination of thread size, needle size, thre
rate; a fabric which buckles easily under these types of force will form Puckered Seams. Formability is a direct indicator
Pucker occurring either during or after sewing.
Low Formability = Tendency to Pucker

Shear Rigidity:
Shear Rigidity is a measure of the ease with which a fabric can be distorted in a "Trellissing" action and is calculated from
measured on FAST-3.

Low Shear Rigidity means that the fabric will be easily distorted in laying-up, marking and cutting.

High Shear Rigidity means that the fabric will be difficult to form into smooth three-dimensional shapes, causing problem
sleeve insertion. Drape may also be affected.
FAST-4:
 FAST-4 is not an instrument but a test method, used to calculate the Dimensional Stability of the fabric.
In the test (which requires a laboratory oven), the fabric is subjected to a cycle of drying, wetting and then drying aga
each stage the fabric’s dimensions in both warp and weft are measured. The results give valuable information to the g
maker as to how the dimensions of a fabric will change when exposed to moisture. The test method enables the Dime
Stability properties of the fabric to be split into to clearly identifiable components whose cause and effect are quite dif
These are: Relaxation Shrinkage and Hygral Expansion.
Hygral Expansion:
Hygral Expansion is the reversible change in the dimension of the fabric that occurs when the moisture content of the
altered. Using FAST, Hygral Expansion is defined as the percentage change in dimensions of the relaxed fabric from w
dry.
One of wool’s inherent natural properties is that it grows when exposed to moisture, a phenomenon known as Hygral
Expansion. This property is reversible, so when the fabric is moved into a drier atmosphere it returns to its original
dimensions.

This effect displays its most serious consequence as loss of appearance. Panels constrained by seams try to grow but
nowhere to grow into, with resultant loss of shape and in extreme cases, bubbling and delamination of fused panels.
This type of problem typically occurs when garments are made in areas of low humidity, such as the UK, and exported
worn in very humid climates such as those in much of Asia. Fabrics with high levels of Hygral Expansion also cause pr
in pleating.

Where L1 = Length of dry, unrelaxed fabric; L2 = Length of wet fabric, after relaxation in water; L3 = Length of dry, rel
fabric.

Hygral Expansion =

Relaxation Shrinkage:
Relaxation Shrinkage is the irreversible change in fabric dimensions (shrinkage or expansion) that occurs when a fabri
out or exposed to steam. Relaxation Shrinkage is caused by the release of cohesively set strains which are imposed on
during the late stages of finishing. In the FAST system, Relaxation Shrinkage is defined as the percentage change in d
dimensions after release in water at room temperature.
During finishing, most fabrics are dried under tension, which is not released until the fabric is next exposed to moistur
typically takes place at the final pressing stage of garment manufacture. The result is that the fabric reverts to its orig
dimensions and shrinkage takes place.

During finishing, most fabrics are dried under tension, which is not released until the fabric is next exposed to moistur
typically takes place at the final pressing stage of garment manufacture. The result is that the fabric reverts to its orig
dimensions and shrinkage takes place.
If this shrinkage is excessive, cut panels may well change their original dimensions, leading to garment sizing difficulti
addition, excessive Relaxation Shrinkage may well result in the formation of puckered seams in final pressing.
Most garment makers require a small amount of Relaxation Shrinkage to be present in a fabric in order to shrink ou
residual fullness in the garment during final pressing. If a fabric is to be pleated then a certain amount of relation shri
must be present in the fabric in order to prevent buckling in the pleat formation process.
Where L1 = Length of dry, unrelaxed fabric;

L2 = Length of wet fabric, after relaxation in water;

L3 = Length of dry, relaxed fabric.

Relaxation Shrinkage =
 Test Measures Predicts Problem In
FAST-1 Thickness Compression Pressing (Finish Stability)
FAST-2 Bending Cutting

Automated Handling
FAST-3 Extensibility Laying-Up

Pattern Matching

Overfed Seams

Moulding
Shear Rigidity Laying-Up

Moulding

Sleeve Insertion
FAST-2 and Formability Seam Pucker
FAST-3
FAST-4 Relaxation Shrinkage Sizing

Seam Pucker

Pleating
Hygral Expansion Appearance Loss

Pleating

FABRIC ASSURANCE BY SIMPLE TESTING [FAST]:

Developed through research by CSIRO, Australia

Unlike KES methods, FAST only measures the resistance of fabric to deformation and not the recovery of
from deformation.

FAST system is much cheaper, simpler and more robust than KES system – More suited to industrial app

FAST system is much cheaper, simpler and more robust than KES system – More suited to industrial app

FAST consists of three instruments and a test method:

 FAST – 1: Compression meter

FAST – 2: Bending meter

FAST – 3: Extension meter

FAST – 4: Dimensional stability test

The FAST 1, 2 and 3 could be interlinked and results are recorded automatically and FAST-4 data are recorded manually
FAST – 1: Compression meter:
This instrument measures fabric thickness at various loads and surface thickness

The fabric thickness at two different pressures enables the accurate measurement of surface layer thickness

Thickness is measured at a pressure of 2 gf/cm2

Surface thickness is the difference in thickness of a fabric measured at pressures of 2 gf/cm2 and 100 gf/cm2.
This gives information about the hairiness or surface bulk of the fabric (closely related to surface treatment like
brushing, singeing)
Released surface thickness is the measure of the surface thickness after the fabric has exposed to steam or wate

FAST – 2: Bending meter:

This measures the fabric bending length according to BS 3356-1961.

