Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

Yarn Evenness: Evenness or unevenness, regularity or irregularity, all these mean the degree of
uniformity of a product.
**Producing a yarn of uniform characters such as uniformity in weight per unit length, uniformity
in diameter, turns per inch, strength etc., is indeed a work of very great magnitude and perfect
uniform are only dreams.
**This is so, because in the case of staple fibers, that too with natural fibers, this work of
transforming millions of individual fibers of varying fineness, maturity, length, colour, diameter,
etc., into a yarn of uniform character is really hypothetical.
***Variation in weight per unit length is the basic irregularity in yarn. All other irregularities (i.e.,
twist, strength, diameter, hairiness, color etc.) are dependent on it. This is because weight per unit
length is proportional to fiber number i.e.; number of fibers in cross section of yarn.
***Yarn diameter variation is also important because sometimes portions with same mass may
have variable diameter.
***Thick place have less twist that leads to yarn hairiness and fabric pilling.
**Variations in number of fibers are the factor influenced by drafting. So any improvement in
drafting or spinning will first reflect in improvement in variability of weight per unit length.
** Thin place of yarn will get more twist compared to thick place in yarn due to lower level of
torsional rigidity resulted because of lower numbers of fibers in yarn cross-section. Ultimately, we
can say uneven yarn will produce uneven twist along the yarn length.
**Warp way streaky appearance ow weft bars in fabric comes from yarn hairiness variation that
is directly linked with yarn thick thin.
Causes of Yarn Unevenness:
1) Irregularity caused by raw material: The natural fibres have variable varieties. They
have no true fixed length, fineness, shape of cross-section, maturity, crimp, etc., which
have effect on yarn properties specially evenness.
**These variations are due to different rates of cell development due to changes in
environmental conditions (nutrients, soil, and weather).
**In man-made fibres, variations in mass/unit length occurs due to changes in polymer
viscosity, roughness of spinneret orifice, variation in extrusion pressure and rate, filament
take-up speed, presence of delustrant or additives, which can modify the particular shape
and fiber surface geometry.
2) Irregularity caused by fiber arrangement: The desirable results of relocating large
number of fibers at high speed and arranging in well-ordered form tend to be difficult.
Fibers are not precisely laid end to end, and gaps are present between them. As a result of
yarns twist, fibres arrange in spiral form in a series of folds, kinks, and doublings.
3) Inherent shortcoming of machinery: The drafting wave is one example of irregularity
due to the inability of a drafting system to control each fiber. Where roller drafting is used,
the distance from one nip to the other is greater than the length of the shorter fibres. These

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

short fibres ‘float’ in the drafting zone and move forward in an irregular but cyclical
manner which results in the drafted strand having thick and thin places.
4) Mechanically defective machinery: Machines drift out of adjustment, bearings become
worn, components get damaged, and lubrication systems clog and dirt works its way into
the mechanism. Faulty rollers (top roller eccentricity) and gear wheels usually produce
periodic variation.

Expression of "Unevenness" Or "Irregularity":

1.The irregularity U%
It is the percentage mass deviation of unit length of material and is caused by uneven fibre
distribution along the length of the strand.
U% = PMD = Mean Deviation / Mean ×100

2.The coefficient of variation C.V.%

It is currently probably the most widely accepted way of quantifying irregularity.

CV% = Standard Deviation / Mean × 100

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

Classification of Variation:
There are two types of variation and they are classified as the following:
(1) Random Variation: Random variation is the variation which occurs randomly in the
textile material, without any definite order.

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

(2) Periodic Variations:

Two terminologies wave length and amplitude are used in order to describe a
periodic variation from the figure.
**Wave length is the distance from the one peak of the wave to the next on the same side of the
mean line.
**Amplitude is a measure of the size of the swing from the mean level. Usually this is expressed
as a percentage of the mean.
Relationship between Um% and CVm%: 1. The Coefficient of Variation CVm is preferred
more and more to the irregularity Um value. 2. CVm is a parameter commonly recognised for
variation at all cut lengths while Um is used to refer only to mass variations at the basic cut length
(usually 1 cm).
3. For random variations: CV=1.25*U

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

4. For random+periodic variation: CV>1.25*U

5. For strong periodic variation: CV<1.25*U

What is limit Irregularity and Index of Irregularity?

For a particular type of fibre and count of yarn, there is an irregularity limit which cannot be
improved upon by the present machinery is called limit irregularity. The limiting irregularity for
synthetic fibres are given by:

The limiting irregularity for cotton fibres are given by:

CVlim = [(106)2 / (n)0.5]
The limiting irregularity for cotton fibres are given by:
CVlim = [(118)2 / (n)0.5]
The limiting irregularity for wool fibres are given by:
CVlim = [(112)2 / (n)0.5]
(100)2 (𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐶𝑉)2
Basic Formula of limit irregularity: (CVlim )2 = +
𝑛 𝑛

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

**A cotton yarn, Nec 6, has a measured irregularity of 9.3%. The fibre fineness is 4.5µg/inch.
The limiting irregularity and the index of irregularity are to be determined.
Importance of yarn evenness:
1. Irregularity can adversely affect many of the properties of textile materials. The most
obvious consequence of yarn unevenness is the variation of strength along the yarn. Thus,
an irregular yarn will tend to break more easily during spinning, winding, weaving,
knitting, or any other process where stress is applied.
2. A second quality-related effect of uneven yarn is the presence of visible faults on the
surface of fabrics.
3. Twist tends to be higher at thin places in a yarn. Thus, at such locations, the penetration of
a dye or finish is likely to be lower than at the thick regions of lower twist. In consequence,
the thicker yarn region will tend to be deeper in shade than the thinner ones.
4. Other fabric properties, such as abrasion or pill-resistance, soil retention, drape,
absorbency, reflectance, or luster, may also be directly influenced by yarn evenness.

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

What are the influences of periodic mass variations on woven and knitted fabric?

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

Measurement of yarn evenness:

1. Visual Examination Method:

Black board appearance method

Yarn to be examined is wrapped onto a matt black surface in equally spaced turns. The black
boards are then examined under good lighting conditions using uniform non-directional light.
ASTM has a series of Cotton Yarn Appearance Standards which are photographs of different
counts with the appearances classified into four grades. The test yarn is then wound on a
blackboard (measuring 9.5 x 5.5 inches in surface area) with correct spacing and compared directly
with its corresponding standard. It is preferable to use tapered boards for wrapping the yarn if
periodic faults are likely to be present. This is because the yarn may have a repeating fault of
spacing similar to that of one wrap of yarn. By chance it may be hidden behind the board on every
turn with a parallel- side board, whereas with a tapered board it will at some point appear on the
face.

Electronic capacitance method (Uster Tester):

Capacitive methods of determining yarn evenness are the most popular and widely used methods.
The sensor for measuring the evenness of slivers, roving’s or yarns is a capacitive measuring
sensor. A high-frequency signal field is generated in the sensor slot, between a pair of capacitor
plates. If the amount of the material between the capacitor plates changes, the high-frequency
signal is altered and the electrical output signal of the sensor changes, accordingly. The result is
an electrical signal variation proportional to the mass variation of the test material passing through.
That analogue signal is then digitized (converted to data bytes), stored and processed directly by
the computer.

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

Advantages: 1. High speed testing method, 2. Both yarn U% and CV% can be calculated.
Disadvantages: It is an indirect method of testing, 2. Other factors such as wastages, moisture etc.
can affect the test results.
Yarn faults classification:
1. Frequently occurring faults: These are faults occurring in the range of 10 to 5000 times
per 1000 m of yarn. Yarns spun from staple fibres contain imperfections, which can be
subdivided into three groups:

a) Thick places: +50% If the counter is actuated, the mass per unit length (cross section) at
the thick place is 150% or more of yarn mean value (> 4 mm length)

(Ranges: +100%, +70%, +50%, +35%)

b. Thin places: -50% only 50% of yarn mean value or less.

(Ranges: -60%, -50%, -40%, -30%)

c. Neps: +200% The thick place based on 1 mm length, is 300% of the yarn mean value or
more. Length shorter than 4 mm (however refers as a reference length of 1 mm)

(Ranges: +400%, +280%, +200%, +140%)

2. Seldom occurring faults: These are the thick and thin places in yam which occur so rarely
that spotting them would require testing at least 100,000 m of yarn. These faults may be
classified further into the following types:

a. Short thick places: 1 to 8 cm and above +100%

b. Long thick places: Above 8 cm and above +45%

c. Long thin places: Above 8 cm and less than -30%

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Spinning Educatee Yarn Evenness Testing (Lec-1+2) Spinning Educatee

Optical method for yarn evenness testing (Zweigle G580):

**The optical method measures the variations in diameter of a yarn and not in its mass.
** The instrument an infra-red transmitter and two identical receivers.
** The yarn passes at speed through one of the beams, blocking a portion of the light to
the measuring receiver.
** The intensity of this beam is compared with that measured by the reference receiver and
from the difference in intensities a measure of yarn diameter is obtained.
**For a constant level of twist in the yarn the mass of a given length is related to its
diameter by the equation:
Mass = CD2
Where, C = constant
D = diameter of yarn

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Spinningeducatee Yarn Hairiness Testing Spinningeducatee

Yarn Hairiness: Protruding fibres, loops (from the surface of yarn) and loosely wrapped wild
fibres constitute hairiness. Hairiness is a unique feature of staple fibre yarns that distinguishes it
from filament yarns.
Adverse effects of yarn hairiness:
Hairiness is generally regarded as undesirable because of the following reasons:
1. It adversely affects the appearance of yarns and fabrics. Hairiness is one of the factors that go
to determine the appearance grade of the yarn. Higher hairiness downgrades the appearance grade.
Hairiness in yarns leads to fuzzy and hazy appearance of fabric. According to Uster 15% of fabric
defects and quality problems stem from hairiness. Warp way streaks and weft bars are caused by
high hairiness and variation in hairiness. Periodic variation in hairiness has been traced to be a
cause for alternate thin and thick bands in fabrics.
2. It affects performance of yarn in subsequent stages. Adjoining warp threads cling together in
the loom shed because of long hairs in yarn, which in turn resist separation of sheet during
shedding. This leads to more warp breaks and fabric defects like stitches and floats.
3. Excessive lint droppings in sizing, loom shed and during knitting are encountered with hairy
yarns because of shedding of hairs and broken hairs.
4. In printed goods, prints will be hazy and lack sharpness if yarn is hairy.
5. In sewing, breakages will be high with hairy yarns and removal of hairiness by singeing is
invariably practiced.
6. Pilling tendency will be more with higher hairiness. Pilling is a major problem with knitted
and polyester blend fabrics.
7. Low strength in yarns.
8. In knitting needles are worn out quickly.

Advantages of yarn hairiness:

In spite of these drawbacks, hairiness has some beneficial effects. It adds to the textile character
of the fabric and contributes to comfort, liveliness, skin friendliness and warmth. This will be
apparent from a comparison of fabrics made from filament yarn and staple fibre yarn of the same
type of fibre and count. Fabric made from filament yarn will have 'plastic' feel. Warmth found in
woollen cardigans, shawls and flannel fabrics is to some extent due to hairiness.
Hairiness also adds to fullness and cover of fabric. Further hairiness assists weft insertion in air-
jet looms because of grip provided by it.
Removal of hairiness:
**Hairiness is removed or suppressed by singeing, waxing, application of lubricant, enzyme
treatment and sizing.
**Knitted fabrics are not singed. Yarn used for knitting is therefore waxed to lay the hairs on the
surface.
**Application of wax or surface-active agent reduces hairiness but affects absorbency of fabric.

