Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute field trip #2

     

     On the twelfth of September we as a class went on a field trip to the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute to review the testing of fiber.  These are the different machines that tested fabrics.  First machine was the Martindale Abrasion Tester.  The next machine tested the dimensional changes of fabrics accelerated.  The machine itself was not in the room but received a handout describing the testing process.  Breaking Force and Elongation of Textiles Fabrics were the next two.  Tearing Strength Elmendorf Method testing machine was next in line to view.  The last machine that we were shown was a Random Tumble Pilling Tester.   This blog is going to focus on the Martindale Abrasion Tester.

     Abrasion resistance of textile fabrics, the wear ability of textiles in other words, is determined by the Martindale Abrasion Tester.  All fabrics can be tested on the machine but when pile depths are greater than .08 inches, difficulties may arise.  The fabric specimen is subjected to a rubbing motion in order to measure the abrasion resistance.

     Two fabrics are used on the abrading table.  A felt fabric and an abrading fabric made up of a plain weave, crossbred, or worsted wool fabric for the abrasion.  The felt is placed first then the abrasion cloth is placed over it.  The pressing weight is then placed on top of the abrasive cloth, and then the clap ring is placed over the weight and locked into place (FBRI handout).  A 38mm diameter swatch of test fabric and a fabric of polyether urethane foam of the same size is cut.  Any fabric below 500 g/m², the polyether urethane must be used as a backing.  The machine is programmable to input a set number of rubs required for each individual testing.  The machine can be manually stopped.  Upon completion of the testing, three options are used to evaluate the fabric.

Option 1: When two or more yarns on a woven fabric has broken, the end point has been

              reached, or on a knitted fabric when a hole appears.

Option 2: When there is a change in shade or appearance that is sufficient to cause a customer

              to complain the testing is complete.   
Option 3: Determine the mass loss as the difference between the masses before and after

              abrasions.  This loss may be expressed as a percentage of the before abrasion mass

              (FBRI handout).     

     We as a class went to the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute to review their different testing procedures.  While there were many different testing machines my focus is on the Martindale Abrasion Tester.  The wear ability of textile fabrics is the kind of material tested on this machine.  All fabrics can be tested but pile depths greater than .08 inches will be challenging.  A rubbing motion is subjected to the fabric specimen to get a abrasion resistance measurement.  A felt fabric and an abrading fabric made up of plain weave, crossbred, or worsted wool fabric for the abrasion are used on the abrating table.  A set number of rubs can be programmed or just stopped manually.  Finally there are three options used to evaluate the fabric.

Reference

(1) Handouts given by the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute