MEMS IN TEXTILES

SUBMITTED BY, M.KUMAR& S.SANTHANA RAJAM kumartexstyle@ ma!l."#m sa$t%a$ara&am@re'!((ma!l."#m DE)ARTMENT *+ TE,TI-E TE.HN*-*/Y, JAYA EN/INEERIN/ .*--E/E, .HENNAI.

SUBMITTED T*, +UTURA012 DE)ARTMENT *+ TE,TI-E TE.HN*-*/Y, BANNARI AMMAN INSTITUTE *+ TE.HN*-*/Y , SATHYAMAN/A-AM.

ABSTRACT MicroElectroMechanical Systems, or MEMS, is an emerging high technology that has proven to be very successful in several industries such as medical, automotive and ink jet industries. The technology philosophy is to integrate sensors, actuators and electronics onto a silicon substrate (polysilicon batch) to form as small as a s uare millimeter micromachine at lo! manufacturing cost. Such advantages prompted investigating the potential applications of MEMS in te"tiles. #nitially, it identified possible applications of MEMS technology in spinning, !eaving, knitting, fiber formation, non!ovens, testing and evaluation, and dyeing and finishing. $ased on a perceived real need and large potential market for a successful device, it !as decided to concentrate efforts into the development of a MEMS based detection device to monitor !arp tension and end breaks in !eaving. Thus replacing the abrasive and passive traditional drop !ire !ith gentle and active device that has the potential to e"pand the markets for !eavers. This paper deals !ith the technologies of MEMS and its various applications in te"tile.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES: The potential uses of micromachines in te"tiles have been assessed. Monitoring !arp yarns tension in !eaving !as selected as the MEMS application to develop. The traditional heavy drop !ires that detect !arp yarn breaks have been replaced !ith MEMS based strain and force sensors. %onse uently, yarn breaks are instantaneously detected and the !eaving machine is stopped. #n addition, !arp tension is measured continuously during fabric formation and sensors can accommodate high&density !arps. Eliminating the heavy and vibrating drop !ires should significantly reduce yarn abrasion and filament breakage. This should improve !oven fabric manufacturing efficiency, uality. ' custom designed micromachine is under development and is to replace the off shelves sensors currently used to measure !arp tension. 'n economic analysis and modeling of !orthiness of using micromachines in te"tiles is also under!ay. INTRODUCTION (or the last fifteen years, the uiet revolution of microtechnology has taken place and is promising a bright future for most industries including te"tiles. Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, also popularly referred to as micromachines, nanomachines, or transducers are characteri)ed by being less than a s uare millimeter in si)e. #n the most general form, MEMS consist of mechanical microstructures, microsensors, microactuators, and electronics, all integrated onto the same chip. MEMS industry is still at a very early stage of development and the on&going efforts are to!ards fundamental research rather than commercial applications. MICROMACHINES: A SUMMARY DEFINITIONS: Microelectromech !ic l S"#tem#, or MEMS, are integrated micro devices or systems combining electrical and mechanical components. They are usually fabricated using integrated circuit (#%) batch processing techni ue and can range in si)e from

micrometers to millimeters. These systems can sense, control and actuate on the micro scale, and function individually or in arrays to generate effects on the macro scale. Micromachines are divided into t!o functional groups* the sensors and the actuators. A #e!#or is defined as a device that provides a usable electrical output signal in response to a signal. The signal is also called in the literature measurand or stimulus. +hen a sensor is integrated !ith signal processing circuits in a single package (usually a polysilicon chip), it is referred to as an integrated sensor or smart sensor. A! ct$ tor, is a device that converts an electrical signal, !hich may be taken from a sensor, to an action. 'ctuators are further divided into three categories* Simple actuators that move valves or beams using one simple physical la! Micromotors, more comple" in the design and the possibilities, and Microrobots !hich are the latest release in micro&technology and by far the most fascinating. A tr !#%$cer is considered as a device that transforms one form of signal or energy into another form. Therefore, the term transducer can be used to include both sensors and actuators and is the most generic and !idely used term for micromachines. SENSORS AND SMART SENSORS: Sm rt Se!#or#: Sensors are kno!n and been used for several decades. ,e! advances in electronic industry have permitted the development of smart sensors. The main difference bet!een a traditional sensor and a smart sensor is the !ay that they are manufactured. Smart sensors have all the electronic integrated in a MEMS structure. This is the revolution. The electronic is usually the e"pensive part !hen using sensors and being polysilicon batch !hile the sensor is fabricated makes them ine"pensive. (igure depicts a photo of a smart accelerometer used in airbag systems, !ith all the electronics integrated. #ts total si)e is