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Spinningeducatee Yarn Hairiness Testing Spinningeducatee

Causes of Yarn Hairiness:

1. Raw Materials:
a) Fibre length and short fibre content have maximum influence on hairiness followed
by fibre fineness. As a result, any process from picking to ginning to opening of
cotton that results in fibre breakages will increase hairiness in yarns.
b) Hairiness is lowest with cottons of 4.2 - 4.4 micronaire. With low micronaire cottons,
fibre breakages will be higher and sticking tendency will also be more. As a result,
hairiness will be higher. With high micronaire cottons, fibre rigidity will be more
leading to higher hairiness.
c) Fibres prone to static generation generally result in hairier yarns because of repulsion
of fibres. This is the reason why yarns from polyester and other synthetic fibres have
higher hairiness than those from natural fibres.
d) Immature and dead fibres result in hairiness.

2. Yarn Parameters:
Coarser yarns have more hairiness than finer yarns because of higher number of fibres in
cross-section in the former. Hairiness reduces with increase in twist because of shorter
spinning triangle and more effective twisting in of surface fibres into yarn. Hairiness is
therefore more in hosiery yarns, which have low twist.
3. Process Parameters:
Inadequate drafting and orientation, Rubbery surfaces, life of devices or machine parts
etc. lead to yarn hairiness.

Measurement of hairiness:

Subjective Methods

Yarns can be graded for hairiness by comparison of appearance. Relative levels of hairiness in
two yarns can be easily judged by comparison of full bobbins. Wrapping the yarn on a
blackboard and comparing them can also be employed for grading hairiness.

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Spinningeducatee Yarn Hairiness Testing Spinningeducatee

Photoelectric Method

Shirley yarn hairiness tester:

Shirley yarn hairiness tester consists of a light beam shining on a small diameter photoreceptor
opposite to it. The yarn under test is run between the light and the receptor at a constant speed.
As a hair passes between the light and receptor the light beam is momentarily broken and an
electronic circuit counts the interruption as one hair. It counts the number of hairs longer than a
pre-selected length (between 0 and 10mm), usually 3mm. The instrument has two sets of yarn
guides as shown. The lower set leads the yarn over a guide at a fixed distance of 3mm from the
receptor. The upper set leads the yarn over a movable guide which can be set at a distance of
between 1 and 10mm from the receptor. The total number of hairs in a fixed length of yarn is
counted by counting for a given time, the yarn running at a known speed.

Zweigle Hairiness Tester:

This apparatus counts the number of hairs at distances from 1-25mm from the yarn edge. The
hairs are counted simultaneously by a set of photocells which are arranged at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10,
12, 15, 18, 21, and 25mm. The yarn is illuminated from the opposite side from the photocells and
as the yarn runs past the measuring station the hairs cut the light off momentarily from the
photocells, which causes the electrical circuits to count in a similar manner to that of the Shirley
instrument. The instrument measures the total number of hairs in each length category for the set
test length. The yarn speed is fixed at 50m/min but the length of yarn tested may be varied. The
zero point that is the position of the yarn edge relative to the photocells is adjusted while the yarn

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Spinningeducatee Yarn Hairiness Testing Spinningeducatee

is running by moving the yarn guides relative to the photocells. A further set of photocells is
used to locate the edge of the yarn during the setting up procedure.

Uster tester:

This device is produced as an attachment for the Uster evenness tester and is connected in place
of the normal measuring capacitor. In this instrument the yarn is illuminated by a parallel beam
of infrared light as it runs through the measuring head. Only the light that is scattered by fibres
protruding from the main body of the yarn reaches the detector. The direct light is blocked from
reaching the detector by an opaque stop.

The amount of scattered light is then a measure of hairiness and it is converted to an electrical
signal by the apparatus. The intensity of scattered light is proportional the length of hairiness.
Although it does not give any idea about long hair and short hair but it gives idea about total
length of hairs. The instrument is thus monitoring only total hairiness, but using the Uster
evenness data collection system can monitor changes in hairiness along the yarn by means of a
diagram, spectrogram, CV of hairiness, and mean hairiness in a manner similar to that used in
evenness testing.

