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Thermoplastic polymer fabrics are normally heat set to make them dimensionally stable. These fabrics in garment panel form may again be exposed to heat during the processes such as bonding, sublimation printing and cause to change their dimensions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the response of polyester yarns in knitted fabrics to heat setting and post-heat treatments.

In this study, the thermal shrinkage behaviour of heat set polyester knitted fabrics when subjected to post-heat treatment processes are analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and analysis of fabric shrinkage. DSC is a thermo-analytical technique that measures the difference in the amount of heat needed to increase the temperature of the sample and the reference. A heat flux versus temperature curve is one of the results of a DSC experiment. The polymer structure and morphology of polyester heat-treated and post-heat–treated fabrics were determined by examining the DSC thermograms.

Heat setting and post-heat setting causes the effective temperature of polyester to change. Effective temperature occurred around 160°C for fabrics heat set at low temperatures and increases as the heat setting temperature increases. Post-heat treatments cause to elevate the effective temperature. Shrinkage of fabrics below the effective temperature is not statistically significant while the shrinkage at higher temperatures is significant. Effective temperature is the main determinant of thermal shrinkage behaviour of polyester.

The study reveals the significance of the effective temperature of polyester on heat treatments and post-heat treatments. The study revealed that heat-setting temperature is a primary determinant of the thermal stability of polyester fabric that are subjected to heat treatments.

The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the production of cotton spandex woven fabric with some user-friendly properties like wearer comfort, super stretch and elasticity. The findings could contribute to ease spandex production and to optimize its property of elasticity. Stretch or a super stretch property is generally desirable, as it can increase the comfort level of those who wear it. In this experiment, the difficulties which were identified while manufacturing cotton spandex woven fabric resolved after identification.

In this experiment, three types of cotton spandex woven fabrics, with different composition and constructions, were used to find out their elastic properties. Temperature ranging from 160°C to 200°C with the machine speed of 20 to 26 MPM (meter per minute) was applied with an adjusted industrial setting with the facilities of a stenter machine to optimize the properties of cotton spandex woven fabric.

The findings establish that the temperature treatment closely compacted the elastic portions with cotton fibers, giving stability to the spandex yarn, which as a result, influenced cotton spandex woven fabric’s elastic properties, namely, stretch, growth and recovery. The consequences of temperature on cotton spandex yarns were assessed using a microscope, and the results were subsequently analyzed.

Because of the poor facilities in testing laboratory, only few tests with microscopic evaluation were conducted to assess the elastic performances of cotton spandex woven fabric.

It is a practice-based research, and the findings could be beneficial to personnel in the textile industry, who are responsible for the manufacturing of cotton spandex woven fabric.

This research could enhance the wearer’s satisfaction, with some comfort elastic properties, which can have a positive influence over spandex clothing industries.

This research establishes that heat setting had a progressive influence on the production of cotton spandex woven fabric and for the optimization of its elastic performances. This research opens a possible way for scholars to further study in this field.

The effect of pick density, constituent filament fineness and heat‐setting on the fabric thickness and compressional properties have been studied before and after laundering. With the increase in pick density fabric thickness, compression and compressibility increases up to a certain extent. Coarser filament textured yarn fabric have higher thickness, compression and compressibility than that of finer filament textured yarn fabrics. Heat‐set fabrics possess higher thickness, compression and compressibility than the grey textured yarn fabrics. However, fabric compressional recovery and resiliency are mainly influenced by the fabric pick density rather than the effect of heat‐setting and filament fineness of constituent textured yarns. On laundering, fabric thickness, compression and compressibility improve particularly for the fabric of lower pick density. The effect of laundering is marginal on fabric compressional recovery and resiliency.

Textile prostheses made of polyethylene terephthalate fibers are commonly used to cure cardiovascular pathologies by replacing diseased arteries. Any failure of vascular surgery is not only expensive, but also unacceptable. Biocompatibility, biofunctionality and biodurability must be taken into consideration especially with the increasing life expectancy of the population. An outstanding development of vascular prostheses might be achieved by a better choice of biomaterials and an optimization of manufacturing processes, especially the crimping technique. Crimping is an "accordion"-pleat deformation, which gives the graft a radial resistance and a longitudinal compliance. It also improves the resistance of the prosthesis to kinking and external compression. The aim of the present study is to compare the effect of three thermofixing techniques used for vascular prosthesis crimping. This will help to find the crimping process that leads to the lowest reduction of the mechanical performances of the material. We have demonstrated that the heat-setting in saturated vapor introduces the best mechanical behavior of crimped woven tubes in comparison to heat-settings with dry heat and boiling water.

The purpose of this paper is to propose and optimize plastic optical fiber (POF) probe with macro-bending biconical tapered structure for the relative humidity (RH) sensing.

In this study, the principle is the evanescent wave power modulated by the ambient humidity. The probe is fabricated by using fused biconical taper and heat-setting method and then coated with a fluorescent moisture-sensitive film.