less than -cm.. (igure sho!s a photo of a silicon !afer !ith one hundred microstructures, one could be the smart accelerometer of (igure.

Air& ' AD(L)* Silico! + ,er -ri!ci.le# U#e% i! Se!#or# Sensor principles are based on physical or chemical effects. More than /01 effects are kno!n, most of !hich can be e"ploited for sensor technology. Table sho!s these physical principles or effects grouped according to the si" forms of physical energy. T &le: E/ m.le# o, #e!#or #i'! l# i! the #i/ e!er'" %om i!# ,or MEMS ..lic tio!#

Tem.er t$re Se!#or# E/ m.le Several phenomena or effects are used to assess temperature change, for temperature sensors. The simplest and most !idely utili)ed phenomenon is thermal e"pansion. The most famous e"ample is the li uid&in&glass thermometer. 2o!ever, sensing temperature can be measured !ith resistive temperature detectors (3T4s), thermistors, thermocouple, thermoelectric contact sensors, semiconductor, optical and pie)oelectric temperature detectors. 'll these effects can be used for sensors. 5ther 6thermal&based7 effect e"amples are thermistors and 3T4s. They are based on the change of mobility inside the conductor !ith temperature 8./9. The thermocouple has a Seebeck effect property. T!o different materials (usually metals) are joined at one point to form a thermocouple. ' temperature difference at the contacts of different conductors induces an electromotive force in the circuit. 's the temperature changes, the voltage reading changes too. Str i! !% Force Se!#or E/ m.le 'mong all physical effects given above in Table, strain and force sensors, S(S, are one e"ample of mechanical type of sensor. S(S are different from pressure sensors because they measure a force on a solid, !hile pressure sensors deal !ith a force on a fluid (i.e., li uids or gases). There are t!o types of S(S* uantitative and ualitative. 0$ !tit ti1e Strain and (orce Sensors, such as strain gauges and load cells, assess the force and proportionally represent its value into an electric signal. 0$ lit ti1e Strain and (orce Sensors are a $oolean type of output signal and do not represent the force value accurately. They detect if there is a sufficient force applied and the output signal indicates !hen the predetermined threshold is reached. %omputer keyboards are using this type of sensor. This distinction !ill be relevant for the te"tile application described belo!, !here a uantitative strain and force sensor !as selected to measure yarn tension in !eaving. (irst (igure is a picture of t!o load cells and second (igure is a picture of t!o strain

gauges used for the application described in belo!, the left one being a half bridge and the right one a full +heatstone bridge.

Lo % cell ,rom Ome'

Str i! ' $'e# ,rom Ome'

ACTUATORS A Re1ie2 o, A1 il &le Tech!olo'ie#: There are several technologies available to linearly actuate simple beams, microvalves 8-:9, or diaphragms. +hen combined together, these microstructures can form micromotors. Microrobots are just the most complicated combination of several micromachines and they are still at an early stage of development. Table is a tentative summary of the technologies available in the actuator field. T &le: Com. ri#o! o, micro ct$ tor# .ro.ertie#

T!o technologies to actuate micromachines have been revie!ed in the follo!ing section* Shape Memory 'lloy (SM'), using thermal effect and magnetostrictive principle, using electromagnetic properties. These are just t!o e"amples among others, of ho! a simple physical phenomenon is used to actuate a micromachine.