The bending length is converted into bending rigidity, which is directly related to fabric stiffness – an important
component of fabric handle

The operator error in aligning the sample is eliminated with the use of an optical sensor

The main problems associate with bending rigidity occurs in fabrics that have low values. These fabrics due to th
ease with which they bend, would be difficult to handle and sew.
Fabric extensibility is combined with bending rigidity to give formability – a parameter related to the incidence o
seam pucker

FAST – 3: Extension meter:

This instrument measures fabric extension at various loads and bias extension

Extension is displayed as a percentage with a 0.1% resolution

Extensibility is measured at three loads 5 gf/cm (E5), 20 gf/cm (E20) and 100 gf/cm (E100).

The difference between E5 and E20 is used to calculate Formability

E100 is used in control chart (Fabric Fingerprint) as the measure of fabric extensibility. If the value is below
approximately 2% then the fabric will be difficult to extend during seam overfeed.

Bias extension is converted to shear rigidity – which is directly related to fabric looseness – another important compone
fabric hand
Shear rigidity below 30N/m, the fabric deforms so easily that it may give problems in handling, laying up and sewing.
Conversely if it is above 80N/m then the fabric can be difficult to overfeed, mould, etc.
FAST – 4: Dimensional stability test:
This measures relaxation shrinkage and hygral expansion

The test is completed in less than an hour as compared to the conventional one-day test

A forced convection oven, a template and a ruler are the only equipment required to do the test
USE OF FAST:
FAST can tell one how well a fabric will perform
Abnormal FAST Fabric Fingerprints point to potential problem areas
Fabric Fingerprints can be used for

Fabric specifications

Developing new fabrics

Comparing fabric finishing routs

Assessing stability of finished fabrics

Predicting tailoring performance

Final garment appearance

Broad areas of Use of FAST:

I) Fabric Finishing (Using FAST-1):

Change in fabric surface characteristics after finishing process can be measured.

II) Tailorability:
a) Formability and seam pucker (Using FAST-2 and FAST-3):

Sewing operations, especially those involved in overfeeding, imposes strains on the fabric.

Stiff fabrics resist buckling

Extensible fabric accommodate overfeed

b) Laying up and cutting (Using FAST-3):

Very extensible fabrics, which move around while being cut, cause problems with sizing, pattern matching and sewing
c) Sewing of long seams (Using FAST-3):
Very extensible fabrics are difficult to match over a long seam length.
d) Steaming and pressing (Using FAST-4):
Pressing operation rely on amount of fabric shrinkage

Garment appearance is affected by fabric shrinkage

e) After care (Using FAST-4):
Care must be taken when dealing with the fabrics which exhibits excessive shrinkage
f) Garment appearance (Using FAST-4):
During conditions of high relative humidity, the onset of pucker can be attributed in part to increasing fabric dimensio
hygral expansion.

FAST-1 Compression Meter:

What it Measures What it Means
FAST-1 is a compression meter which measures the Thickness and Surface Thickness do not themselves have any
thickness of the fabric under two fixed loads. First the great impact upon the tailoring performance of a fabric but are
fabric is measured under a load of 2g/cm2 useful indicators of any change or variation in fabric handle.
 If however the value of Surface Thickness is assessed against
the value of Released Surface Thickness, then the results
assume much greater significance.

and then again under a load of 100g/cm2.

A big difference between these two values indicates that the

finish on the fabric is unstable and is likely to come off during
the final pressing operation.

The difference between these two thicknesses is a

measure of the amount of compressible fibre, or "pile"
on the surface of the fabric and is know as the Surface
Thickness of the fabric. Further measurements are
taken after the fabric has been steamed to obtain a
value known as Released Surface Thickness.

If not predicted using a tool such as FAST, poor Finish Stabilit

does not become apparent until final pressing and manifests
itself as deterioration in handle and appearance and can also
lead to the re-emergence of defects such as running marks.
The only way to correct poor Finish Stability is to re-finish the
fabric.

FAST-2 Bending Meter:

What it Measures
FAST-2 is a bending Meter which is used to measure
the stiffness or conversely, the flexibility of a fabric.
What it Means
Fabrics with high values of Bending Rigidity will not generally
cause problems in making-up, but will feel stiffer and so
Bending Rigidity can be a useful indicator of changes or
variations in fabric handle.

The instrument works on the cantilever principle, which Fabrics with low values on the other hand can give rise to a
involves pushing a fabric over a vertical edge until it number of difficulties in the tailoring process. First of all in
has bent to a specified angle (41.5o). cutting – fabrics can be difficult to cut as they distort easily.
This is more of a problem for those makers-up who do not
have the benefit of vacuum cutting tables.
A stiff fabric will need pushing further to bend to this The handling of very limp fabrics can also be awkward,
angle, whereas a flexible, or limp one will fall quickly. particularly if automated.
 Finally in the sewing operation itself, low Bending Rigidity can
be a major contributory cause of Seam Pucker.

The length of the fabric pushed over the edge until the
required angle is reached is measured and is called the
Bending Length; it is used in conjunction with the fabric
weight to give a value called Bending Rigidity.

