Textile Testing
Presented by
Mike Wilding
The School of Materials
University of Manchester, UK
你好大家
歡迎
ZUT-Testing: Introduction & Background
1
General Introduction
 Reasons for Testing
 Historical Background
 Special Nature of Textile Materials
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Suggested Reading
• JE Booth
"Principles of Textile Testing” (1983)
Newness-Butterworth
ISBN: 0408014873
• BP Saville
“Physical Testing of Textiles” (1999)
Woodhead, Cambridge
ISBN: 1855733676
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Testing of what?
• Fibres
 Yarns
 Fabrics
 Finished products
-
fashion & everyday clothing
protective clothing (fire protection etc)
home furnishings (bed-linen, curtains …)
industrial (tyres, filters, geotextiles …)
etc
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Testing for what?
“Fitness for purpose”
This usually means measuring …
Performance properties
• Physical/mechanical
• Chemical
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Why test?
Some reasons …
• Quality Control/Consistency
You can’t control if you can’t measure
 Research & Development
Is the new better than the old?
 Sales & Marketing
“Our product is 50% stronger than theirs!”
 Other
eg forensics & crime investigation
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Testing is normally
carried out according to a
“STANDARD”
What does that mean?
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A standard is like a recipe (食谱)
… a set of detailed instructions
• ensures consistency
• results can be communicated widely
• understood by any trained person
What do standards cover?
 Test methods
 Specifications of construction
 Performance criteria
Who sets them?
 Buyers (eg retailers)
 Manufacturers
 Government agencies
 Standards organisations
BSI, ISO, ASTM ...
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Historical Background
Full testing of textile products was
uncommon before the mid-20th Century
because …
 Textile materials are very complicated
- not much real understanding before ~1945
 Product applications were rarely critical
- lives didn’t usually depend on them
 There were not many different products
- 60 years ago, almost all workwear was cotton
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Testing in the 21st Century …
 Huge range of products
- Many more than 1000,000
 Many demanding applications
- lives often depend on them
 Value for money
- assumed by customers as a right
 Mobile workforce
- 50 years ago, expertise stayed in one place
 Computers & electronic communication
- made testing easier … or even possible!
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The complexity of textile products
Molecular properties
(complex)
Fibre properties
(complex/variable)
Yarn properties
(v. complex/variable)
+
+
Arrangement of
molecules (irregular)
Arrangement of fibres
+
(fairly regular)
Yarn structure
(more regular)
Fabric Properties
(... ?)
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Some Materials are Simple …
(compared to textiles!)
你好
ZUT-Testing: Introduction & Background
13
Some Further Points
 Wide variety of properties
- rarely just one important
 Requirements often seem contradictory
strong but stretchy
stable at high temperatures but ironable
wear resistant but good handle, etc
 Over-design may cause problems
eg if too strong may also be too stiff
(tight safety margins)
 Very variable
- statistics greatly important
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