Volumen 17 (2017): Heft 1 (March 2017)

The article is concerned with the issues of the drive of small diameter knitting machines. In connection to the proposal of optimum structure of the driving systems of the machine, there have been analysed the possibilities of precisely controlled servo drives. An optimised structure of the drives allows for the utilisation of precisely defined position and velocity functions. There is applied here the function of a polynomial of 7th degree, proposed for impact-free course of the acceleration, and it is compared with the results corresponding to the existing structure of drives of knitting machines. At the same time, there is analysis and comparison of the consumption of electric power by the original and optimised systems.

This article provides three models to predict rotor spun yarn characteristics which are breaking strength, breaking elongation and unevenness. These models used noncorrelated raw material characteristics and some processing parameters. For this purpose, five different cotton blends were processed into rotor spun yarns having different metric numbers (Nm10, Nm15, Nm18, Nm22, Nm30 and Nm37). Each count was spun at different twist levels. Response surface method was used to estimate yarn quality characteristics and to study variable effects on these characteristics. In this study, predicting models are given by the analysis of response surface after many iterations in which nonsignificant terms are excluded for more accuracy and precision. It was shown that yarn count, twist and sliver properties had considerable effects on the open-end rotor spun yarn properties. This study can help industrial application since it allows a quality management-prediction based on input variables such as fibre characteristics and process parameters.

Fabric noise generated by fabric-to-fabric friction is considered as one of the auditory disturbances that can have an impact on the quality of some textile products. For this reason, an instrument has been developed to analyse this phenomenon. The instrument is designed to simulate the relative movement of a human arm when walking. In order to understand the nature of the relative motion of a human arm, films of the upper half of the human body were taken. These films help to define the parameters required for movement simulation. These parameters are movement trajectory, movement velocity, arm pressure applied on the lateral part of the trunk and the friction area. After creating the instrument, a set of soundtracks related to the noise generated by fabric-to-fabric friction was recorded. The recordings were treated with a specific software to extract the sound parameters and the acoustic imprints of fabric were obtained.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of various fabric parameters on the thermal resistance, thermal conductivity, thermal transmittance, thermal absorptivity and thermal insulation of polyester/cotton double layer knitted interlock fabrics. It was found that by increasing fibre content with higher specific heat increases the thermal insulation while decreases the thermal transmittance and absorptivity of the fabric. It was concluded that double layer knitted fabrics developed with higher specific heat fibres, coarser yarn linear densities, higher knitting loop length and fabric thickness could be adequately used for winter clothing purposes.

The paper deals with the improvement of central traversing system on rotor spinning machines, where rectilinear motion with variable stroke is used. A new system of traversing rod with implemented set of magnetic-mechanical energy accumulators is described. Mathematical model of this system is analysed in the MSC. Software Adams/View and verified by an experimental measurement on a real-length testing rig. Analysis results prove the enhancement of devised traversing system, where the overall dynamic force is reduced considerably. At the same time, the precision of the traversing movement over the machine length is increased. This enables to increase machine operating speed while satisfying both the maximal tensile strength of the traversing rod and also output bobbin size standards. The usage of the developed mathematical model for determination of the optimal number and distribution of accumulators over the traversing rod of optional parameters is proved. The potential of the devised system for high-performance rotor spinning machines with longer traversing rod is also discussed.

The paper discusses the methods of modification of melt-blown polymer materials by the addition of a bactericidal agent or superabsorbent directly to the fibre-forming area during the melt-blown production process. It also presents tests of textile composites designed for use in selected types of personal protective equipment worn in the workplace. One example of the application of textile composites is the protective footwear insole. The insole composites contain specially developed variants of melt-blown nonwovens made from PP, PC, and PA fibres. Microbiological, hygienic, and mechanical tests have shown that the optimum insoles for all-rubber protective footwear are those made of bioactive composites containing a PC melt-blown nonwoven. Another example of composite application is the air-purifying half mask. Filter composites contain polymer nonwovens with the addition of different quantities of a superabsorbent. They have been tested for particle penetration, airflow resistance, and moisture sorption.

Innovation allows companies to obtain and maintain competitive advantage. Companies—even in the same sector of activities—often have various ways to reach this goal. The paper gives an insight to the most recent trends concerning the theory of innovations, presents four different innovative approaches, and illustrates them with the help of the selected Polish textile companies. Those companies are only a few selected from many that belong to this sector, which are innovative not only at the national, but also at the international level. The authors decided to present examples from this sector because there is a belief that it is one of the declining sectors of the Polish economy, while the presented examples clearly show that it includes companies that are innovative and can compete even on global markets.

