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Fabric Dimensional Stability Shrinkage Testing
2018/06/07
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Textile fabrics will come about dimensional instability such as shrink when they were washed or heated during process and use. For instance, put in water, fibers of fabrics like cotton and viscose absorb water completely, leading to fiber’s horizontal inflation. Diameter is increased more while length is increased less, which results in enlarging flexibility of warp and weft yarns, so that fabrics become thick and dimension is shortened.
Fabric Shrinkage Rate Test
Shrinkage rate refers to the percentage that fabrics’ size presents shrink when washed or soaked, which is also an indicator of measuring the degree of fabric shrinkage. The level of fabric shrinkage rate is one of the criteria to measure product quality. The commonly used shrinkage rate test methods are mainly mechanical shrinkage method and dipping method.
A. Mechanical Shrinkage Method
a) Test Apparatus and Materials
Shrinkage Tester (Figure 5), AATCC 1993 Standard Detergent WOB, No Phosphorus ECE Standard Detergent, Oven, Scale, Sewing Thread, Pen, Fabrics, etc.
b) Test Principle
Fabrics with specified dimension are handled in water of a certain temperature in a certain time; then measure the length change in the warp and weft direction after fabrics are dried and evaluate shrinkage of fabrics. Mechanical Shrinkage Method usually adopts shrinkage tester to complete the test, and it is divided into two types: cylinder washing machine adding materials from the front door, stirring washing machine adding materials from the top.
c) Test Method
Sample preparation.
Choose smooth sample with no obvious crease, and its size should no less than 500mm*500mm; if width is less than 500mm, complete sample can be used, whose length is at least 500mm. Sample is made 3 pairs of marks along the warp and weft direction. The space of marks should be not less than 350mm; marks from the edge of cloth should be not less than 50mm. When necessary, sample of 250mm*250mm can be used, and 3 pairs of marks are made on the sample in the length and width direction, each pair of whose space is 200mm.
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