Beneficiation of Commiphora africana Plant: Extraction and Application of Green Softener on Cotton Fabric

This paper aims at the extraction and application of eco- and user-friendly natural gum obtained from Commiphora Africana tree. The result obtained is also compared with fabric treated with a commercial softener of the same concentration. The gum was extracted by puncturing the stem of the plant and the extracted gum was applied directly to 100% cotton fabric through a padding process with different concentrations of extracted gum (i.e., 20 gram per litre (g/l), 25 g/l, and 30 g/l). Another similar fabric sample was treated with a silicon softener of the same concentration. The fabric samples treated with both natural gum and silicon softener were tested for their stiffness, crease recovery, and drapability. The results show that the change in fabric softness depends on the concentration of softener used in both cases. As the concentration of the softener increased, there was a decrease in bending length and drape coefficient for both fabric samples. The drape coefficient of fabric sample treated with natural gum has a comparable result with fabric treated with silicon/commercial softener. Maximum increases in recovery angle were seen in fabric treated with natural gum at a concentration of 30 g/l.

Vibration-Sensing Electronic Yarns for the Monitoring of Hand Transmitted Vibrations

Overexposure to hand transmitted vibrations (HTVs) from prolonged use of vibrating power tools can result in severe injuries. By monitoring the exposure of a worker to HTVs, overexposure, and injury, can be mitigated. An ideal HTV-monitoring system would measure vibration were it enters the body, which for many power tools will be the palm and fingers, however this is difficult to achieve using conventional transducers as they will affect the comfort of the user and subsequently alter the way that the tool is held. By embedding a transducer within the core of a textile yarn, that can be used to produce a glove, vibration can be monitored close to where it enters the body without compromising the comfort of the user. This work presents a vibration-sensing electronic yarn that was created by embedding a commercially available accelerometer within the structure of a yarn. These yarns were subsequently used to produce a vibration-sensing glove. The purpose of this study is to characterize the response of the embedded accelerometer over a range of relevant frequencies and vibration amplitudes at each stage of the electronic yarn’s manufacture to understand how the yarn structure influences the sensors response. The vibration-sensing electronic yarn was subsequently incorporated into a fabric sample and characterized. Finally, four vibration-sensing electronic yarns were used to produce a vibration-sensing glove that is capable of monitoring vibration at the palm and index finger.

Comprehensive Assessment of the Properties of Cotton Single Jersey Knitted Fabrics Produced From Different Lycra States

This research aims to evaluate the properties of cotton single jersey knitted fabrics (SJKF) produced from cotton/spandex yarns at different Lycra states. So, four different SJKF were produced, namely 100% cotton, cotton with additional Lycra (full-platted), core, and dual-core-spun (DCS) yarns with the same loop length. The thermal comfort properties, fabric recovery, total hand value (THV), moisture management parameters, and air permeability were measured. The experimental results showed that the use of DCS yarns in the SJKF improves the fabric elastic recovery by 100%. The obtained values of air permeability, THV, and overall moisture management capacity of stretched SJKF are lower than 100% cotton fabric sample. Thermal absorptivity of core and dual-core samples increased by 27% and the water vapor permeability decreased by 18% compared to 100% cotton fabric sample.

Electromagnetic Shielding Analysis (EMS) of Hybrid Multilayered Woven Fabric at Different Transmitter Distance

This paper mainly discusses on the effectiveness of multiple plain-woven fabric towards electromagnetic shielding (EMS). The measurement includes the effect of fabric distance from the transmitter antennas in the shielded enclosure test. The conductive fabric consists of copper cover hybrid yarns produced using hollow spindle spinning machine. The electromagnetic shielding test was performed according to IEEE-299 specification at 2000MHz. The range was selected to reflect mobile phones, wireless fidelity, Bluetooth and GPS transmission range frequencies. Four samples of conductive fabrics were used in the work, as 0°/0°, 90°/90°, 0°/90° and 90°/0, respectively. The fabric sample with 0°/90° alignment was found to give the best electromagnetic shielding at -65.79dBM. The initial results also show that the hybrid conductive fabrics have large potential to be utilized for shielding electromagnetic radiation (EMR).