Total length of the protruding fibres with reference to the sensing length of 1cm of yarn is called
yarn hariness index (H). Hairiness index of 4 means that the total protruding length of hairs in 1
cm length is 4 cm. While this method has the merit that it gives a single index to characte-rise the
hairiness, it has the drawback that it does not provide information on long length and short length
hairs separately. Thus two yarns may have the same hairiness index but one may have more long

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Spinningeducatee Yarn Hairiness Testing Spinningeducatee

hairs and fewer short hairs than other. Since long hairs are more objectionable than short hairs,
information on the level of hairs as per their length will be more useful.

Premier Electronic Tester:

Premier Qualicenter, which is similar to Uster tester, has an attachment to measure hairiness by
hair count as well as Hairiness index method.

Online Hairiness measurement:

Barco profile optical measuring unit, Uster Quantum clearer and Loepfe yarn spectra and lab
pack enable online measurement of yarn diameter and hairiness.

Weighing technique

Difference in the mass of yarn before and after singeing(17) is used as a measure of hairiness.
Flaw in this method is that a large amount of yarn has to be singed to get an accurate estimate.
Moreover, singeing does not fully remove fully projecting hairs particularly of shorter length.

****Surface hairiness of fabric can be measured by:

1. Low pressure compression testing

2. Modified audio pick up method
3. Laser counting of fibers.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Tensile Testing of Fabric:

Tensile strength is one of the most important mechanical properties for woven fabrics. To
quantify the tensile strength of a piece of fabric, two testing methods are often used, namely the
grab test and the strip test. Both testing methods have been standardized as the ASTM standard
D5034-95 for the grab test and D5035-95 for the striptest, respectively.
Strip Test:
**It is very common for fabric tensile testing. Samples are cut (6cm×30 cm) parallel to warp and
weft.
**In this method a fabric strip is extended to its breaking point by a suitable mechanical means
which can record the breaking load and extension.
***Samples are then frayed to get 5 cm wide specimen.
** 5 cm from top and 5 cm from bottom will nipped by Jaw. SO, effective dimension of
specimen will be 5 cm ×20 cm.
***For heavily milled fabrics, no fraying is done (5 cm x 30 cm).
**The rate of extension is set to 50mm/min and gauge length is 200mm. pretension is 1% of the
probable breaking load.
**Any breaks that occur within 5mm of the jaws or at loads substantially less than the average
should be rejected.
** However, strip test is not similar to practical uses. We don’t use strip of fabric in practical
life.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Distinguish between cut strip test and raveled strip test:

For ravelled strip test, the specimen is cut wider than the specified testing width. The ravelled
strip test is applicable to woven fabrics, whereas the cut strip test is applicable to non-woven
fabrics and dipped or coated fabrics.

Grab Test:
**Fundamentally different from strip test.
**The grab test uses jaw faces which are considerably narrower than the fabric, so avoiding the
need to fray the fabric to width and hence making it a simpler and quicker test to carry out.
**The gauge length is 75mm and speed is adjusted so that the sample is broken in 20±3s.
**In this test, there is a certain amount of assistance from yarns adjacent to the central stressed
area so that the strength measured is higher.
** The testing condition is closer to the load application on a fabric in practical use.
** This test method is not recommended for knitted fabrics and other textile fabrics having more
than 11% elongation.
** Principle of constant rate of extension is also used here.

Mathematical Problems:
1. A fabric of aerial density 200 g/m2 is tested in a tensile tester for strip tensile strength
with 5 cm wide strip and 20 cm gauge length. The breaking load is found to be 45.5 kgf.
What will be the tenacity of fabric in g/tex?