A--LICATION OF MEMS IN TE(TILE A..lic tio! Selectio! $ased on the e"tensive literature survey on micromachines, it !as decided to focus on an application that !ould have the follo!ing characteristics* $e feasible !ithin t!o years (time resource limited), in our facilities. ;imited to sensors and smart sensors, not actuators (off shelf sensors e"isting and being cheaper, please read previous report on the subject) (ulfilling a real need from customers ,ot e"isting on the market yet <enuine !ork (no publication or patent at the time of decision) ;arge market si)e to enhance the lo! cost of batch production, and (inally, that !ould meet our second objective for this project* #mprove traditional manufacturing te"tile

The application chosen !as the combination of t!o ideas that !ere identified during Spring -::: as potential applications of MEMS in te"tile* monitoring !arp tension during the formation of !oven fabric and eliminating drop !ires on a !eaving machine, using sensors and then using smart sensors. %ombining the t!o ideas !as logical because a broken yarn has a kno!n tension value of )ero c,. Therefore, if monitoring !arp tension dynamically is feasible, then, removing the drop !ires is an additional bonus. The follo!ing discussion is divided in four different sections. Section - is a summary of the revie! of e"isting products that monitor yarn tension, regardless of the area of application. Section . !ill demonstrate the usefulness of having a device measuring online !arp tension and give some potential end use applications. Section / !ill concentrate on the drop !ires constraints and usefulness. 3. Ex!st!$ 4r#'u"ts measur!$ yar$ te$s!#$ There are many !ays to assess yarn tension, ho!ever, none !as found ade uate for measuring !arp tension on&line. 4evices measuring yarn tension manually, !ith 2and& tension meters (Tensitron, 0), or electronically (Shirley, =) are available and been used for many years in the knitting industry. Some systems measure an average of multi&ends tension (Shirley, =), or individual multi&!eft tension (Elte", >). Se!ing thread tension meters and various single threads tension meters used for !arping, un!inding, or yarn packaging !ere found. 's yarn tension is also of interest in te"turing, t!isting, and tufting, more devices !ere available. $y conclusion it !as found that* +arp tension is often assessed on a single thread basis and the assumption is that the rest of the !arp is of similar tension. ,o device is capable of measuring several single threads tension simultaneously. Electronic tension meters are for single threads only. Most devices are not suitable for high&density !arp. +henever a tension adjustment is performed, it is for the !hole beam, not individual ends.

Therefore, it is concluded that there is a need for an individual !arp end tension measurement, !ith a si)e accommodating high !arp density, !ith data recording capabilities and the possibility of capturing several ends tension simultaneously. ' patent survey sho!ed that this type of device is not patented yet. Some patents !ere related to !arp tension measurement but nothing close to !hat is envisioned. The vision is a device made of several sensors, lying under the !arp, capable of recording real time !arp tension. 5. Im4#rta$"e #( 6ar4 Te$s!#$ Measureme$t Measuring !arp tension continuously, on single ends, is greatly improving traditional te"tile manufacturing. +arp tension is the most important cause for end breaks during the formation of !oven fabrics. 4r. +einsdorfer proved that the number of end breaks !as directly related to !arp tension. ;o! yarn tension creates a clinging effect, resulting in yarn breaks. 2igh yarn tension increases yarn stress resulting also in yarn breaks. (igure - sho!s the influence of !arp tension on machine stops.

+ r. te!#io! 1#3 e!% &re 4# c$r1e

The gray areas represent the three different type of shedding motion. 3egardless of the type of shedding, there is an optimum !arp tension !here end breaks are

