Journal of Textile Science & Engineering

In the present study, commercial socks and dishcloth made up of cotton was treated with a safe natural antibacterial agent, Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaf essential oil to overcome the growth of bacteria on these fabrics, which would in turn prevent the diseases caused by them. Nutrient agar (consisting of peptone, yeast extract, sodium chloride and agar) as a food media for bacterial growth was used to expose the fabrics to bacterial growth. The socks and dishcloth exposed to the above environments support the growth of bacteria/genus, namely Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescents, Enterococcus species and Streptococcus species. Antibacterial finish is imparted using two different concentrations, 3% owm and 5% owm of Azadirachta indica, both in the absence and presence of citric acid, following pad-dry-cure technique. Antibacterial tests carried out following disc diffusion method on these treated (unwashed) cloths proved that the Azadirachta indica acts as a good antibacterial agent. The durability test carried out on the treated samples reveal that the antibacterial treatment carried out in presence of citric acid could withstand 3 washing cycles whereas, the samples treated in the absence of the acid could not withstand even a single wash.

Notwithstanding the complexity of production of jute fibre filaments a simple graphical presentation of jute fibre length distribution is made. The computer simulation of four types of frequency distribution of jute fibre length depending on method of sampling and testing is presented. These four distribution curves gives six points of intersections which merit technological significance. A study of fibre length-frequency distribution depending on methods of sampling and testing may lead to a general form of Gamma distribution function. The parameters in the mathematical formulae may serve as characteristics of condition giving the benchmark for valid experiment. This type of work involving exponential distribution was not done previously and provides a deeper insight into the characterisation of its comparative features with respect to normal distribution of fibre length. It can be observed that fibrograms for exponential and normal distributions have close similarity if their mean values are same. However, the survivor or array diagram distinguishes the basic distributions better than the fibrogram. This would be useful in the context that the basic frequency distributions of fibre lengths are somewhat difficult to obtain from direct experiments.

The present paper highlights the issue of non-biodegradability of personal hygiene product and how it has become a serious environmental concern all over the world. Emphasis is given to use naturally available absorbent fibres such as organic cotton, banana fibre, jute, bamboo etc., which are widely available and biodegradable in nature having low carbon footprint which not only makes it eco-friendly but also reduces the cost of sanitary pad. And to enhance the retention of fluid cellulose based hydro gel can be used instead of synthetic super absorbent polymer. Sustainability of hygiene product can be attained by replacing petroleum based raw material with an ecofriendly one.

The impacts of technical textiles upon society have been influential and have fundamentally impacted upon the structure of everyday human life. As populations continue to age, patient expectations for implant performance will continue to rise. The potential for high performing bio-medical materials is being realized and will continue to advance the evolution towards more fibre based approaches to device development that will perform more effectively and comfortably both outside and inside the human body. Medical textile breakthroughs have provided a broad array of implantable devices including vascular grafts, surgical mesh, heart valve components, orthopaedic sutures and fabric scaffolds designed to aid tissue repair. Technical textiles have the potential to perform better, last longer and increase comfort in the body as well as alleviating concerns around more traditional implanted materials such as metal. Although minimal invasive approaches to cardiovascular and orthopaedic procedures can be promoted with the use of technical textiles, they can be used in a more innovative way than simply repairing or replacing damaged tissue as surgeons can now use their ability to aid regrowth and natural functioning of damaged areas within the body. Global recessions and healthcare cost increases have had a marked global impact on every institution and organisation involved with the delivery of healthcare services and products. The NHS is constantly looking to make savings without compromising quality and this is placing the technical textile industry in a dynamic position to respond to these economic pressures. This paper examines key areas in which innovation in textile technology is promoting health and wellbeing. It considers the commercial and academic context in which these innovations are being developed, examines the main sectors in which these innovations are being directed, and concludes by suggesting which aspects of health and wellbeing are likely to gain the most from the application of technical textiles in the short and long term.

Nonwoven fabric formation is highly emerging technology for production of cheapest material of textile for different purposes. Nonwovens used in garments, home textiles, decorative purposes and technical textiles with their own performance requirements which will be discussed in this paper. The articles, thus produced in the final stage of textile called making up process i.e. nonwoven product development will be delivered to customer or they can be utilized as semi-finished goods for non-textile production and assembly processes such as textile filters. The important modelling parameters essential for nonwovens products are pore size distribution rather than porosity, tensile strength for reinforcement applications in civil engineering, bending rigidity, permeability to fluids according to the purpose and filtration properties with minimum clogging.

This paper is designed to measure the competitiveness of Indian textile industry in comparison of twelve major players of textile Industry in World. International Market Share and Revealed comparative advantage of Balassa have been applied to measure the competitiveness with some useful techniques such as Compound Annual Growth Rate and Coefficient of Variation. The Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) rev. 3 is used at the two digit level of disaggregation of textile data of the United nations. The paper focuses during and after Agreement on textile and clothing changes in competitiveness and exports potential of Indian textile Industry. The findings reveals that India is most benefitting country after china after elimination of ATC i.e., 1st Jan 2005 and RCA point of view, India must consider the products which have good export potential in the world textile markets.

Due to the complexity of fabric structure, modeling of pore structure and predicting the pore parameters are difficult. This paper presents a novel approach to determine textile pore size, porosity and pore size distribution by the application of the image analysis techniques. In this study, it has been attempted to establish a theoretical model for both the pore size and porosity of woven fabrics. For this purpose, a theoretical model of porous systems based on Poiseuille's law was used to predict the pore size of woven fabrics. Also a theoretical model was created to predict the porosity of a woven fabric depending on the geometrical parameters. The two characteristics of pore opening size and porosity were determined from image analysis and were compared to the results from laboratory tests. The validity of which was confirmed by experimental results using cotton plain woven fabrics produced from different yarn linear density and tightness. A new and accurate method of image analysis for pore size distribution (PSD) determination of woven fabrics is presented in this paper. The tested fabric sample could be ranked in a decrease order successfully.

Usage of unexplored lesser known natural fibres in the global arena is not only the important striking area, but simultaneously to search out a suitable avenue for which separate spinning system is not widely available or established. Blending of different fibres having similar or different properties is an important consideration to upgrade certain functional properties of textiles either in apparel or in technical textiles. The theory based on the mechanical properties of the component fibres of blended yarn is well explained by Hamburger in 1949. Blending of indigenous ramie with jute/acrylic will help development of textiles with better functional properties by combining positive features of both the fibres. The tensile properties of blended yarns and influence of component fibres on mechanical characteristics of indigenous ramie-jute and ramie-acrylic blends spun on existing jute spinning frame with an appropriate processing technology divulges that fibre properties like tenacity, fineness and breaking extension mainly dominates the tensile characteristics of the blended yarn.

Apparel business applies different techniques to keep pace with the incremental competition conditions and changing consumer demands. The new design needs new analysis; new manufacturing technique which will take much more time. There is no practice of scientific analysis to manufacturing a new design garment. Critical path method is one of the most effective techniques which is a systematic approach to identifying and reducing manufacturing time through the earliest start time and the earliest finish time and also provides a scientific method for product manufacturing and whole production management. This study was carried out at a men’s T- shirt producer i.e., a ready wear company. The current state of the production lines was analyzed within the scope of the study. Then t-shirt production lines were organized with the CPM techniques. The main strategy of CPM was estimated actual operation time by decreasing traditional manufacturing time. As a result, using of the CPM in garment manufacturing less the lead time of production time as well as the whole manufacturing system gets a new approach and also manufacturer are able to produce the product within minimum possible time and the apparel manufacturer will be able to fabricate contemporary fashion production project.