FAST-3 Extension Meter:

What it Measures What it Means
FAST-3 is an extension Meter which measures the Both high and low values of Extensibility can have serious
amount (in per cent) that a fabric will stretch under consequences if the Garment Maker is not aware of them.
three fixed low loadings (5, 20 & 100 g/cm).
 Low Extensibility can lead to:

Difficulties in producing Overfed Seams

Problems in Moulding

Seam Pucker

Fabrics are measured at all three loads in the warp and High Extensibility can lead to:
weft directions and (at the lowest load only) in a bias
direction of 45o.
The fabric being stretched during laying-up, causing
the cut panels to shrink when they are removed from
the cutting table. This is often mistaken for Relaxation
"Steam" Shrinkage, and can lead to the wrong
corrective action being taken which may exacerbate
the problem rather than overcome it.
Problems in matching patterned fabrics, such as
checks.
The results from the warp and weft measurements are
expressed as percent Extensibility and the results from
the measurements carried out on the bias are used to
calculate a value of Shear Rigidity. In addition to being
an important value in its own right, Extensibility is used
in conjunction with the value for Bending Rigidity to
calculate the Formability of the fabric.

Crease Recovery:
Creasing of a fabric during wear is not change in appearance that is generally desired. The ability of a fabric to resist
instance dependent on the type of fiber used in its construction.

Wool and silk have a good resistance to creasing whereas cellulosic materials such as cotton, viscose, and linen have
creasing.
Shirley Crease Recovery test:

The instrument consists of a circular dial which carries the clamp for holding specimen (see figure).
 Directly under the centre of the dial are a knife edge and an index line for measuring the recovery angle.

The scale of the instrument is engraved on the dial.

A specimen is cut from the fabric with a template, 2 inch long by 1 inch wide. It is carefully creased by folding in hal
glass plates, and adding 2 kg weight.

After one minute the weight is removed and the specimen is transferred to the fabric clamp on the instrument and a
the crease.

As it recovers, the dial of the instrument is rotated to keep the free edge of the specimen in line with the knife edge.

At the end of the time period allowed for recovery, usually one minute, the recovery angle in degrees is read on the

Warp and weft way recovery are reported separately to the nearest degree from the mean values of ten tests in eac

The load, time of creasing, and recovery time may be altered to suit particular cases.

As for most cases, the specimens should be conditioned and tested in a standard testing atmosphere.

A random sample should be taken but the selvedges, piece ends, and creased or folded regions should be avoided.

Higher recovery angle indicates fabric having good resistance against creasing.

When fabric is creased the resulting deformation has two components

aaaaaaOne is the displacement of fibres and yarns relative to one another and
aaaaaaSecond is the stretching of the fibres on the outside of the curve.

The relative importance of these two mechansims depends on the radius of the curve that the fabric is bent into. The
curvature, the more likely it is accomodated by fibre displacement.
 The unaided recovery of the fabric from creasing depends on the elastic recovery of the fibres, in particular whether
energy is sufficient to overcome the friction that resists the movement of the yarns and fibres.

FABRIC COMFORT
What is comfort?
Bekesius defines “the absence of unpleasantness or discomfort” or “a neutral state compared to the more active
pleasure”

Rees describes “the temperature regulation of the body in order to define the system in which comfort must be m
Rodwell et al. state that “comfort is influenced by the physiological reaction of the wearer”.

Yaglou suggests that “a satisfactory definition will never be achieved because such a definition is not possible”

Two aspects of wear comfort of clothing:

Thermo-physiological wear comfort, which concerns the heat and moisture transport properties of cl
(i)
the way that clothing helps to maintain the heat balance of the body during various levels of activity.
Skin sensational wear comfort, which concerns the mechanical contact of the fabric with the skin, its
(ii)
pliability in movement and its lack of prickle, irritation and cling when damp.
Thermal Comfort:
The human body tries to maintain a constant core temperature of about 37oC

The human body must be kept in thermal balance:

The metabolic heat generated together with the heat received from external sources must be ma
(i) the heat loss from the body of an equivalent amount of heat

If the heat gain and the heat loss are not in balance then the body temperature will either rise o
(ii) leading to a serious threat of life.

Important fabric properties for maintaining thermal comfort:

(i) Air permeability
(ii) Water or moisture vapor permeability/transportation
(iii) Heat transmission

I. Air permeability:
It is a measure of how well a fabric allows the passage of air through it.
Apart from apparel comfort, it is also important for a number of fabric end uses.

e.g. Industrial filtres, tents, sail-cloths, parachutes, air bags etc.

“ Air permeability”- The volume of air (in cc) which pass in one sec through 1 cm2 of fabric under a pressure
head of 1 cm of water.
Air Permeability:
It is described as the rate of air flow passing perpendicular through a known area under a prescribed air pressure
differential between the two surfaces of material.
It depends on,

Type of Yarn

Fabric structure

Fiber parameters

Air Resistance:
Time in seconds for unit volume of air to pass through unit area of fabric under unit pressure difference. It is the
reciprocal of air permeability.

Rt = R1 + R2 + R3 +…...... + Rn

Fabric Cover:
Air permeability is most highly correlated with minimum pore size, but was also significantly correlated with mea
flow pore size measurements and with calculated values of theoretical porosity and also percentage fabric cover
area.
n = number of threads per unit area, s =1/n= distance between threads

The ratio d/s represents the fraction of spacing, s, covered by projection of thread

Similarly, percentage fabric cover area can be expressed by,

(n1d1+n2d2-d1d2n1n2)×100

II. Water / moisture vapour transport:

Perspiration is an important mechanism which the body to uses to lose heat as its temperature starts to

Perspirations are in two forms:

(a) Vapor form - Passes through the air gaps between yarns in fabric
Liquid form - Occurs at higher sweating rates and it wets the clothing which is in cont
(b)
the skin.

