Textile testing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:06, 13 May 2024

Revision as of 17:16, 15 May 2024

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== History ==

Textile testing is the process of evaluating the quality and properties of a textile material through a series of tests at various stages of manufacturing.<ref name=":0" /> Textile testing, like textiles, is a vast subject. The historical evolution of textile measuring, and testing methods is difficult to consolidate as the subject is scattered and has different stage timelines for its starting points.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdrQAAAAMAAJ&q=textile+testing+history+measurement |title=Ciba Review |date=1959 |publisher=Ciba Limited. |pagespage=6 |language=en}}</ref>

At the end of the 18th century, the first mechanical spinning mills began to operate. However, for more than 150 years, the textile industry relied on subpar testing equipment. The yarns had to be visually checked, either by manually stretching a few yarns or by inspecting them on the blackboard.

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=== Timeline of the important tests and equipment's ===

* [[Colorimetry]] that objectively evaluates color dates back to the latter half of the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Timar-Balazsy |first1=Agnes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UtUrBgAAQBAJ&dq=textile+testing+history+measurement&pg=PA146 |title=Chemical Principles of Textile Conservation |last2=Eastop |first2=Dinah |date=2012-09-10 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-00034-8 |pagespage=146 |language=en}}</ref>

* [[Uster Technologies|Uster yarn evenness tester]]: In 1944–1948, Uster developed its first evenness tester.<ref name=":3" />

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== Testing standards ==

Specific organizations have developed testing procedures, such as the [[American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists]] (AATCC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). These testing procedures allow for accurate assessment of textile product properties, such as the relative strength or tenacity of the fibers, etc.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Elsasser |first=Virginia Hencken |url=http://archive.org/details/textiles00virg |title=Textiles : concepts and principles |date=2005 |publisher=New York, NY : Fairchild Publications |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-56367-300-9 |pages=20, 25}}</ref>

Since 1921, the AATCC has been serving the textile industry. During [[World War I]], when the Atlantic blockade prevented European dyes from entering America and the newly formed American dye manufacturers struggled to provide consistent products, the need for American textile testing methods became apparent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.aatcc.org/history/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=AATCC |language=en-US}}</ref> The AATCC has developed over two hundred textile standards, test methods, evaluation procedures, and monographs. These specifications are published annually in the AATCC Technical Manual.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AATCC Testing |url=https://www.aatcc.org/testing/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=AATCC |language=en-US}}</ref>

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Fiber is the fundamental component of textiles. Testing fiber properties is vitally important. Applications of a fibre are determined by its physical, mechanical, chemical, and environmental properties. Physical properties are those that can be assessed with the naked eye or a [[microscope]]. A textile testing laboratory determines the mechanical properties of different fibers.<ref name=":2" />

There are various test methods that help in identifying the fibers, Fiber identification and examination includes microscopic analysis, burning tests, and chemical testing.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=AlMa'adeed |first1=Mariam Al-Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0xECwAAQBAJ&dq=There+are+various+test+methods+that+help+in+identifying+the+fibers,&pg=PA239 |title=Polyolefin Compounds and Materials: Fundamentals and Industrial Applications |last2=Krupa |first2=Igor |date=2015-12-23 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-25982-6 |pagespage=239 |language=en}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"

|+Fiber identification with a burning test<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kadolph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gIzOkQXARpsC&dq=textiles+fiber+identification+burning+test&pg=PA34 |title=Textiles |date=2009 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=978-81-317-2570-2 |pagespage=35 |language=en}}</ref>

!Fiber type

!Burning test

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==== Micronaire ====

Cotton's simple Micronaire value is determined by both the fineness of the fibres as well as their maturity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Micronaire - an overview {{!}} ScienceDirect Topics |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/micronaire |access-date=2021-08-29 |website=www.sciencedirect.com}}</ref> Micronaire values or reading represents the fineness of the cotton fiber. For example, a preferred micronaire range is 3.7 to 4.2. [[Gossypium hirsutum|Upland cotton]] is coarser than [[Gossypium barbadense]] (Pima cotton).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fang |first1=David D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=amDMDwAAQBAJ&dq=micronaire+value+of+cotton&pg=PA708 |title=Cotton |last2=Percy |first2=Richard G. |date=2020-01-22 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-89118-625-0 |pagespage=708 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Further|Units of textile measurement}}

== Yarn testing ==

The yarn undergoes different tests. [[Uster Technologies]], commonly referred to as "Uster" in the yarn-spinning industry, is a Swiss manufacturer of analytical instruments and online monitoring systems for yarn. Most typical yarn tests include evaluating the uniformity of yarns. [Yarn evenness] that infers the yarn's evenness index.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Dairong |last2=Cheng |first2=Ling |date=2010-02-13 |title=Comparison of Two Different Yarn Evenness Test Methods |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/mas.v4n3p71 |journal=Modern Applied Science |volume=4 |issue=3 |doi=10.5539/mas.v4n3p71 |issn=1913-1852|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Fabric testing ==