An Investigation on The Effect of Machine Gauge on the Properties of Weft Knitted Fabric

To investigate the effect of machine gauge on properties of weft knitted fabric, three V – bed knitting machines of different gauges were selected for fabric sample production. They were of gauge 7, 12, and 14. With these three machines, three 1 × 1 rib fabric samples were produced by using 20 / 2 (Ne) yarn. Keeping the same machine settings, 1 × 1 rib fabric samples were produced by using 32 / 2 (Ne) and 40 / 2 (Ne) yarns. The dimensional properties like course / cm, wales / cm, stitch density per square cm, and G.S.M. were measured from the samples. They were tabulated and presented by graphs to observe the effects. To analyze the effects, the stitch length of each fabric’s samples was measured. It was found that the stitch length increases as the machine gauge decreases and vice-versa. As a result, all other properties like; course / cm, wales / cm, stitch density and G.S.M. also changes. It was concluded that the machine gauge affects the knit fabric properties and it has a specific trend.

Aktivitas Antibakteri Kain Poliester dengan Penambahan Heksadesiltrimetoksisilan (HDTMS) terhadap Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25924

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui aktivitas antibakteri kain poliester yang terdeposit senyawa HDTMS (P-HDTMS) terhadap bakteri Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25924. Larutan HDTMS dibuat dengan melarutkan senyawa HDTMS dalam etanol 4%. Larutan HDTMS kemudian didepositkan pada sampel kain Poliester. Uji aktivitas antibakteri P-HDTMS dilakukan melalui metode difusi dengan mengukur diameter zona bening di sekitar sampel. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa senyawa HDTMS telah terdeposit pada kain poliester. Hasil uji zona bening menunjukkan bahwa P-HDTMS memiliki diameter zona bening sebesar 9.25 mm pada waktu inkubasi selama 60 jam. Dengan demikian P-HDTMS mempunyai aktivitas antibakteri dalam menghambat pertumbuhan bakteri Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25924.This research aims to determine the antibacterial activity of polyesterwhich was deposited by hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) against bacteria Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25924.The HDTMS solution was made by dissolving the HDTMS compound in 4% ethanol. The HDTMS solution was then deposited on a polyester fabric sample. The antibacterial activity test of P-HDTMS was conducted with diffusion method by measuring the diameter of clear zone around the sample.The results of this researchshowed that HDTMS compound has been deposited on polyester fabrics. The clear zone test results showed that P-HDTMS has diameter of clear zone of 9.25 mm at incubation time of 60 hours. Thus, P-HDTMS has an antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureusATCC 25924.

Evaluation of thermal, moisture management and sensorial comfort properties of superabsorbent polyacrylate fabrics for the next-to-skin layer in firefighters’ protective clothing

This research investigated the transport properties (such as thermal resistance, water vapor resistance and air permeability), moisture management capacity and sensorial properties of some knitted structures of superabsorbent polyacrylate in order to explore their potential as next-to-skin layers in firefighters’ protective clothing in Australia. Test results using these fabrics were compared with the currently used next-to-skin woven fabric. Three different knitted structures (i.e. jersey, rib and interlock) were selected for the study in addition to the current woven fabric in use by Australian firefighters. It was observed that the knitted fabric samples of superabsorbent polyacrylate retained higher amounts of water compared to the fabric sample currently used in the firefighters’ clothing. However, the woven fabric sample dried at a faster rate. Hence, a blended fabric of polyacrylate with the current Nomex® fabric can help in higher sweat absorption and faster drying. The thermal and water vapor resistance of jersey fabric was the lowest, which may better facilitate the transfer of metabolic heat and vapor to the environment, resulting in better thermal comfort. Furthermore, all the fabric samples showed a low coefficient of friction (∼0.2), which indicated less tactile discomfort if the fabrics are worn as the next-to-skin layer in the firefighters’ clothing. The overall moisture management properties of the fabric samples were rated as fair to good. The findings of this research suggest that the superabsorbent material has the potential to be used in place of the existing next-to-skin layer of firefighters’ protective clothing, with better sweat absorption capacity and thermal comfort.

Reverse ballistics penetration of Kevlar® fabric with different indenters at different loading rates

In this study, the mechanical load on a bullet-shaped indenter when impacted by a single-ply Kevlar fabric was experimentally investigated using a reverse ballistics method at both quasi-static and dynamic rates. Different indenter geometries, namely the 9-mm Luger, .223 Remington, and .308 Winchester bullet geometries, were used. The penetration load of the stationary indenter was measured using a force transducer located behind the indenter, and the penetration load was then plotted against the impact velocity of the fabric sample. Different mechanisms of penetration were observed at different impact velocities. Penetration mechanisms were also found to be highly dependent on projectile nose geometry. A modified method to obtain an approximate ballistic limit based on the impact loads was used to compare the efficacy of different geometry types.