Improvements in the Ratio of Wash-Wear Performance/Mechanical Strength by Microstretching and Core-Crosslinking

Abstract

The effects of two different methods—microstretching and core-crosslinking—capable of reducing strength losses in cotton fabrics caused by cross-linking reactions are described Microstretching, a method in which fabrics are subjected to incremental stretching, reduces tensile and tear strength losses in filling direction, but does not alter abrasion resistance The effect of such stretching treatments on sonic velocity, x-ray diffraction, and accessibility to water vapor has been also investigated. In the core cross-linking method, cross links are obtained predominantly in the core of individual fibers. Very substantial improvements in abrasion resistance are obtained, with lesser improvements in tensile and tear strengths. The effects of core-crosslinking on the accessibility of cotton to water vapor, speed of sound and evenness of abrasion have been investigated. Cotton fabrics subjected to repeated laundering and to laboratory abrasion tests show that after laundering and some laboratory tests the appearance of core-crosslinked fibers lies between that of uncross-linked and conventionally cross-linked fibers. The wear mechanisms leading to fiber failure are not the same for different abrasion techniques Data are given on wear trials and on the joint application of microstretching and core-crosslinking on the same fabric and on results of preliminary core-cross-linking trials on polynosic fibers, cotton/polynosic blends, and linen.