GPT stands for "Garment Package Test" and FPT stands for "Fabric Package Test" in garment and textile testing. Each buyer provides guidance for which tests are required at the fabric and subsequent garment stages.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarkar |first=Prasanta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aYBZDwAAQBAJ&dq=fabric+package+test&pg=PA31 |title=Garment Manufacturing: Processes,Practices and Technology |publisher=Online Clothing Study |isbn=978-93-83701-75-9 |pagespage=31 |language=en}}</ref>

The testing of fabrics offers a comprehensive review of the various tests that can be performed on fabrics.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hu |first=Jinlian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybekAgAAQBAJ&q=fabric+package+test |title=Fabric Testing |date=2008-09-09 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1-84569-506-4 |language=en}}</ref> Fabric testing includes measurements such as [[Units of textile measurement#Grams per square metre (GSM)|fabric weight]], fabric width, [[Dimensional stability (fabric)|shrinkage]] testing, [[colour fastness|colour fastness to washing]], [[Lightfastness|fastness to light]], [[Pill (textile)|pilling]], tearing and bursting strength, etc.

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Fabric weight or GSM is an important parameter while producing different fabrics. A carpet requires a fabric with 1300 GSM, but a robe may be made with 160 GSM. Certainly, fabrics for clothes and carpets have distinct weights.<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|page=18}}

{| class="wikitable"

|+Range of fabric weights typically used in various textile products<ref>{{Cite book |last=Humphries |first=Mary |url=http://archive.org/details/fabricreference0000hump |title=Fabric reference |date=1996 |publisher=Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Prentice Hall |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-13-349671-0 |pagespage=4}}</ref>

!GSM (grams per square meter) range

!Categorization

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==== Air permeability ====

Air permeability refers to the fabric's porosity or its ability to allow air to pass through it. A standardised testing procedure is crucial for various fabrics as it uncovers fundamental qualities such as warmth in blankets and air resistance in parachute cloth.<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Stephan S. Marks |url=http://archive.org/details/fairchildsdictio0000unse |url-access=registration |title=Fairchild's dictionary of textiles |date=1959 |publisher___location=New York, Fairchild Publications |otherspublisher=InternetFairchild ArchivePublications |pagespage=11}}</ref>

The air permeability test method is for measuring the ability of air to pass through textile materials.<ref>{{cite web|title=Standard Test Method for Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics|url=https://csbs.uni.edu/sites/default/files/Air_Permeability.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-03|archive-date=2021-07-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183255/https://csbs.uni.edu/sites/default/files/Air_Permeability.pdf}}</ref>

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==== Tensile Strength ====

For individual fibers, the following testing standard is employed: ISO 5079 (2020)<ref>{{Cite web |last=14:00-17:00 |title=ISO 5079:2020 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/76604.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=ISOInternational Organization for Standardization |language=en}}</ref>. In this, fibers are clamped at ends and extended at a constant rate until rupture. Separate ISO standards are also defined for testing of yarns and fabrics that work on similar principles.

==== Burst Strength ====

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==== Bending Length Measurements ====

For nonwovens, ISO 9073-7 (1995)<ref>{{Cite web |last=14:00-17:00 |title=ISO 9073-7:1995 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/16657.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=ISOInternational Organization for Standardization |language=en}}</ref> can be employed to gauge both bending length and flexural rigidity. In this, one end of a rectangular strip of fabric is supported with a ruler, while the other end hangs freely. Length of the material that will bend under its own weight to a specific extent is expressed as bending length. It provides a measure of the drapability of the fabric, whereas, flexural rigidity provides a measure of the stiffness of the fabric.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=December 1959 |title=Tentative Textile Standard No. 60. Method of Test for the Determination of Stiffness of Cloth |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19447015908664338 |journal=Journal of the Textile Institute Proceedings |language=en |volume=50 |issue=12 |pages=P772–P775 |doi=10.1080/19447015908664338 |issn=1944-7019}}</ref>

==== Tear Strength ====

ISO provides four different tests to measure tear strength of fabrics. ISO 13937-1 (2000) defines tear strength as "the force required to propagate a tear initiated under the specified conditions"<ref>{{Cite web |last=14:00-17:00 |title=ISO 13937-1:2000 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/23369.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=ISOInternational Organization for Standardization |language=en}}</ref> This test is useful for analyzing a material's behavior when subjected to a cut.

== See also ==