The Effect of Wrinkle-free Treatment on Fabric Tear Strength and Dynamic Water Absorbency

Abstract

Two groups of fabric samples: six 100% cotton twill fabrics with different level of wrinklefree treatment, and six 100% cotton twill fabrics without wrinkle-free treatment were experimentally studied. These fabrics were tested in terms of nitrogen content, swelling index (water retention), tear strength and dynamic water absorption rate. The nitrogen content was considered as a probably better indicator of the level of wrinkle-free treatment than the swelling index (water retention) commonly used in the industry. In this work, the relationship between the nitrogen content and swelling index (water retention) were studied. The effects of nitrogen content and swelling index (water retention) on the tear strength and the dynamic water absorbency were investigated

The results showed that

1. (1)

   The swelling index (water retention) has a strong linear relationship with the total nitrogen content in the fabric. The higher nitrogen content, the lower the swelling index (water retention).

2. (2)

   The fabric tear strength is highly correlated with the total nitrogen content or the swelling index (water retention). High nitrogen content or low swelling index (water retention), which may be resulted from the wrinkle-free treatment, causes low tear strength

3. (3)

   High nitrogen content or low swelling index (water retention) reduces the water absorption rate of the fabric and increases the contact angle when the water drop is in initial contact of the fabric.

In general, the study showed that swelling index (water retention), a simple test commonly used in the industry, is as good a parameter as the nitrogen content, which is difficult to measure, for evaluating the level of wrinkle-free treatment. Wrinkle-free treatment can generally reduce the tear strength and the dynamic water absorption rate. The former is a property important to fabric durability and the latter is a property important to clothing comfort.

Citation

Lau, L., Siu, T., Fan, J., Siu, L.Y.C. and Newton, E. (2000), "The Effect of Wrinkle-free Treatment on Fabric Tear Strength and Dynamic Water Absorbency", Research Journal of Textile and Apparel, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 24-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/RJTA-04-02-2000-B003