Development of a Fabric Lustre Scale

Fabric lustre is one of those attributes which affects the visual appearance of a fabric. It is the amount of  specular light the fabric reflects. So far, there is no simple and satisfactory method for either the subjective or objective assessment of fabric lustre since its measurement is complex. A series of experiments were  conducted for the development of a scale for the subjective measurement of fabric lustre. A number of woven fabric samples with varying luster were used for the subjective assessment of lustre by trained assessors. A glossmeter was then used to measure the fabric samples objectively. Simple regression analysis  technique was applied to relate the subjective to the objective lustre data and results indicated a high degree of  agreement between them. The instrumental data were further used to construct a lustre scale which was assessed statistically for its reliability using larger fabric sample population. Furthermore, the lustre of the fabric samples were measured spectrophotometrically and results showed a good correlation between the delta Y values and the grade values of the physical lustre scale.Keywords: Fabric lustre, lustre scale, glossmeter, spectrophotomete

Novel delayed‐cure, durable press, shrink‐resist treatment of wool fabrics and garments

The relatively high heat stability of commercial easy‐care chemicals for cotton allows for greater flexibility in garment manufacturing, in particular the delayed curing of durable press, wrinkle‐resistant, shrink‐resist (SR) finishes on garments. Typically, the technology involves application of the wet chemical finish to the open width fabric, drying, storage, garment manufacture, heat pressing of the creases/pleats, and lastly garment baking to fully cure the durable press/crease‐resistant/SR finish. By contrast, for the wool industry, there is no comparable technology, and this presents an obvious commercial weakness. The reason for this technical deficiency is that the prepolymers used for imparting machine washability and potentially durable press to wool apparel polymerise on the fabric at room temperature in storage, thereby losing their reactivity. Subsequent manufacturing into the final garment still allows the fabric to offer stability to laundering, but the loss of prepolymer reactivity precludes any potential for introducing durable creases/pleats into the garment as an integrated late‐stage garment process. In this study, we present a simple solution to this technical deficiency through the use of cyclodextrin‐based technology and deliver a delayed‐cure, durable press, machine‐washable wool technology ready for market. In any commercial textile process, the effect of chemical finishing on the final fabric colour is important. It is demonstrated in this study that the addition of HP‐β‐cyclodextrin into the Synthappret BAP and EC 1354 formulations has an instrumentally detectable effect on the colour of the dyed wool fabric, but that this difference is less than one colour difference (ΔECMC) unit

Investigation into the dyeing of wool with Lanasol and Remazol reactive dyes in seawater

Freshwater is an increasingly scarce resource that is extensively used in textile wet‐processing. In seeking to identify alternative low freshwater‐usage coloration technology, this study examined the potential use of seawater (SEAW) as the dyeing medium for wool coloration using a range of reactive dyes. Initially, the dyeing behaviour of the wool fabric in simulated seawater (SSW) was compared with conventional dyeing from distilled water (DW) using α‐bromoacrylamide‐based Lanasol dyes and sulphatoethyl sulphone‐based Remazol dyes. These preliminary studies demonstrated that comparable coloration could be achieved in the SSW medium based on an assessment of the dye exhaustion, dye fixation, colour yield and levelness. Subsequent dyeing studies of wool using Mauritian seawater with both the Lanasol and Remazol reactive dyes confirmed that, based on the dye exhaustion, dye fixation, colour yield and levelness, comparable coloration could be achieved, highlighting the possibility of substituting freshwater with seawater as the dyeing medium

An Adaptive Fuzzy Control Scheme for Dyebath pH in Exhaust Dyeing

No Abstrac

Biotechnology In The Mauritian Textile Industry

No Abstrac

A Study Of Dyehouse Activities And Effluent Treatment Practices In Mauritius

This paper discusses the treatment practices of dyehouse effluent in Mauritius. An overview of the activities of dyehouses, characteristics of wastewater as well as effluent treatment methods is given. The effectiveness of different treatment systems is summarized. Finally appropriate pollution prevention measures have been recommended.Keywords : Effluent treatment, dyehouse, effluent characteristics

Fluid handling and fabric handle profiles of hydroentangled greige cotton and spunbond polypropylene nonwoven topsheets

Wettable nonwoven topsheets are traditionally spunbond polypropylene nonwoven fabrics. The fluid handling performance of hydroentangled greige cotton nonwovens was studied to determine their suitability for topsheet applications based upon analysis of fluid rewet, strikethrough, and acquisition properties; and the relative contributions of nonwoven cotton’s cellulosic and wax components to hydrophobic and hydrophilic fluid transport properties are addressed. It was observed that mechanically cleaned greige cotton nonwovens exhibit certain fluid handling properties that are similar to polypropylene spunbond-meltblown topsheets, partly as a result of the residual wax content. Subsequently, the surface polarity, swelling, and moisture uptake of 100% greige cotton and 50:50 blends of greige cotton and polypropylene hydroentangled nonwovens were studied in comparison with the performance of a commercially available 100% polypropylene spunbond-meltblown topsheets. The surface polarity, swelling, and wettability values obtained from electrokinetic and water contact angle analysis were found to be in agreement with the hydrophobic polypropylene topsheets. Additionally, comfort assessment was undertaken based upon fabric handle profiles using the Leeds University Fabric Handle Evaluation System, which is an objective evaluation based on the quantification of fabric buckling deformations. Of the fabrics studied in this work, 50:50 greige cotton/polypropylene hydroentangled fabrics were the softest as determined by the Leeds University Fabric Handle Evaluation System and exhibited fluid handling properties consistent with the requirements of commercial topsheets

A comparison of analytical methods for the quantificationof a reactive b-cyclodextrin fixed onto cotton yarns

Cotton yarns bobbins were treated in a water bath with different concentrations of a reactive b-cyclodextrin derivative. To quantify the amount of cyclodextrin fixed on the fiber different analytical methods were tested but none of them was reliable enough in the concentration range under investigation. Therefore, a new analytical method, fast and effective, was developed. From the measurement of cyclodextrin bath exhaustion, the amount of cyclodextrin chemically fixed and that physically adsorbed on the textile substrate was estimated. Two washing cycles were carried out to investigate the cyclodextrin washing fastnes