Actual area of specimen= 20×5 cm2 = 100 cm2 = 0.01 m2

So, mass of the test specimen = 200× 0.01 gm = 2 gm
Length of strip= 20 cm= 0.2 m
Linear density of strip (Tex) = (2/0.2) × 1000 = 10000 Tex
Tenacity of fabric (g/tex) = (breaking load in gf) / (Tex) = 45500 gf/ 10000
= 4.55 g/tex
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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Fabric Bursting Strength:

** Tensile test is unidirectional and thus suitable for woven fabrics where definite warp and weft
direction strength is measured.
** In case of knitted or nonwoven fabrics, where no definite alignment of yarns/fibres is there,
multidirectional force is required.
** Some fabrics (even woven also) stressed in all direction during use (parachute, filters, sacks,
nets etc.)
** These types of fabrics more likely to fail by bursting in service than it is to break by a straight
tensile fracture.
** Bursting strength is a method of measuring strength in which the material is stressed in all the
directions at the same time and is therefore more suitable for materials such as knitted fabrics,
lace or non-woven.
**Fabrics used in parachute, filters, sacks and nets are simultaneously stressed in all the
directions during service. In service, a fabric is more likely to fail by bursting than by a straight
tensile fracture.
**Example: The stress present at elbows and knees of clothing. During a test a fabric fails across
the direction which has the lowest breaking extension.
**Fabric fails across the direction which has lowest breaking extension. Because in all the
directions the fabric undergoes the same extension. This is not necessarily the direction with the
lowest strength.
**Strength of fabric will not be attributed from portion having higher breaking extension
whereas maximum will be attributed from the portion having lowest extension. As a result,
sharing of load will not be effective.
Measurement of Fabric Bursting Strength:
A) Diaphragm bursting test:
In this test the fabric sample is clamped over a rubber diaphragm by means of an annular
clamping ring. An increasing fluid pressure is applied to the underside of the diaphragm until the
specimen bursts. The operating fluid may be a liquid or a gas. Specimens of two sizes are used;
30mm and 113mm. The fabric sample is clamped over the rubber diaphragm. The pressure in the
fluid increases at such a rate that the specimen bursts within 20 ± 3 sec. (P1). The height
(extension) of the diaphragm is noted. Another test is carried out without a specimen till the
height of diaphragm is reached. The pressure to do this is noted and then deducted from the
earlier reading. (P1 - P2) is the actual bursting strength of the specimen.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Disadvantages of Diaphragm bursting test:

1. Fabrics with very high extensibility (knitted fabrics) creates problem because the rubber
diaphragm has to stretch to the same amount. Woven fabric like parachute have low
extenstion that’s why diaphragm testing is suitable for parachute but not for geotextiles.
2. Blank test is required, which needs accuracy, or pressure – distance calibration chart is
required.
3. Spilling of liquid may occur or chances of leakage.
4. Diameter of the specimen may be varied.
5. Crimp percentage in warp and weft plays an important role. For similar yarn, the
direction with lower crimp percentage will break.

(a) Ball bursting strength:

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

25mm diameter ball is pushed through the stretched fabric and force required is recorded. By the
steel ball downward force apply at constant rate until the sample break. Ball bursting follow the
CRE method.
The US standard ASTM D 3787 specifies a 1.0000 inch diameter ball (25.4mm) with a clamp
diameter of 1.75 inch (44.45mm) and a speed of 12 inch/min (305mm/min).
The British Standard for coated fabrics BS 3424 specifies a very similar dimension with a ball
diameter of 25.2mm, a clamp diameter of 45mm and a testing speed of 5mm/s.

Advantages and disadvantages:

**Diaphragm bursting test is not suitable for highly stretchable fabrics.
** Errors due to diaphragm expansion.
** This test can be performed using an attachment on a standard tensile testing m/c.
** In diaphragm pressure is measured, but here force is measured.
** No limit to the amount that a sample can be extended.
** The load cell operates in compression mode.
** In practical life, ball bursting test is similar for fabric failure.