The probe’s sensing performance can be optimized by changing the probe’s curvature radius, biconical tapered transition length and taper waist diameter. The result shows that the sensitivity of the probe is up to 1.60 and 3.40 mV/ per cent, respectively, at low humidity (10-45 per cent) and high humidity (45-90 per cent). Also, this probe has good linearity, repeatability, photostability and long-term stability.

The proposed probe can improve the sensitivity and linearity of RH sensing without complex devices, which is necessary for mass production, remote measurement and convenient operation.

POF probe with macro-bending biconical tapered structure is investigated in this paper, which is proved to be effective in improving the sensitivity and linearity.

The appropriate laundering conditions for the care of polylactide (PLA) textiles have been found. One problem with PLA is its poor resistance to hydrolysis and dramatic loss in strength at conditions typically used in textile processing such as alkaline conditions and elevated temperatures. In this study, PLA fabrics underwent 50 home laundering cycles at various pH levels (8 or 10), washing temperatures (35°C or 55°C), and drying conditions (line dry at 21°C/65% relative humidity or tumble dry at 50 or 70°C). After every 10 laundering cycle, the breaking tenacity, breaking elongation, and modulus of yarns in the PLA fabric were measured. It was found that washing PLA fabrics at pH 8 and 35°C and line drying it at 21°C and 65% relative humidity resulted in greater retention in mechanical properties than washing them at pH 10 and 55°C and tumble drying at 70°C. The authors therefore recommend the following care instructions for PLA textiles: use mild detergents with relatively low pH (pH 8), machine wash cold (35°C), and line dry. If machine drying is desired, tumble dry at the low heat setting or permanent press setting (50°C) is recommended.

Describes some of the successful innovations to be seen at Unishoe (Universal Shoe Machine Company Limited), such as a fully automated sole preparation line; a stress reliever lamp for removing creases from shoe uppers; machines for fitting metal shanks to the “shankboards” for stiffening insoles; and machines for conditioning and lasting uppers into shape.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of steam in order to replace air in the production of spun-like textured yarns. Further, this paper analyse the effect of production speed on process and textured yarn properties.

An existing air-jet texturing machine was modified to supply either air or steam to the texturing nozzle. Using standard commercial nozzles, both air-jet and steam-jet textured yarns were manufactured by varying production speed.

It can be concluded that steam can be used as an alternative fluid for air in making spun-like textured yarns. Results show that yarn parameters for steam-jet texturing show a similar trend to those of air-jet texturing relative to the production speed. Further, sewing threads made from steam-jet textured yarns showed good sewability up to the speeds of 350 m/min.

Only the effect of production speed on process and yarn parameters is discussed in this paper. Production speed was limited to 350 m/min due to machine constraints.

Steam is more economical than air to manufacture spun-like textured yarn at commercial pressures such as 8 bar. Steam-jet textured yarns could be used for commercial applications such as sewing threads at competitive speeds. Further, steam could be generated using sustainable and renewable fuel sources such as biomass.

This research introduced steam as an alternative fluid for air in manufacturing spun-like textured yarns.

The appearance retention of trouser creases, subject to tumble drying, for some trousers can be improved by the simple process of restraining the inner leg seam to the aligned outer seam of the trouser leg at a single point just below the crotch. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of this approach on crease retention during laundering for a variety of commercially available trousers of different fibre compositions and blends.

Trousers made from various fibres and blends were purchased at retail and were washed and tumble dried as received, or after treatment (e.g. to provide shrink resistance for wool trousers or to improve the level of permanent set in the crease), with one leg restrained while the other was free and the impact on crease retention assessed.

The findings indicate that the use of a restraint device provides the largest improvement to the crease appearance for trousers constructed from wool or wool blends with polyester. Some level of permanent set is necessary for the restraint to function and an improvement in crease rating of up to three points (AATCC 1‐5 scale) is possible after five laundry cycles.

An effective prototype trouser restraint device, suitable for use in a domestic environment was constructed based on two rare earth magnets and should allow the consumer to improve the appearance retention of trousers, particularly for those containing appreciable amounts of wool.

The method allows the consumer to improve the crease retention of wool containing trousers, beyond what is possible through industrial processes, by using a laundry aid (restraint).

Dimensional stability is one of the main quality problems of men’s sock manufacturing. Major shrinkage can be found after washing, undermining socks’ usability. Today, greater demand for quality is required as customers become more aware of shrinkage from laundering. In order to investigate the effect of pressing and repeated launderings on dimensional stability of men’s socks, three commonly produced socks were subject to pressing at different temperatures and for different lengths of duration by an industrial sock pressing machine. The study demonstrates that pressing causes major shrinkage in the body and sole zones. The shrinkage is inversely proportional to temperature and duration of the pressing process. After the first laundering, major shrinkage was found. The second laundering had no significant effect on dimensional variations since the sock had already taken up its fully relaxed dimensions. The results can help knitters predict sock dimensions after thermal and humid treatments.