minimi)ed. 4efining the 5ptimum +arp Tension is an important parameter since it ma"imi)es the !eaving efficiency of a machine. This number can be used for initial machine settings for similar fabric patterns and !arps. This number can be estimated empirically. 4ynamic feedback machine setting can be done. 3eal time information on each individual yarn tension should decrease the number of yarn breaks as the 5ptimum 'verage ?arn tension is calculated. #f the average of all measured ends is changing significantly, then the let&off motion could be adjusted, and the overall !arp tension controlled. #f each end is controlled individually then, each end could be dynamically optimi)ed. This should reduce the number of breaks dramatically. ' direct conse uence of this reduction of end breaks is the reduction of stop mark. Every time the !eaving machine is stopping, there is a stop mark on the fabric. The fabric is then of lesser value. Measuring !arp tension !ill improve dyeing and finishing uality. Tight and slack yarns sho! !hen the fabric is dyed. %ertain shades are more sensitive than others. @sing a fabric !ith a lo!er standard deviation !ill give better results for these shades. The ratio of yarn crimp to !eft crimp is also dependent on the !arp tension. 's a conse uence, dimensional fabric stability !ill change according to this ratio. #f the ma" sett is not reached, a fabric !ill tend to shrink if the !arp tension increases, at constant pick density, because most of the !arp crimp had been removed. Therefore, under the conditions specified above, a fabric of higher average !arp tension !ill behave differently !hen !ashed then a fabric of lo!er average !arp tension. (inally, a fabric !ith a 6!arp tension road map7 gives tremendous information on its uality. +hen testing a fabric, it is recommended to leave out -1A on each side (selvage) as they are not representatives of the !hole !idth of the fabric. This number may increase or decrease thanks to accurate !arp tension data. This road map may also be used for choosing fabrics !ith critical porosity properties. ' lo! standard deviation across !idth and across time !ill optimi)e a controlled porosity. The end uses applications are numerous. 2o!ever, this device is targeted for high tech fabric applications* fabrics !ith critical porosity, fabrics that must be close to perfection (for bio&medical applications), or fabrics that are fragile by nature (like

microfibers) that can not hardly be !oven !ith drop !ires. The tension road map finds application in the testing of e"pensive fabrics. 7. El!m!$at!$ Dr#4 6!res 's mentioned earlier, eliminating drop !ires is really a conse uence of measuring !arp tension. Some attempts have been made to eliminate drop !ires, for e"ample Brotecna in -::0. They presented a laser based device (;aserstop CD1) at #TM' :0. The laser is placed under !arp sheet and generates a laser beam from one side to another. ' laser sensor is placed at the other end. The system assumes that if a yarn break it !ould cause the yarn to fall under its o!n !eight and cut the laser beam. Thus, a yarn break !ould be detected. The major dra!back of such system is that a yarn does not fall do!n under its o!n !eight due to yarn friction. %ling bet!een the broken yarn and its neighbor is high enough to hold it and not necessarily cut through the laser beam that triggers the detection. The actual research is focused on lighter drop !ires, !ith improved materials, made of composites. Therefore, if the !arp tension measuring device is successful, it !ill be possible to remove these drop !ires. The result !ill be less stress on the yarns and a reduced abrasion. Y r! Te!#io! Me #$reme!t !% Co!trol: ?arn tension measurement and control is of interest in many te"tile processes such as Spinning, !inding, knitting and !eaving. Tension is a critical factor and currently there are fe! e"pensive !ays to achieve this task. Today, hand held tension&meters, such as sho!n on (igure, are used to test individual yarn one after the other and it takes about ten minutes for a !ell trained te"tile operator to check a circular knitting machine !ith := feeds. Te"tile manufacturers are interested in identifying tension variations bet!een spindles. There is a need to kno! !hich spindles are out of the control limits so correction may be done. 5nline yarn tension and control using MEMS could offer an integrated solution to the tension variation problem in spinning.

