Car Upholstery Research Articles

Into the Revolution of NanoFusion: Merging High Performance and Aesthetics by Nanomaterials in Textile Finishes

AbstractThe field of technical textiles has grown significantly during the last two decades, with a focus on functionality rather than aesthetics. However, the advancement of NanoFusion technology provides a novel potential to combine better functionality and aesthetic value in textile finishes. NanoFusion incorporates nanoparticles into textile treatments to improve waterproofing, stain resistance, durability, and breathability. This is performed without affecting the textile's visual appeal or aesthetics and may even improve them. This textile finishing revolution is expected to impact industries such as athletics, outdoor clothing, car upholstery, and luxury fashion. It offers cutting‐edge functionality while maintaining style and design integrity. Furthermore, the use of nanoparticle textile coatings opens up new opportunities for personalization and modification. Manufacturers and designers can now experiment with different color combinations, patterns, and textured finishes while maintaining performance characteristics. NanoFusion technology has the potential to transform the textile industry by providing hitherto unattainable levels of performance and aesthetics. This study reviews the current state of the art in nanofinishes for garment textiles, focusing on their many varieties, techniques, mechanisms, and applications. In addition, it addresses significant concerns such as sustainability and the environmental footprint, paving the way for a new era in textile manufacturing.

The Influence of the Content of Recycled Natural Leather Residue Particles on the Properties of High-Density Fiberboards.

During the production of furniture, large amounts of waste materials are generated, which are most often stored in warehouses without a specific purpose for their subsequent use. In highly developed countries, as many as 25 million tons of textile waste are produced annually, of which approximately 40% is non-clothing waste such as carpets, furniture and car upholstery. The aim of this research was to produce and evaluate dry-formed high-density fiberboards (HDF) bonded with urea-formaldehyde resin, 12% resination, with various shares of recycled particles of natural leather used in upholstery furniture production at different contents (1, 5 and 10% by weight). The panels were hot-pressed (200 °C, 2.5 MPa, pressing factor 20 s mm-1). Mechanical properties (modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and screw withdrawal resistance) and physical properties (density profile, thickness swelling after water immersion, water absorption and surface absorption) were tested. The density profile and contact angle of natural leather have been also characterized. The results show that increasing the content of leather particles in HDF mostly has a positive effect on mechanical properties, especially screw withdrawal resistance and water absorption. It can be concluded that, depending on the further use of HDF, it is possible to use recovered upholstery leather particles as a reasonable addition to wood fibers in HDF technology.

Influence of the content of recycled artificial leather waste particles in particleboards on their selected properties

Influence of the content of recycled artificial leather waste particles in particleboards on their selected properties. Artificial leather is a layered fabric-plastic composite that resembles natural leather in appearance. Due to its wide range of advantages, artificial leather is widely used as an upholstery material in the renovation and production of furniture or even car upholstery. The aim of the research was to manage upholstery leather waste by adding previously shredded particles of artificial leather of different contents (5, 10, 25 and 50% by weight) to particleboard. Tests of selected mechanical properties (bending strength and modulus of elasticity and resistance to screw withdrawal) and physical properties (density profile, thickness swelling after immersion in water) were completed. It can be concluded that, depending on the further use of the board, there is a possibility of using the recovered artificial leather particles as a reasonable addition to wood fibres in the production of particleboard.

Multi-criteria decision analysis for supporting the selection of car upholstery fabric under degradation due to UV exposure

Automotive textiles are one of the most important markets in the technical textile sector. Various types of requirements must be considered in the development of the interior fabrics to satisfy both esthetic and functional demands. Many factors are affecting the properties of the car upholstery fabrics, for instance textile material, yarn specifications, fabric construction, and finishing material as well as combined with UV and light resistance. The influence of UV radiation on the degradation rate involves several parameters such as fabric tenacity, elongation, abrasion resistance, and flammability, under exposure to sunlight for several exposure times. Consequently, it’s important to determine the degradation of the automotive textiles according to area where it will be served. Generally, several properties are prerequisites should be all together considered to selected car upholstery fabric, basis on overseeing several requirements and ranking the candidate fabric properties. In this paper, an approach to choose the optimal material for a given component is described, and fabric properties are classified given each a suitable weight. In a simulation of a car cabin in shape and conditions, a radiation chamber was constructed to expose different fabric specimens to sun light. Two evaluation methods were proposed for the ranking of the car upholstery material, made of different fabrics, according to its property loss due to UV exposure during severability. It was found that polyester and nylon are ranked to be the best materials for automobile upholstery.