Measurement techniques:

i. Water vapour Permeability:

 The specimen under test is sealed over the open mouth of a disc containing water and placed in
standard testing atmosphere.

Total wt. at start is taken (W0).

After specified time, the weight of setup is taken as Wt.

The rate of water vapor transmission is calculated from the difference in W 0 and Wt [water vap
permeability (WVP)]

When the ratio with a standard reference sample is calculated, we get water vapor permeability

B. S. method:
10 mm air gap between fabric and water surface, specimen dia. 96 mm, sealed with PVC tape
WVP (g/m2 / day) = (24 × M) / (A × t),

Where, M = W0 - Wt

t = time between weighing, hr

A= Internal area of disc, m2

WVP index= [(WVP) f / (WVP) r] × 100
 (WVP) f =WVP of test fabric,

(WVP)r =WVP of reference fabric

(ii) Moisture transport:
Wicking Test (longitudinal):

Strip of fabric is suspended vertically with its lower edge in a reservoir of distilled water

The rate of rise of the leading edge of the water is monitored.

This gives direct indication of the wickability of test fabric.

Click on Image to run the animation

Mass of water taken up by fabric -Take the difference in weight after wicking and dry fabric sample –The
as a % of mass of the “ L” length of fabric

Wicking is by using the mechanism of capillary transport :

I. The ability of fabric to do this is dependent on the surface properties of the constituent fibers and the
surface area.
II. The size and no. of the capillary path through the fabric, i.e., capillary network

Transverse wicking:
 Transmission of water through the thickness, i.e. perpendicular to plane of fabric.

Close to actual transportation of liquid perspiration.

Difficult to measure.

Click on Image to run the animation

The sintered glass plate is kept moist

A fabric sample, placed on top of the sintered glass plate can draw water depending on the wicking pow

Water level should just touch the bottom surface of fabric, not flood it.
The rate of water absorption is measured by the movement of the meniscus along the long horizontal ca
tube.
Weight is required to be placed, to have contact but creates problem

III. Heat transmission:

Human body temp. 370C(approx)

In most climates body temp is greater than external environment.

The metabolic heat + heat received by the body from external sources (Must be) = Heat loss from body

If these are not in balance then body temp will either rise or fall, leading to a serious threat to life.

A person feels comfortable when their is heat balance.

The mechanisms that allow the body to lose heat to the environment to maintain the heat balance are;

1. Conduction: By direct contact (e.g. body in contact with any cold object)
2. Convection: By a moving fluid (liquid or gas) [e.g. air in contact with body takes away heat]
3. Radiation: By electromagnetic waves. Cloth acts to reduce
 radiation loss by reducing the temperature difference

between the body and its immediate surroundings

as the clothing effectively becomes the immediate surroundings.

4. Evaporation: BY evaporation of sweat through the cloths.

Hot + Dry - Good

Hot + Humid –Problematic

Measurement:
Transmission of heat through a fabric mainly occurs both by conduction through the fibre and the entrapped
air and by radiation.
Thermal Conductivity: Total heat transmitted through fabric per unit time with unit temperature difference
Thermal Resistance: Reciprocal of thermal conductivity
In practice it is very difficult to measure the rate of heat flow in a particular direction, as the
heater dissipates heat in all direction.
Two methods are in use to overcome this problem:
 (a) To compare with a sample with known thermal conductivity value (Togmeter)

(b) To reduce the heat loss (Guarded hot plate method)

Togmeter:
(i) Two-plate method:

Specimen is placed between heated lower plate and an insulated top plate.

Top plate has low mass, so that it does not compress the fabric.

T1,T2,T3 are measured.

(ii) Single-plate method:

The specimen under test is placed on heated lower plate as two-plate method, but is left uncovered

Air temperature just above the test specimen is T3

The air above the test specimen has a considerable thermal resistance itself, so that the method is in
fact measuring the sum of the specimen thermal resistance and the air thermal resistance.

A separate experiment is therefore performed without the specimen (i.e. a bare-plate test ) to measure
the resistance of the air (Rair)

To determine the air resistance:

In a single plate system , the heater is switched on and the apparatus is switched on and the apparatus is allowe
is to reach thermal equilibrium with no specimen present
The temperature should remain steady at each thermocouple for 30min.
Rair = R stand [(T2 –T3) /(T1—T2)]
R stand is the thermal resistance the standard plate
To determine the thermal resistance of specimen:
Rsample = R stand [(T2 –T3) /(T1—T2)] – Rair

In the plate method Rair ~ 0

Gaurded Hot Plate Method:
Works on principle “b” i.e., by reducing the changes of heat loss.

