The Design and Development of Photochromic Jacquard Woven Fabric

Abstract

The jacquard woven fabric is often composed of dyed yarns to demonstrate brilliant colors and ever-changing patterns. Currently, the innovation of most jacquard woven fabrics focuses on pattern design, complicated weave structure and weaving process. To endow traditional jacquard woven fabric with functionality for value-added applications, it is necessary to combine artistic jacquard woven fabrics with functional yarns. To achieve this goal, the photochromic jacquard woven fabric has been developed by using photochromic yarn as weft yarn for reversible color change effect under sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) light. The design of photochromic jacquard woven fabric includes fabric pattern design and process design. Three jacquard woven fabric samples have been developed by changing two process parameters including weft density and weave structure. The effect of weft density and weft-float length on the photochromic performance of the jacquard woven fabrics has been investigated by comparing the coloration time and the color recovery time of fabricated samples with various weft densities and different weave structures under natural sunlight. The results show that as the jacquard woven fabric’s weft density increases, the coloration and color recovery time of jacquard woven fabric is prolonged. Similarly, with longer weft-float in the fabric weave structure of the same pattern, the color recovery time of jacquard woven fabric is prolonged. The design and development of the photochromic jacquard woven fabric not only indicate the fabric’s aesthetic value, but also provide practical reference for the design of smart fabrics.