Tearing Strength of Fabric:

**A fabric tears when it is snagged by a sharp object and the immediate small puncher is
converted into long rip by what may be a very small extra effort.
**It is probably the most common type of strength failure of fabrics in use.
**It is particularly important in industrial fabrics that are exposed to rough handling. (e.g. Tents,
Sacks, Parachutes, etc.)
**In some applications low tear strength is require, e.g. Adhesive tape, bandages, etc.
**Tearing strength is defined (ASTM D1682) as the force required to start or to continue to tear
a fabric, in either weft or warp direction, under specified conditions.
**Tear strength is the resistance of the fabric against tearing or force required to propagate the
tear once it is initiated. The fabric tear property measured is the force required to propagate an
existing tear and not the force required to initiate a tear.
** High tear strength of textiles make sure that the punctures in the fabrics doesn't propagates
easily.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

**Factors affecting tear strength:

**Threads break singly or in very small groups. So single thread strength is of great importance.
** Yarn sliding is necessary for high tear strength.
**In loose fabric structure, grouping of threads occurs, resulting higher tear strength.
**Also fabrics with smooth yarns show higher tear strength.
**High-sett fabric reduces thread movement, so tear strength drops considerably.
**Open structure fabric will have higher tear strength than that of compact structure.
** Yarn with lower frictional properties will be resulted in higher tearing strength of fabric.
**Scoured, bleached fabric have lower tear strength than normal fabric because of increasing
friction.

**Measurement of fabric tearing strength:

Single rip tear test / Tongue tear test:
***It can be tested by any normal tensile strength tester that is based on CRE principle.
***Tail ‘A’ is clamped in lower jaw and ‘B’ in upper jaw.
**Speed 50mm/min or 300mm/min.
**The separation of jaws causes the tear to proceed through uncut part.
**Averages of the five highest peaks are taken as tear strength.
**Depending on the directing of testing, the tear strength of warp or weft yarns are report.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Double rip tear test:

**The central one is gripped in one jaw and outer two is other jaw.
**Two tears are simultaneously made so it is known as double rip.
Limitation of single or double rip tear test:
Huge difference of warp and weft yarn strength may be resulting in the change of direction for
tear propagation. So, result will be wrong.
Wing rip tear test:
**It does not transfer the direction of tear. In other methods, due to wide difference in tear
strength of warp and weft the direction of tear changes from high to low.
**During the test, the point of tearing remains substantially in line with the centre of the grips.
**Also for non-woven fabric, this method is suitable.
**Not suitable for loosely constructed fabrics, (fail by slippage of yarns rather than by rupture of
thread).
**Tested at CRE m/c with 100mm/min speed.
**Highest peak or mean of five peaks are taken.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Strength Testing Spinningeducatee

Elmendorf tear tester (Pendulum lever principle):

1. Pendulum lever principle is used here.
2. The apparatus consists of a sector shaped pendulum carrying a moving sample clamp & a
fixed clamp on the frame.
3. When the pendulum is in the raised to starting position, the specimen is transferred
between the two clamps.
4. The tear is started by a slit cut in the specimen between the clamps.
5. The pendulum is then released & the specimen is torn as the moving clamp, moving away
from the fixes clamp.
6. In the test, the Elmendorf continuous to tear the fabric from the end of the slit to the
opposite edge
7. The pointer attached to the pendulum, which is graduated to read the tearing force
directly.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Pilling Testing Spinningeducatee

Pilling: “Pilling” is a fabric-surface fault in which pills of entangled fibres cling to the cloth
surface, giving a bad appearance to the garment. The entanglements of loose fibres that appear
on the fabric surface are called “pills” It degrades the appearance and handle of the textile article
concerned.
**Pills are developed on a fabric surface in four main stages: fuzz formation, entanglement,
growth, and wear-off.
***Pilling resistance and fabric durability are inversely related.
Causes of pilling:

1. Immature cotton fiber, finer fiber, fiber with high lateral strength, yarn with low twist
lead to high level of pill formation in general.
2. Natural fibres like cotton exhibit some pilling, but it goes unnoticed because of its
inherent weakness: the pills are tiny and fall off quickly.
3. Compact structure has lower level of pilling possibility.
4. Higher breaking strength and lower bending stiffness results more pill.
5. Low pill polyester fiber has lower lateral strength by modifying its molecular structure.
6. High hairiness in yarn resulted in fabric pilling.

