Journal of Textile Science & Engineering

Transparent Conducting Oxides (TCOs) have important device applications used in solar cells as transparent electrodes. In particular, ZnO material has been investigated for many years due to its excellent physical properties and potential applications in transparent conductive contacts when it is doped by several types of doping. If n-type doping is easily achievable in ZnO, the realization of stable and reproducible p-type ZnO is still difficult. The group I (Li, Na) atoms could be potential candidates to result in p-type ZnO. The choice of lithium as a dopant is motivated firstly by its abundance in nature, its low cost compared to other alkali metals and its wide application. Undoped and Lithium-doped zinc oxide thin films (ZnO:Li) at different percentages (5, 15 and 25%) were prepared on glass substrates, using the sol–gel spin-coating method, and the influence of the Li concentration on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the ZnO thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the un-doped and 5 at % Li-doped films have a hexagonal wurtzite structure and are preferentially oriented along the c-axis from the substrate. SEM analysis shows a compact surface with mainly hexagonal grains. Optical transmittance measurements show that all samples have average 88% transparency in the visible light, with a sharp fall of the absorption at a wavelength (~376 nm) close to the ZnO band gap. The results suggest that the optical properties of the ZnO:Li films can be further improved for solar cell applications.

In this work, we report on the study of undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films prepared by sol-gel spin coating technique using the ammonium hydroxide as an additive. The effect of the precursor concentration and the annealing temperature on the optical and structural properties of the produced films is analyzed; we changed the precursor concentration and the annealing temperature from 0.1 M to 0.2 M and 400°C to 500°C with steps of 0.1M and 100°C, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that ZnO thin films are polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and preferred growth orientations along the a-axis (100) and c-axis (002) from the substrate surface. The elaborated films have shown a high transparency (more than 75%) in the spectral range from 400 nm to 2000 nm. The optical band gap energy values of the ZnO thin films elaborated are located around 3.22 eV. Room temperature photoluminescence is dominated by a strong luminescence peak around 378 nm and a low-intensity peak around 477 nm.

Due to the spread of the Egyptian cotton substitutes (the Greek and the Sudanese); this study aims at evaluating the characteristics of the single jersey knitted fabrics produced from these cotton types. Moreover, to evaluate the extent of the change in these characteristics as the fabric cost decreases. Single Jersey knitted fabrics were produced with the same stitch length, but from different cotton yarns; Egyptian (Giza 86), Sudanese (Acala), and Egyptian/ Sudanese blend 50:50, and by using three levels of yarn twist factor. Several fabrics characteristics were tested such as color characteristics and color fastness to washing, perspiration, and abrasion. The moisture management properties were measured and the results showed that the Egyptian cotton fabrics exhibited a significant improvement in terms of the overall moisture management, the weight of square meter, a slight improvement in the shrinkage and some color properties. However, the results showed the insignificant effect of cotton type or yarn twist factor used on the color fastness properties.

There is an increasing amount of post-consumer textile waste that is generated in India with an estimated population of above 1.33 billion. But limited studies have been carried out on the channels of recycling of postconsumer apparel waste in India. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted among young people in the age group of 20-30 years in India, using online survey. Additional information has been collected through ethnographic studies and interviews and observations. Expert in the business of pre-owned goods has been interviewed. Results showed that almost half of the respondents of the survey in India would like to discard the clothes that are no more in use. There is a lack of awareness on the channels available for donation of used clothing, through most of the respondents were willing to donate. The donated clothing mostly consists of upper wears. The channels of post-consumer recycling of clothes are mostly NGOs who use it for charity or up-cycle it to new products using a community of artisans, who work for their livelihood. At present there are few Indian brands that create designer products by recycling of postconsumer apparel waste. The other alternative channel that has developed in India is re-sale of pre-owned clothing using online app of companies and brands. Few small-scale industries in India convert the post-consumer apparel waste to fibres which are generally used as fillers for mattress, pillows, cushion etc.in the unorganized sector or converted to recycled yarns.

The aim of this paper is to do patterning in both warp and weft direction against Computer Aided Design for a woven fabric. Patter design is given by the buyer to the fabric manufacturer to make a yarn dyed fabric where the original design or color patter will be reflected in the fabric that will be made. How many yarns will be needed in warp direction and how many yarns will be needed in weft direction that is also shown in this project. This project work is not only a paper work but also a practical solution for the textile learners, designers, fabric developer and also to many textile experts. Textile design CAD contains, the pattern design of the fabric, that is given by the buyer, to the fabric manufacturer, to produce a fabric, where in fabric, will have the actual and exact appearance and look, as like as the CAD. Textile patterning CAD analysis is a step by step examine on original CAD. Actually, textile CAD analysis is the methodical calculating-inspection on CAD, for setting up the pattern design of paper into a fabric, through longitudinal and transverse direction of fabrics. The courses of actions those are applied by the engineers during CAD analysis has been stated in this paper.