It is measures the “thermal transmittance” which is reciprocal of thermal resistance

Consist of three plates:

Heated test plate

Surrounded guard plate &

Bottom plate

Therefore the test is repeated without any fabric samples present to give the bare plate transmittance.
Combined transmittance of specimen and air, U1
U1 = P/[A.(Tp – Ta)] W/(m2 0C)

Where

Tp & Ta are temperature of test plate and air respectively

P= power loss from test plate (W)

A= Area of the test plate (m2)

The bare plate transmittance Ubp is calculated similarly.
The intrinsic transmittance of the fabric alone, U2 is calculated as,
1/U2 = 1/U1 – 1/Ubp

Table: Some key comfort variables

Thermal Sensory

Clothing insulation Pressure

Air permeability Perceived and actual weight Perceived and actual weight

Vapour permeability Absorbency Absorbency

Metabolic rate Roughness/abrasiveness Roughness/abrasiveness

Macro-environment Rigidity Rigidity

Human mood
Humidity Human mood

Radiant heat gain/loss Other non-clothing comfort factors

Aesthetics/social expectations
Other non-clothing comfort factors
Stretch
Convective heat gain/loss Aesthetics/social
expectations Cling
 Prior experiences
Conductive heat gain/loss Stretch

External convection Cling

Micro-environment

Clothing fit

Internal convection

Sweat rates

Internal blood circulation (convection)

Environmental stability

Miscellaneous:
FABRIC POROSITY:

The percent of open space per unit volume of a fabric.

Porosity ‘h’ of a fabric is defined as the ratio of open space to the total volume of porous material
calculated from the measured fabric thickness and weight per unit area of fabric using the equation:
Air permeability and porosity are very closely related properties, although the relationship is not so
simple.

Pore volume:
Pore Volume (%) = (S-S') ×100 / S

Where

S= Specific gravity of fibres

S'= Apparent specific gravity of fabric

Apparent specific Gravity:
Apparent specific gravity of fabric = W / (1000 × t)

Where W: Mass per square meter (g/m2)

t: thickness (mm)
Mass per unit Area:

Sample size of 20 cm X 20 cm

Obtain the mass of each specimen under the standard conditions

Area measurement and cutting should be to an accuracy of 1%

Express the mass per unit area in terms of an average mass in grams per one square meter or oz/sq. yd.

Equipments: Scale, Scissor, Sample cutter, Weighing balance

Fabric Thickness:
 Thickness gauge measures the fabric thickness.
The thickness value of most textile materials varies considerably depending on the pressure applied to the
specimen at the time fabric thickness is taken.
Pressure applied be specified when mentioning any thickness values.
Also the textile material is resilient, the thickness reading will not be stable for the few seconds after
putting the sample under thickness measurement gauge.
Therefore it is essential to specify the normal pressure as well as time interval during the thickness
measurement
Porosity of fabric depends on the compressibility of fabric

Compressibility:
Compressibility of fabric is defined as the extent of reduction in thickness with the application of normal
pressure
During compression, the space between the fibres is decreased until they eventually come into contact
with one another. Thus porosity also changes.
Logarithmic relationship (Pressure Vs. Thickness)

Ability of a fabric to recover from compression is known as “compression resilience”

Higher resiliency better retention of flow characteristics.

Digital Thickness Tester:

A Digital Thickness Tester is used to measure the gauge or thickness of a fabric

which is directly correlated to fabric insulative properties, porosity, as well as a
fabric’s capacity to drape over a three dimensional form. The measure of fabric
thickness is an essential element of a fabric’s usefulness in product form.

Some Special Testing of Textile Materials

1. Yarn to Yarn and Yarn to metal friction.
2. Drafting force of rovings and slivers.
3. Sheath slippage resistance of core sheath type yarn.
4. Filtration efficiency of fabric
5. Measurement of cut resistance properties of fabrics and yarns
6. Fabric to Fabric and Fabric to metal by inclined plane principles

Fabric friction by Instron method

Seam related properties
Brittleness of fabrics / yarns
Creep and stress relaxation (Geotextile for retaining wall)
Overall fabric handle by “Extraction Method” (Apparel, Home furnishing, etc.)
Testing of Technical Textiles (Geotextiles, Bullet proofs, Filter fabrics etc)

YARN TWIST
Introduction:
Twist is the measure of the spiral turns given to yarn in order to hold the fibres or threads together.

Twist is necessary to give a yarn coherence and strength.

Twist is primarily instructed in to a staple yarn in order to hold the constituent fibres together, thus
giving strength to the yarn.
False twist is used in textured yarns.
The effects of the twist are two fold:
As the twist increases, the lateral force holding the fibres together is increased so that more of the fibres
1.
are contributed to the overall strength of the yarn.
As the twist increases, the angle that the fibres make with the yarn axis increases, so prevents them from
2. developing their maximum strength which occurs when they are oriented in the direction of the applied
force.

As a result, at certain point the yarn strength reaches a maximum value after which the strength is reduced as th
increased still further (Fig).
The twist value required for the maximum strength of yarn is higher than the normal use since increased
twist also has an effect on other important yarn properties.

A small amount of twist is used in continuous filament yarn to keep the filaments together, but as
twist is increased the yarn strength decreases below its maximum value.

But because of the variability of the individual filament strengths, the initial effect of twist is to
support the weaker filaments in the yarn (Fig).
 A filament yarn will be stronger than the equivalent staple fibre yarn as a comparatively large
amount of twist is always needed in a staple yarn. Sometimes intermingling is used instead of
twist

Types of twists:
Twist effects on yarn and fabric properties:
(a) Handle:
As the twist level in a yarn is increased it becomes more compact because the fibres are held
more tightly together, so giving a harder feel to the yarn.

