Validity of Washburn’s equation in sericin treated polyester fabric

Abstract

Application of sericin to polyester and cotton fabrics will bring about a number of advantages in that the materials become hydrophilic and are capable of imparting antimicrobial effect. Also, the materials can be dyed using reactive dyes. A considerable amount of work has been carried out on the application of sericin to polyester and cotton fabrics. Wickability of treated fabrics has been studied and it was demonstrated that there was an improvement. A detailed analysis of study is warranted on wickability as the work done on it was scant. It is necessary to validate Washburn’s equation which constitutes an important component of kinetics of wicking in this paper. The validity of Washburn’s equation for a set of data on wickability of sericin treated polyester fabrics is studied. Untreated polyester fabric and treated with caustic soda and plasma followed by sericin treatment using DMDHEU and Glutaraldehyde were taken for wicking studies. Two models were used. From the slopes it is found that Washburn’s equation is followed.