The air flow and conjugate heat transfer through the fabric was investigated numerically. The objective of this paper is to study the thermal insulation of fabrics under heat convection or the heat loss of human body under different conditions (fabric structure and contact conditions between the human skin and the fabric). The numerical simulations were performed in laminar flow regime at constant skin temperature (310 K) and constant air flow temperature (273 K) at a speed of 5 m/s. Some important parameters such as heat flux through the fabrics, heat transfer coefficient, and Nusselt number were evaluated. The results showed that the heat loss from human body (the heat transfer coefficient) was smallest or the thermal insulation of fabric was highest when the fabric had no pores and no contact with the human skin, the heat loss from human body (the heat transfer coefficient) was highest when the fabric had pores and the air flow penetrated through the fabric.

The aim of this study was to develop statistical models for predicting the air permeability and light transmission properties of woven cotton fabrics and determine the level of correlation between the two parameters. Plain woven fabrics were developed with different warp and weft linear densities, ends per inch and picks per inch. After desizing, scouring, bleaching, drying and conditioning, the air permeability and light transmission properties of the fabric samples were determined. Regression analysis results showed statistically significant effect of the fabric ends, picks and warp linear density on both the fabric air permeability and light transmission. Correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relation between the fabric air permeability and light transmission. A linear equation was also formulated to find the fabric air permeability through transmission of light intensity. A fitted line plot between the air permeability and light transmission exhibited significant correlation with R-sq. value of 96.4%. The statistical models for the prediction of fabric air permeability and light transmittance were developed with an average prediction error of less than 7%.

Rotor speed and twist per metres (tpm) are two key parameters in open-end rotor spinning of cotton yarns. High spinning productivity can be obtained by keeping the rotor speed high and twist level as low as possible. However, too high rotor speed may result in yarn imperfections and too low twist level may result in lower tenacity yarns. This study aimed at optimising the multiple yarn characteristics in open-end rotor spinning using the Taguchi method and the grey relational analysis. Cotton yarn samples of 30 tex were produced on rotor spinning machine with different twist levels (i.e. 500, 550, 600 and 700 tpm) at different rotor speeds (i.e. 70,000, 80,000, 90,000 and 100,000 rpm) according to the Taguchi design of experiment. Optimal spinning process parameters were determined using the grey relational grade as the performance index. It was concluded that for the cotton fibres and yarn count used in this study, optimum properties of the yarns could be obtained at 90,000 rpm rotor speed and 700 tpm.

The weavability limit and tightness for 2D and 3D woven fabrics is an important factor and depends on many geometric parameters. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on textile fabric construction and property, and related research on fabric geometry, a study of the weavability limit and tightness relationships of 2D and 3D woven fabrics was undertaken. Experiments were conducted on a representative number of polyester and cotton woven fabrics which have been woven in our workshop, using three machines endowed with different insertion systems (rapier, projectiles and air jet). Afterwards, these woven fabrics have been analyzed in the laboratory to determine their physical and mechanical characteristics using air permeability-meter and KES-F KAWABATA Evaluation System for Fabrics. In this study, the current Booten’s weavability limit and tightness relationships based on Ashenhurst’s, Peirce’s, Love’s, Russell’s, Galuszynskl’s theory and maximum-weavability is reviewed and modified as new relationships to expand their use to general cases (2D and 3D woven fabrics, all fiber materiel, all yarns etc…). The theoretical relationships were examined and found to agree with experimental results. It was concluded that the weavability limit and tightness relationships are useful tools for weavers in predicting whether a proposed fabric construction was weavable and also in predicting and explaining their physical and mechanical properties.

The photochemical decolorization of two dyes, namely Acid Yellow 54 and Basic Blue 9, was studied using the UV/H₂O₂ and UV/Fenton processes. The effects of the amount of H₂O₂ and FeSO₄ as well as the initial pH solution on decolorization kinetics of both the dyes were investigated. The pseudo-first order kinetic model was applied to predict the decolorization of the selected dyes at the different operational conditions and results showed that this model fitted very well with the experimental data. The obtained results also showed the efficiency of UV/Fenton process to quickly degrade aqueous effluents polluted by Acid Yellow 54 and Basic Blue 9 compared to the UV/H₂O₂ process.