Primena forenzičke analize u tekstilu i hemiji

Evidence must be presented neatly and with care to solve forensic cases because the ability to resolve legal cases depends only on the availability of appropriate evidence. Evidence is used to uncover connections between the victim, the place and time of the incident, and the perpetrator in order to resolve the incident. One of the most important types of evidence examined in forensic investigations is textile materials. Because everyone who commits a crime or is a victim of crime is in contact with textile surfaces. Textile products such as clothing, furniture, knife marks on fabric, blood on car upholstery, vehicle upholstery found at the crime scene can be used as evidence to help solve the crime. During forensic examination, fibers can be classified according to certain criteria such as colour, shape, surface texture, thickness, fluorescent properties, and chemical composition. As a result of examining these classifications, the case can be clarified as quickly as possible. Otherwise, finding the perpetrator may become more difficult as time goes on.

Investigation of some factors from the technological processing of leather for upholstery of car seats on their flammability

Natural leather is widely used for car upholstery and has a non-flammability requirement. In the present work, bovine leather intended for upholstery for car seats are studied. Various technological schemes of tanning have been applied, including combined; various finishing methods have been applied and two flame retardants have been used, namely Firex LFS and Flacavon B-45. It was found that the studied methods of combined tanning of investigated leathers do not affect the colour fastness to dry and wet rubbing, but the highest total flame combustion time of the source is given by aluminium-chromium re-tanned leathers and this indicator decreases depending on the type of re-tanning of the tested samples in the following order: chrome, aluminium, vegetable. Flacavon B-45 showed higher efficiency in terms of flame retardancy of the investigated leathers.

Development of acoustic insulating materials from recycled textile fiber

Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for recycling materials and hence for greater environmental friendliness. The issue of waste management and recycling is a very actual topic in the society of most developed countries. One area where the vast amount of waste is generated every year is the textile industry. Textile waste (old clothing, fashion accessories, car upholstery, home textiles and other textile products) is most often made up of a combination of different types of natural fibers (cotton, silk) and man-made fibers (polyester, viscose). Thanks to the large amount of this waste and recycling technologies available, the secondary textile fibers are an interesting secondary raw material that can be used for the production of thermal and acoustic insulators. The article describes research results in the development of medium and heavy insulating mats usable in vertical constructions and floating floor structures.

Natural leather car upholstery – characteristics and sewing challenges

This paper gives an overview of materials and specifics in production of upholstery for vehicles. Special attention has been paid to natural leather as one of the most luxurious materials for the manufacture of car interior upholstery materials. Its properties, advantages and disadvantages are compared with textile materials. The quality of suitable seams is one of the most challenging tasks in making upholstery. In this paper, special emphasis is placed on cutting and sewing natural leather used for making car interior upholstery. Natural leather is a specific natural material that gives a touch of luxury to car seats and interiors. Durability, high price and lower market offer of leather lead to its restricted use for car upholstery compared to textile materials; however, these reasons in particular make it extremely desirable at the same time. According to previous research, cutting and sewing of leather car upholstery require greater attention also when choosing the appropriate leather, sewing machine, thread, needle and seam type, which will give satisfactory properties of the car upholstery in all segments. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to professional knowledge and specifics related to natural leather, its use for car seats and the proper quality of the sewn seam.

Thermal and water vapor transmission through porous warp knitted 3D spacer fabrics for car upholstery applications

This paper deals with water vapor transmission and thermal properties of various warp knitted spacer fabrics. In this work, thermal and water vapor permeability of different spacer fabrics have been evaluated by varying the structure, areal density, thickness, type of raw materials, etc. The air permeability and water vapor transmission of the fabrics were measured using the Textest FX-3300 air permeability tester and PERMETEST. The thermal behavior of fabrics was evaluated by Alambeta instrument. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed using new statistical software in order to compare the influence of different fabric parameters on thermo-physiological behavior of samples. This study established that the raw materials, type of spacer yarn, density, thickness, and tightness of surface layer have significant influence on thermal conductivity in spacer fabrics. The parameters which mainly influence the water vapor permeability of these fabrics are porosity, density, and thickness. The empirical model for thermal conductivity calculation shows very high accuracy when compared with experimental results. The statistical model for spacer fabrics also predicts the thermo-physiological properties with very high accuracy. These findings are important requirements for further designing of spacer fabrics for car seats and back supports.

Tracers as invisible evidence — The transfer and persistence of flock fibres during a car exchange

This study assessed the recovery of flock fibres used as a tracer in a car exchange scenario. Flock fibres were deposited onto a car seat (or model thereof) and their transfer and persistence was investigated after a real or simulated car exchange. The overall aim of this study was to achieve an optimal use of flock fibres as tracers, i.e. to be able to select a fit-for-purpose flock fibre, to be able to predict the amount of flock fibres to be recovered from crime related items, and to be able to use these numbers to exclude accidental uptake. The effect of a number of variables on the transfer and persistence of flock fibres was studied, including flock fibre length, car upholstery, and trousers material. Laboratory based experiments were undertaken first, followed by realistic field based experiments. The flock fibres were captured in a non-destructive manner through fluorescence photography. A Matlab algorithm enabled fast automated counting of flock fibres on the images. Results indicate that an initial rapid loss of flock fibres from garments may be expected as a result of moderate movement. Although the amount of flock fibres to be recovered is affected by the flock fibre length, the type of car upholstery, and the type of trousers materials (if frictional force is taken into consideration), large numbers of flock fibres have been recovered from all target materials throughout the transfer route. These numbers are higher than the amount of flock fibres recovered due to accidental uptake. In conclusion, flock fibres can serve as invisible evidence to reconstruct a series of events.