H !% te!#io! meter DTMB

Tension can be assessed using pressure sensors or load cells but a problem of si)e occurs bet!een the yarn and the MEMS. MEMS sensors seem to be too small and MEMS actuators not strong enough to handle the speed, the friction, the lint and the si)e of the yarn. ' possible type of sensor and technical solution could be fre uency resonance based sensor. Many technical issues arise such as machine vibration, lint or yarn speed. @sing high&speed resolution video camera could also be a non&MEMSE solution. 2o!ever, the environment !ould have to be lint free and this e uipment is still uite e"pensive if used for each individual end in spinning, knitting or !eaving machines. Strain and force sensors might be the solution. Mo!itori!' E!% Bre 4# #n !eaving, each !arp yarn is dra!n through a holeFslot of a drop !ire. The drop !ire is supported by the yarn as long as the yarn is under tension. ' yarn break causes the drop !ire to fall on a bar !hich is a part of the electrical circuits that triggers the machine to stop. +hile this traditional !ay of monitoring !arp breaks has been successful for many years, there are problems associated !ith it. 4rop !ires add abrasion stress and vibration to !arp yarns, !hich cause yarn breaks or filaments breaks. The problem is severe !hen !eaving yarns of microfilament. ' filament in such yarn could be easily broken a matter, !hich causes potential efficiency and uality problems. +eavers have been searching for a ne! gentle method to replace drop !ires !ithout success. ;oad cell or Strain and force sensors could offer a solution for this long&standing problem. More

details on replacing drop !ires and yarn tension measurement !ill be given in the ne"t chapter. Electro!ic Te!#io! Meter# This electronic version is using the same principle as the hand tension meter described previously, ho!ever, it can be interfaced to a computer to record data for the purpose of ac uiring tension over selected period of times. Shirley 4evelopments #nternational offers an electronic device, based on a three&pulley system, for individual thread tension measurement 8==9. (igure sho!s the device. This apparatus can interface !ith a computer to record and do!nload some data to be analy)ed separately. This device uotes for G.,1-=. The main problem is the si)e of the device* .0cm " >.0cm " / cm. This si)e issue makes the device not suitable for high density !arp monitoring. Hivy&El&-1 from ;a!son&2emphill is a very similar product.

Shirle" electro!ic " r! te!#io! meter

M$lti5Thre %# Te!#io! Meter# Shirley 4evelopments #nternational also offers a manual tension meter !hich measures the tension of several ends, (igure C.C. This apparatus does not allo! the measurement of single !arp yarn and there is a high degree of subjectivity as the device may be lifted up or pushed do!n !hich causes significant variation from an operator to another. 2o!ever, this is a good ine"pensive (G0.1) measuring device, compared to previous devices, for a uick check on !arp tension.

Shirle" m$lti5thre %# te!#io! meter

Sm rt Clothi!' S"#tem ,or Fireme!: 'pparel applications are the most feasible because 6traditional7 sensors are already commerciali)ed and they could easily be replaced by MEMS sensors. #f the sensor is polysilicon batch and integrates some of the electronics, then it ualifies as a micromachine and in this respect, 6MEMS sensors7 find the same type of applications as 6Traditional sensors7 do. There are niche markets !here there is a need for monitoring the environment. Sensors are so small that they could be easily integrated in the garment itself. (or e"ample, there is a vital need for firefighters to measure temperature, moisture and motionFconsciousness. 'nother e"ample is protective apparel for the ne"t millenium soldier !here there is a gro!ing need for protection against chemical and biological threats. More and more gases are used as lethal !eapon and their lack of odor and color make them difficult to detect !ithout the use of such smart sensors. The concept is to insert temperature sensors, moisture sensors, and chemicalFbiological sensors throughout the vest and connect them to a central unit !hich is able to remotely convey data, thus rescue efforts could be deployed before it is too late. The current problems are -) !hich sensor should be used, .) ho! to interface the sensors and the !iring cables and /) ho! to analy)e the information given by the sensors. Some products on the market e"ist and meet some of the re uirements. Smart %oat has commerciali)ed a very nice jacket for firefighters, !hich is currently in the process of being tested. (igure sho!s the jacket and the device. 2o!ever, the device is combining all the sensing elements only in one location.

Sm rt co t .ri!ci.le !% ..lic tio!