Liposome technology is applied in numerous fields, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foods, detergents, textiles and other applications, because of the ability to liberate the encapsulate slowly. Application of this technology’s result is the energy saving by reducing time and temperature which should be higher in conventional wool-dyeing method and avoiding the use of any other synthetic auxiliaries. In this study, the effect of liposome, which is constituted from soya lecithin and cholesterol, on dispersion dyeing of PET fabric was investigated. Thin lipid layer method was performed for the liposome production. On the other hand the effect of the commercial liposome was also investigated. PET fabrics were dyed using different dispersion dyes and color measurement values, tensile strength, light, rubbing, washing and perspiration fastness analyses were carried out. Fastness results were evaluated according to ANOVA statistical analysis. Different temperatures (between 115°C-130°C) were compared by performing color dyeing yields to examine the effect of liposome addition to the temperature in the dying process. The results were showing that PET fabrics which were dyed with liposome had better fastness, color strength values as compared with non-liposome dyed fabrics. In addition, the energy saving by reducing temperature was obtained.

Information flows within global textile supply chains and between supply chains stakeholders should be suppressed as much as possible so as to maximize the added value of textile products when they move along the supply chain process. However, information flows between supply chain stakeholders with their corresponding distinct supply chains should not be suppressed in order to make sure that the supply meets the demand effectively and efficiently. Because stakeholders reduce the bullwhip effect by ordering the commercial textiles’ consignments based on the demand order sizes which they get from their downstream firms by means of information sharing technology. Out of many reengineering efforts taken by many textile supply chain giants to improve their supply chain operating efficiencies, information sharing between partners is one key initiative and sharing sales information is a significant strategy to counter bullwhip effect. Hence, it is high time; textile scientist as well as the merchandisers gave thought in this segment of global textile supply chain and maximized the revenue by means of information sharing from backward linkage industries to forward linkage industries.

Many hospitals use paper thin bed sheets with high friction coefficients which are not ideal for patients with pressure ulcers and who are at risk of developing. These patients suffer a great deal of pain, which could have been prevented. Lying on a weak bed sheet with no regards to regulating micro-climate is a clear promoter of pressure ulcers. Another key factor of a hospital bed sheet is they are to be easily washed or disposed of because of all the unknown fluids that could seep onto the sheet. Therefore, the sheet must not only be to comfort those with pressure ulcers but to be easily washable and reusable. Again, in a hospital setting being able to easily wash the sheet and for it to hold its form is significant for reducing the cost of throwing away sheets less often.

Therefore a theory has been proposed to design a 3D knit spacer bed sheet that will allow patients with pressure ulcers to be comfortable by ensuring a low friction coefficient between their skin and the material. The friction coefficient will be reduced by not only the structure but by the 70 percent polyester, 22 percent polypropylene and eight percent spandex blend. The friction coefficient will stay low due to a high wicking and evaporation capability to ensure the skin stays dry as well as the material. The 3D knit spacer bed sheet also has a higher compressibility which distributes pressure more evenly as well as enabling a care giver to easily rotate an immobile person into a new position. The proposed bed sheet will be easily washable to ensure all bodily fluids such as vomit, blood, and others have been removed. This blanket will be slightly more expensive but is expected to last longer than a typical hospital bed sheet.

With the emergence of the need for natural bio-based chemical dyed wearable substrates, such as apparel or textiles, the demand for value-added craftsmanship induced on apparel or textiles is also on the rise. Local artisans are also exporting their value-added apparel products by diversifying their product range creating more local employment. Nowadays global retail fashion houses are also introducing naturally dyed wearable substrates for the increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly green products and concerns with global climate change. Small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) or artisans are also keeping pace with this new trend of offering such natural dyed products to the consumers. Therefore, this has created a new space for local artisans to produce various designs using natural dyes. The natural indigo dyed product is in great demand in the high-end fashion retail houses as well as in boutiques. However, little knowledge is available for the artisans to apply indigo vat dyes naturally extracted from the leaves of Indigofera tinctoria plants, because of the lack of technical knowledge, complications of chemical recipe parameters, zero access to expensive heavy industrial machinery.
Therefore, an attempt was taken to formulate an easy chemical recipe to dye cellulosic cotton fabric with natural indigo dyes without the need of any industrial dyeing machinery as well as conforming proper fastness to rubbing and washing, which are basically the major concerns for any vat dyed commercial products to meet the export demand. The chemicals used for this recipe formulation are also commercially available and cheap, making it an appropriate choice for local artisans to use and sell their finished end-product to exportable markets. The most important finding was the effect of vatting temperature to act as a major player to form water-soluble leucoindigo vat dyes from their insoluble solid dye state. Azo test was also conducted to confirm the absence of any carcinogenic amine containing any azo functional group that is harmful to the skin. Additionally, two different temperatures, such as 23ºC and 30ºC was used to produce the vatting recipe required for successful dyeing within 5 minutes at a lower temperature of 40°C, which will not cost any additional expenditure for the local artisans as they can produce this fermented vat on normal atmospheric conditions.