Because of decrease in the yarn diameter, its covering power is reduced.

A fabric made from a high-twist yarn will therefore feel harder and will also be thinner.

A fabric produced from a low-twist yarn will have a soft handle but at the same time weaker
yarn thus resulting in pilling and low abrasion resistance of fabric.

(b) Moisture absorption:

High twist holds the fibres tight thus restricting water to enter
Such a high twist yarn is used where a high degree of water repellency is required, e.g. in
gabardine fabric.
Low twist yarn is used where absorbency is required.

(c) Wearing properties:

With an increase in twist level wearing properties (abrasion and pilling) are improved.
 High level of twist helps to resist abrasion as the fibres can’t easily pulled out of the yarn.
The same effect also helps to prevent pilling (which result from the entanglement of protruding
fibres).

(d) Aesthetic effects :

The level of twist in yarn alters its appearance both by changing the thickness and light
reflecting properties.
Different patterns can be produced in a fabric by using similar yarns but with different twist
levels; a shadow stripe can be produced by weaving alternate bands of S and Z twist yarns.
Level of twist can also be used to enhance or subdue a twill effect: a Z-twill fabric produced by
weaving Z-twist yarns will have enhanced Z-twill effect. Same is the case for S-twill.

(d) Faults:

Because of level of twist in a yarn can change its diameter and other properties such as
absorption; same yarn can change the appearance of a fabric, so giving rise to complaints.

Twist Applications:
Georgette is made of highly twisted yarn (upto 1000 TPM) by weaving S and Z twisted yarns
alternately both in warp and weft direction.
Chiffon is made in the same way but yarn is more twisted (up to 2000 TPM) and finer than that
used in georgette-Cupramonium rayon is used.
Herringbone is made by using yarns of different types and levels of twists.
Level of Twist:
Twist is usually expressed as the number of turns per unit length, e.g. TPM or TPI.

However the ideal amount of twist varies with the yarn thickness i.e., the thinner the yarn, the
greater is the amount of twist that has to be inserted to give the same effect.

The factor that determines the effectiveness of the twist is the angle that the fibers make with the
yarn axis.
 Fig shows diagrammatically a fibre taking one full turn of twist in a length of yarn L. the fibre
makes an angle with the yarn axis.

For a given length of yarn, the angle is governed by the yarn diameter D:

tan θ = п D/L

The greater the diameter of the yarn, the greater the angle of twist (for same twist level).

As 1/L is equivalent to turns per unit length then:

tan θ ∞ D x turns/unit length

In the indirect system for measuring linear density the diameter is proportional to 1/ √count. Therefore

tan θ ∞ (turns / unit length ) / √ count

Twist factor is defined using this relationship:

K= (turns / unit length ) / √count

(K is the twist factor)

Value of K differs with each count system.

(a) In case of Tex (direct system):

 K= TPM x √count
(b) For indirect:

K= TPI (or TPM or TCM)/ √count

(Value of K ranges 3.0—8.0 from softer to harder)

Effect of twist factor on physical properties:

A cotton yarn having twist factor of 3 will feel soft and docile, whereas one with twist factor 8 will
feel hard and lively. (a lively yarn is one that twists itself together when it is allowed to hang
freely in a loop)
Crepe yarns use high twist factors (5.5-8.0 cotton count Ne) to give characteristic decorative
effects. A fabric made from such yarns is first wetted and then dried without any constraint to
produce characteristic uneven crepe effect.
The twist in yarn is not usually distributed uniformly along its length, such that:

Twist x mass per unit length = constant

i.e. twist tends to run into the thin places in a yarn; twist level will vary along the yarn inversely with the linear d
So it is suggested that twist level should be determined at fixed intervals along a yarn such as every
meter.
Fine yarns give more strength for less level of twist. For coarser yarn more twist is needed
because it is made of (short) staple fibres.

It is possible to give same strength by low level of twist in case of finer yarn.

MEASURING TWIST:
Sampling :
2-5% random sample is taken from bags that are selected from the consignment. Say if there are 100
select 5 bags randomly for testing. From each bag select one cone for testing and from each cone 10 te
made thus total 50 testing.
Specimen :
After conditioning, outer few layers from cone are removed. Then it is side-end withdrawal and mounte
tester.
Test methods :
Following methods are used to test the twist.

a) Direct counting method :

This is the simplest method of twist measurement.

The method is to unwind the twist in a yarn and to count how many turns are required to do this.
A suitable instrument has two jaws at a set distance apart. One of the jaws is fixed and the other is cap
being rotated.
A counter is attached to the rotating jaw to count the turns. Samples are conditioned in standard testin
atmosphere before starting the test.
Testing is started at least one meter from the open end of yarn. A standard tension (0.5cN/tex) is used
yarn is being clamped in the instrument.
The twist is removed by turning the rotatable clamp until it is possible to insert a needle between the in
fibres at the non-rotatable clamp end and to traverse it across the rotatable clamp.
A magnifying glass is needed to test the fine yarns.
No. of tests:

Single spun yarns : a minimum of 50 tests should be made. Specimen length for cotton is 25mm and
or worsted yarns, is 50mm.
Folded, cabled and single continuous filament yarns : a minimum of 20 tests should be made wit
specimen length of 250mm.

b) Continuous twist tester :

On twist testers, tests on consecutive lengths of yarn are not easily made because of the instrument de
the amount of yarn handling involved.
So this tester has the extra advantage of allowing twist tests at fixed intervals.