Clinical and immunologic findings of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate‐induced occupational asthma in a car upholstery factory

Although methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) is widely used in many industries, there have been few immunological studies of MDI-induced occupational asthma. We investigated the effects of MDI exposure on the clinical and immunologic condition of workers in a single car upholstery factory. Fifty-eight MDI-exposed workers were studied. Work-related lower-respiratory symptoms (WRRS) were identified using a questionnaire. Serum-specific IgE and IgG antibodies to MDI-human serum albumin conjugate were detected by ELISA. Atopy was evaluated using a skin prick test. MDI-induced occupational asthma was confirmed in the symptomatic workers with a positive result on an MDI-specific inhalation test. Thirteen (22.4%) of the subjects complained of WRRS. MDI-induced occupational asthma was confirmed in five (8.6%) of the workers, and occupational eosinophilic bronchitis was confirmed in two (3.5%). The prevalence of specific IgG antibodies (20.7%) was higher than that of specific IgE antibodies (8.6%). The prevalence of MDI-induced occupational asthma/eosinophilic bronchitis was strongly associated with the presence of both WRRS and serum-specific IgG antibodies to an MDI-human serum albumin conjugate (P<0.01, <0.05, respectively). These findings suggest that MDI could be a causative agent of occupational asthma among MDI-exposed workers. The prevalence of MDI-induced occupational asthma was 8.6%, and MDI-induced eosinophilic bronchitis was confirmed in two workers. The presence of work-related lower-respiratory symptoms and serum-specific IgG antibodies to an MDI-human serum albumin conjugate may be used to predict MDI-induced occupational asthma/eosinophilic bronchitis in MDI-exposed workers.

Clinical and immunologic findings of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate -induced occupational asthma in a single car upholstery

Clinical and immunologic findings of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate -induced occupational asthma in a single car upholstery

Genotoxic risk and oxidative DNA damage in workers exposed to antimony trioxide.

The growing use of antimony (Sb) compounds in industry and the consequent increase in the number of exposed workers make it important to carry out a health risk assessment. The main goal of this study was to assess the genotoxicity of Sb(2)O(3) in occupationally exposed workers. Genotoxicity was evaluated by the sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronucleus tests, and the enzyme (Fpg)-modified comet assay. In addition, antimony exposure levels were established by environmental monitoring with personal air samplers. We studied 23 male workers assigned to different fire retardant treatment tasks in the car upholstery industry and a control group of 23 healthy nonexposed males. The exposed workers were divided into two groups on the basis of their tasks and the work cycle: Group A comprised finishing and intermediate inspection operators who directly handled a mixture containing Sb(2)O(3); Group B were jet operators, not directly exposed to the compound. Environmental monitoring detected low Sb exposure levels but significant differences between the two groups, with Group A having the higher exposure level. Cytogenetic analyses showed no difference between exposed workers and controls for micronuclei and SCE. The enzyme-modified comet assay showed a probable relation between moderate levels of oxidative DNA damage and exposure to antimony, with a significantly higher proportion of workers in Group A having oxidative DNA damage compared to controls. The results support the theory that oxidative DNA damage is involved in the genotoxicity of antimony and indicate the need for further research in this field.

Adding value to South African landrace breeds conservation through utilisation

SummaryThe paper analyses the importance of breed conservation in South Africa by means of added value through a number of species. This principle was applied to some of Southern Africa populations: Nguni cattle, indigenous pigs, indigenous sheep landraces including fat-tails (Pedi, Damara, Zulu, Afrikaner) and fat-rumped breeds (Persian) as well as the improved Boer goat. The latter is an example of what can be achieved by selecting an indigenous breed for a specific purpose.For each breed, possible alternative uses are explained by analysing their characters. For the Nguni cattle (very well adapted to local conditions) a premium is paid for hides with minimal tick damage as these are used for car upholstery, an important added value. Beef quality and easy calving are also relevant factors that are important when crossing the Nguni with European breeds.Indigenous sheep landraces are often used to develop hardy composites and this helps their conservation, while the Boer goat is in demand in many countries for meat-production and has been exported world-wide; this is probably the only selected meat-goat in the world.Indigenous pig breeds are capable of generating a good income and are satisfactory alternatives to modern breeds.

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