The surface modification of cotton fiber was successfully carried out by condensation polymerization with 3-glycidoxypropyltriethoxysilane (GPTES) in an ethanol-water medium. The purpose was to enhance the tensile strength and softness properties of the cotton, by introducing a more flexible Si-O bond between the silane coupling agents and the cotton fiber. The moisture absorption of modified cotton fiber is lower than the raw cotton fiber. The swelling behaviour of modified cotton fiber was decreased in the polar solvents, whereas swelling increased in nonpolar solvent. The FTIR spectra showed two additional peaks at 860 cm^-1 (Si-OH symmetric stretch) and 1207 cm^-1 (Si-O-C bending) respectively as a function of silane absorption by the fiber surface. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray diffraction (XRD) was studied to identify the surface morphology and the structural characteristics of the raw and modified fibers respectively. The absorption of reactive brown 10 and reactive orange 14 by the modified fiber was comparatively higher than untreated cotton fiber. Color fastness of raw and modified fibers to spotting with soap washing, sunlight, acids and alkalis have been studied.

Pineapple fiber reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites (25-75% fiber by weight) were fabricated using compression molding technique and the mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), tensile modulus (TM), bending strength (BS), bending modulus (BM) and impact strength (IS) of the composites were evaluated. It was found that at 55% fiber content, the composite exhibited the best mechanical properties. The TS, TM, BS, BM and IS were found to be 48.8 MPa, 773 MPa, 75.6 MPa, 4.2 GPa, 21.4 KJ/m2 for 55% fiber composite. The composites were exposed to different intensities of ultraviolet (UV) radiation (25-200 UV dose) and found significant improvement in the mechanical properties up to 100 UV dose. At 100 UV dose, the value of TS, TM, BS, BM and IS of the composite were found to be 57.3 MPa, 932 MPa, 87.5 MPa, 5.2 GPa and 26.3 KJ/m2 respectively. Water uptake behaviours of the non-irradiated and UV irradiated composites were also observed. The interfacial property was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Knit spacer fabrics have gained popularity in varied functional applications. Some important types of these fabrics are highlighted. One such is in medical applications, wherein the weft knit spacer fabrics have been attempted in treating pressure ulcer. The results show that the air permeability, thermal conductivity and water vapor permeability of weft knitted spacer fabrics are comparable with the existing wound dressings. The compressional resistance and resilience of them are good for providing protection as wound dressing. The absorbency of them is somewhat better than some wound dressings; however, they are suitable for pressure ulcer wounds with no heavy extrude. Warp knit spacer fabrics offer a better option over polyurethane foam in car seats owing to their advantages such as better recovery to compression, thermal properties and breathability. Flat-knitted spacer fabrics offer a strong potential for complex shape preforms, which could be used to manufacture composites with reduced waste and shorter production times. This article focuses on the improved strength and stiffness of woven three-dimensional (3D) spacer fabrics used in fiber reinforced plastics. The spacer fabrics were manufactured using E-glass/polypropylene (GF/PP) hybrid yarns and are intended for lightweight engineering applications. Flat-knitted spacer fabrics offer a strong potential for complex shape preforms, which could be used to manufacture composites with reduced waste and shorter production times.

This paper represents a comparative study of the different weave structures of jute woven fabric reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. The weave structures were selected as plain (1/1), twill (2/1), twill (3/1) and basket (2/2). Composites (40% fiber by wt.) were prepared by using compression molding technique. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS), bending strength (BS) and impact strength (IS) of the composites were evaluated and compared. It was found that basket weave/PP based composite showed the highest mechanical properties. The optimum value of TS, BS, TM, BM and IS of the composite were found to be 49.7 MPa, 92.5 MPa, 867 MPa, 5.6 GPa and 29.8 KJ/m².To find out the effect of yarn density on mechanical properties of the composites, 2/1 twill structure was selected and found significant improvement in the mechanical properties with the increase of Ends/Inch (EPI) and Picks/Inch (PPI) in the fabric. Water uptake and degradation behavior in aqueous medium of the composites was also observed.