The straightened fibre principle is still used for the actual measurement of the twist.
The yarn passes from the sample package, through a guide, through non-rotating jaw, then through rot
and finally wound on to a (clockwork-driven) drum.
Assuming that a 1'' length of yarn is gripped between the jaws, the twist is taken out and the number o
noted.
The handle is then turned until the counter reading is again zero. The spring loaded jaws of the rotating
opened and the clamp moved 1'' forward to touch the fixed clamp.
Fixed jaw is then opened; rotating clamp is pulled back to its work position which pulls a new 1'' sample
test zone.
The drum is allowed to take up the slack yarn, fixed clamp is again closed and the next test can be mad
 For a longer test length say 5-10'' the sequence after a test is then:

Slide the fixed clamp upto the rotating clamp, open the rotating clamp and allow the drum to take up the sla
close it again, slide the fixed clamp back to its original position, close it and make the next test.
c) Untwist-twist method or Twist contraction method :

This method is based on the fact that yarns contract in length as the level of twist is increased and it in
length on twist removing, at last reaching a maximum length when all the twist is removed.

The instrument shown is used for this method.

The yarn is first gripped in the left-hand clamp which is mounted on a pivot and carries a pointer.

After being led through the rotating jaw, the yarn is pulled through until the pointer lies opposite a zero
small quadrant scale; jaw is then closed.

At this stage the specimen is under a small tension and has a nominal length of 10''.

As the twist is removed, the yarn extends and the pointer assumes a vertical position, so removing the

Eventually all the twist is taken out but the jaw is kept rotating in the same direction until sufficient twi
been inserted to bring the pointer back to the zero mark again.

The total number of turns recorded on the revolution counter is divided by 20.

The method is based on the assumption that the amount of twist put in is equal to the twist that has be
removed. However, this is not necessarily the case.
For woollen yarns the test may give results up to 20% below the true value and for worsted it may be 15%

It may be due to:

At the point of twist removal the fibres in the yarn are unsupported so that any tension in the yarn may
fibres to slip past one another, so increasing the length of yarn.
With some yarns when the twist is removed the amount of twist to bring it back to the same length is n
to the twist taken out.
Because of these problems the method is not recommended for determining the actual twist of a yarn b
use as a production control method.

It suggests that 16 samples are tested using a gauge length of 250mm. However the method is easy to

d) Multiple untwist-twist method:

 In the method of twist-untwist, No of turns to return the yarn to its original length is not the same as t
turns to take the twist out.

In spun yarns the distortion becomes permanently set into the fibres.

This is particularly a problem in yarns made from wool fibres.

In the test, shown diagrammatically in fig., the yarn is untwisted and re twisted back to its original leng
the normal test and the number of test A noted.

The value A contains an unknown error d1. Without the counter being zeroed, the direction of turning is
and the yarn untwisted and twisted back to its original length.
This ought to bring the yarn back to its original condition; however owing to the errors the counter will
small number of turns instead of zero.
This reading is taken to be B and due to the errors d1 and d2. By untwisting and re-twisting a third tim
reading C is obtained which contains the errors d1, d2, and d3 as shown.
Combing the readings A, B and C gives:

A - 2B + C = 4X

Where X is the number of turns in the length of yarn tested

The method relies on the errors d1, d2, d3 becoming progressively smaller so that the remaining error i
above equation is the difference between d2 and d3 and can be ignored.

e) Automatic twist tester:

In the method of twist-untwist, No of turns to return the yarn to its original length is not the same as t
turns to take the twist out.

f) Take-up twist tester:

 Take-up is the difference between the twisted and untwisted length of a yarn.
This tester is available with a non-rotating movable jaw which is slid away from the rotating jaw to take
slack yarn after the twist is removed. This allows the length difference to be measured.

g) Twist in Folded yarns:

In folded or plied yarns, firstly there is the twist in the individual strands making up the ply and second
is the twist that holds the individual plies together.
If the twist in the single strand is required the yarns can be analyzed by first removing the folding twis
then cutting out individual yarns, leaving the one strand whose twist is then measured on twist tester.

YARN COUNT
Linear Density
The thickness or diameter of a yarn is one of its most fundamental properties. However, it is not possible
to measure diameter of a yarn in any meaningful way.
A system of denoting the fineness of a yarn by weighing a known length of it has evolved. This quantity is
known as the linear density and it can be measured with a high degree of a accuracy if a sufficient length
of yarn is used.

There are two systems of linear density designation in use: Direct and Indirect system

Direct system

The direct system of denoting linear density is based on measuring the weight per unit length of a yarn.

It is fixed length system.

Finer the yarn, lower the count number.

The main systems in use are:

Tex - Weight in grams of 1000 meters

Denier - weight in grams of 9000 meters
Decitex - weight in grams of 10000 meters

Indirect system

This is the traditional system of yarn linear density measurement.

 The indirect system is based upon the length per unit weight of a yarn and is usually known as count.

It is based on the fixed weight system.

Finer the yarn, higher the count number.