Different methods of controlling the pilling in textile fibres & fabrics:

Shearing or Cropping, Singeing, brushing of compact fabric, using Anti-pilling fibres,
Application of enzymes (bio-finish) to 100% cotton textiles to cause removal of loose fibres in
the yarn to reduce pilling tendency. Etc.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Pilling Testing Spinningeducatee

Measurement of fabric pilling:

a) Objective method: Counting the number of pills or by removing and weighting

them. Time consuming, also does not take into account the degree of colour contrast
with the ground. Two fabrics may have similar number of pills but one may be
objectionable because of color contrast.
b) Subjective method: By comparing it with either standard sample or with photograph
or by the use of a written scale of severity.

Methods of Measurement:
1. ICI pilling box
**A specimen (125 mm x 125 mm) is cut from fabric (2 for warp 2 for weft).
** Stitched face-to-face and turned inside out.
** The fabric tube is then mounted on rubber tubes
** The loose ends taped with PVC tape.
** All the four samples are then tumbled together in a cork-lined box 9'' x 9'' x 9'' and
allowed for required revolution cycle.
** The specimens are taken out and removed from rubber tube and rated.
** Also, pilling is mainly due to fibres with very high “lateral strength” or "bending
strength" or “low brittleness”.
** Total =18000 revolution are made. Speed= 60 rpm.

PILLING GRADES:
Grade 5: No or very weak formation of pills.
Grade 4: Weak formations of pills.
Grade 3: Moderate formations of pills.
Grade 2: Obvious formations of pills.
Grade 1: Severe formation of pills.

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Pilling Testing Spinningeducatee

2. Random tumbling pilling test

**Random tumbling motion produced by tumbling specimen in a cylindrical test chamber
lined with mildly abrasive material.
** To resemble the pills those with actual wear, small amount of cotton lint is added.
** Three specimen of 105 mm x 105 mm are cut an angle 45º to length and edges are sealed
with rubber adhesive.
** All these samples along with cotton lint are tumbled in the test chamber.
** After certain time the fabric samples are assessed. The number and timing of the cycles
depends on type of fabric being tested and would be laid down in the relevant specification.
** Aluminum impellers rotating at a constant speed of approximately 1200 rpm for periods
of up to 60 minutes.

3. Pilling test by Martindale Abrasion Tester

** The fabric is subjected to the wear action by two abrasive wheels pressing onto a
rotating sample.
** Specimens are circular of either 38 mm or 140 mm in diameter.
** The specimens are mounted on large (bottom) and small (top) specimen holder.
**** Normally the abradant is a small disc of either silicon carbide paper or woven
worsted wool mounted over felt.
** Behind the abradant is a standard backing felt which is replaced at longer intervals.
** Two pressures are used : 2.5 cN/cm knitted fabric. 6.5 cN/cm for woven and
upholstery fabric.
** In place of std. abradant, the fabric sample is placed in the lower holder.
** Then rubbed against each other (source sample).
** The instrument subjects specimens to a rubbing motion in a straight line that widens
into an ellipse and gradually changes into a straight line in the opposite direction. This

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Spinningeducatee Fabric Pilling Testing Spinningeducatee

pattern of rubbing is repeated until fabric threads are broken or until a shade change
occurs in the fabric being tested.
**** Samples are rubbed against known abradents at low pressures and in continuously
changing directions and the amount of abrasion or pilling is compared against standard
parameters.
**** The number and timing of the cycles depend on the type of fabric tested and would
be laid down in the relevant specification.
** If the degree of pilling is different on the upper and lower holder, the upper specimen
is assessed.

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