<eorgia Tech developed a Smart T&shirt, sho!n in (igure /.D, that is able to detect if a soldier has been shot and monitor his vital sign 8=1, >-9. They used optical !ires and conductive fibers to fully integrate the sensing properties into the garment and they have attached sensors in their last version of the vest, no! commerciali)ed !ith Sensate" #nc. #n this case, they are a step beyond !hat is suggested here, using conductive fibers in the !eave of the garment. The sensors are then mounted at any location on the garment and allo!s the transmission of information from the sensors.

Sm rt Tee5#hirt ,rom Se!# te/

' current research done here at ,%S@ deals !ith using beta&cyclode"trine that creates a comple" !ith the lethal gas. The comple" is big enough to be stopped through the thickness of the protective apparel. The idea is to use this volume and !eight to bend a micro beam that !ould chemically react or attract the compound. This micro&device !ould be attached in many different locations on the garment, and the threat could be transferred to a central unit by telemetry. A&r #io! Detectio! S"#tem: Te"tiles fabrics durability is assessed by standard abrasion tests that are performed to evaluate the resistance of a fabric to continuous rubbing 8C:9. 'STM specifies a standard test 80.9 in !hich a fabric sample is sand!iched bet!een t!o sand& papers and is abraded to a preset number of cycles. 5nce the number of cycles are reached an operator checks the fabric and compares it to four standard control samples 80D9. ' variation of this standard test is to abrade the fabric until the operator can see through it. The test is uite subjective because 6see through7 is a subjective measurement. The idea is to replace this human subjective measurement !ith a sensor that !ould stop !hen the fabric is abraded. (ollo!ing (igure is a picture of a Martindale machine commonly used to evaluate te"tile fabricsE abrasion resistance.

M rti!% le &r #io! te#ti!' m chi!e There are several !ays to accomplish such evaluation, among these are* pressure sensors, electrical contact or magnetic field intensity. ' better solution !ould be to use telecommunication s!itches, using a light beam reflection on a micro mirror, as (igure /./ sho!s, to send a signal to a machine s!itch. +ith this techni ue, hundred micro mirrors could even spot the e"act location of abrasion. #n addition, MEMS !ould live much longer in the ultra clean testing lab rooms than on the harsh environment of te"tile manufacturing facilities. To the author kno!ledge, abrasion testersE manufacturers are not currently conducting research to develop ne! abrasion machines !ith such proposed approaches. 4espite these advantages of having a more precise and less subjective test, customers may not be ready for this device. %urrent abrasion testers have been accepted for a long time and generated huge fabric databases that fabric producers or buyers are yet not ready to give up. Secondly, from a market side, abrasion testing machines are less numerous than spindles, needles or looms in the !orld. Since MEMS are manufactured using batch process, such application is not economically attractive at this stage.

CONCLUSION
Someho!, micromachine and te"tile do not seem to belong to the same !orld, 6micromachine7 being the latest high&tech bu))!ord, !hile 6te"tiles7 !ith centuries of e"perience refers traditionally to heavier steel machinery. 2o!ever, using emerging technologies is a challenge that the te"tile industry has long been embracing as the only !ay to survive at the turn of this millennium. Matching t!o industries as diverse, even opposite as the micro&!orld and te"tile manufacturing is no! possible. ,ot only ideas of potential projects !ere identified, but also one !as pursued to its full reali)ation as a proof that yes, micromachines and te"tile do belong to the same !orld. #t is no! feasible that !arp tension can be monitored and !arp breaks can be detected simultaneously on individual !arp ends, using micromachines sensors thus the abrasive drop !ires (!hich limited !eavers to handle delicate yarns) can be replaced. +hile the project prototype used a commercial strain gauge to proof the concept, MEMS chip replacing such strain gauges is being produced and results are e"pected to correlate !ith those of the commercial strain gauge sensors. #t is e"pected that MEMS !ould find significant applications in other te"tile processes such as spinning, !inding, !arping, knitting, non!ovens, and testing and evaluation e uipment. 'dditionally, MEMS may be incorporated into fabrics and garments to produce smart products.

REFRENCES: www.ntcresearch.org www.lib.ncsu.e www.p2pays.org