The main system in use are,

Worsted count Ne w = number of hanks all 560 yards long in 1 pound

Cotton count Nec = number of hanks all 840 yards long in 1 pound
Metric count Nm = number of kilometer lengths per kilogram

Yarn conversion chart (count to count conversion)

Conversion Formulaa for the various numbering systems

Conver into kbown decitex denier Metric No. English

tex Cotton N
(dtex) (den) (Nm) (Ne)

tex 10 x tex 9 x tex 1000 / tex 591 / tex

decitex(dtex) dtex / 10 0.9 x dtex 10000 / dtex 5910 / dte
denier(den) den / 9 den / 0.9 9000 / den 5314 / de
Metric No.(Nm) 1000 / Nm 10000 / Nm 9000 / Nm 0.59 x Nm
English Cotton No. (Ne) 591 / Ne 5910 / Ne 5314 / Ne Ne x 1.69
Measurement of yarn number or count
Irrespective of the system of yarn numbering employed, two basic requirements for the determination of the yar

An accurate value for the sample length

An accurate value for its weight

Length measurement
Yarn in package form
 Where the yarn is in package form, such as ring bobbins or cones, it is usual to wind a number of
skeins by means of wrap reel.
This is a simple machine consisting of a reel, yarn package creel, a yarn guide with traverse, a
length indicator, and a warning bell.
For cotton yarns the reel has a girth (circumference of reel) of 54 inch, so that eighty revolution of
the reel as skein of 120 yard, or a lea.
The same lea will be weighed accurately to calculate the count.

Yarn in short length (from fabric)

The determination of the yarn count of yarn in fabric is usually made on a comparatively short
sample length because the piece of fabric available.
After conditioning in the testing atmosphere, two rectangular warp way strip and 5 weft way strips
are cut from the cloth.
In length, the strips should be about 20 inch and wide enough to allow fifty threads to be removed
from each strip.
The difference between warp and weft specimen arises from the fact that 100 threads from two warp
strips resembles 100 warping package and form reasonable random sample.
But in weft way, it may represent five different samples only.
The yarn removed from fabric will have crimp. So it is measured first and length should be
calculated.

Weight Measurement
Balances

The analytical balances and any other special yarn balances used in the determination of count must
be accurate, and it is essential that they are well maintained.
The weight should be capable of giving a result to an accuracy of not less than 1 in 500.

Regain

The problem of accounting for the presence of moisture in the sample can be tackled in several
ways, two of which are considered here.
1) Determine the oven dry weight and multiply by

Allow the sample to condition in the testing atmosphere long enough to reach equilibrium, and then
2) weigh in the same atmosphere.

Among the two first method will give accurate result than second method.

Count testing methods

Wrap reel, skein gauge, drying oven, analytical balance

When testing spun packages, sixteen are randomly chosen and a lea from each wrapped on the reel
at the correct tension.
The leas are taken to constant weight in the drying oven.
The official regain is added to the oven dry weights and the individual counts are recorded. The
mean count is then calculated.

Wrap reel and a Knowles balance

It is used to read count system directly (see figure).
 Fig: The Knowles balance

A beam balance is used, behind which is a separate rod of hexagonal section with five of the faces
lettered from A to E and engraved with a count scale to cover a certain range.
In the left hand pan a lettered weight is placed and on the beam a small lettered rider.

Suppose a cotton yarn is to be tested and is judged to be about 36s.

Face B of the scale is turned to the front, weight B is placed in the left-hand pan, and rider B put on
the beam.
The position of the rider to be adjusted until the beam is balanced.

Then read the count directly from the scale.

This balance can be, of course, be designed to suit count systems other than that of cotton.

Wrap reel and a quadrant balance

It is another type of direct reading instrument (see figure).
 Fig: The Quadrant balance

A given length is measured out and suspended from the hook, the count is then read directly from
the quadrant scale.
The versatility of this type of balance is improved by engraving the scale with more than one series
of values.
For example, one scale may read from 0.1 to 1.0 to give the hank of a 4 yard sample of sliver.

Second scale may read from 0.1 to 0.6 for 20 yard samples of roving.

Third scale may read from 4s to 80s for 840 yard samples of yarn.
The scales just mentioned are in the cotton count system, but other quadrant balances are available
for different ranges and different systems.

Beesley Balance
It is used to directly read the count when the sample size is small. The instrument shown in figure.
 Fig: The Beesley balance
This instrument consists of a simple beam is initially leveled to bring the pointer opposite a
datum line.
A standard weight is hung in a notch on the beam arm on the pointer side of the pivot.
A template is used to cut short lengths of yarn, the length depending upon the count system
required.
These short lengths are added to the hook until the pointer is opposite the datum line.

The count is the number of the short lengths required to balance the beam.

When used in the analysis of small samples of fabric, a rough estimate of the crimp should be made
and the count corrected.

Folded yarns
In the traditional count systems a folded yarn is denoted by the count of the singles yarn
preceded by a number giving the number of single yarns that make up the folded yarn.

For example, 2/24s cotton count system implies a yarn made from two 24s count cotton yarns
twisted together; 1/12s cotton count means a single 12s count cotton yarn.

In the tex system there are two possible ways of referring to folded yarns: one is based on the
linear density of the constituent yarns and the other is based on the resultant linear density of
the whole yarn.

In the first way the tex value of the single yarns is followed be a multiplication sign and then
the number of single yarns which go to make up the folded yarn, e.g.

80 tex X 2

This indicates a yarn made from twisting together two 80 tex yarns.

In the second way of numbering folded yarns is

R 74 tex / 2
It means R = resultant, 74 tex is the final yarn count and 2 is denoting no. of plies twisted
together.