Hollow Spindle Spinning Research Articles

Engineering the geometry of novel yarns for flexible, hybrid composites Part I: Multiple breaks

This study reports on the development of a novel form of yarn reinforcement for making super tough, flexible composites. The concept is based on the rupturing of components of the composite yarn many times before totally breaking. The composite yarn structure has a configuration of three main components − helical, straight and sinusoidal. The components are not restricted by the type of raw material, and any type of fibre or blend can be used. Experimentally, the hollow-spindle spinning system was used to make nine variants of this composite yarn. These variants were tested for their tensile behaviour at an extension rate of 250 mm/min. It was found that the core component of two of the nine variants had eight breakages, while the core component of the remaining variants had four to five breakages before the final break of the core component. The main mechanism that allows the core component yarn to break so many times is a locking applied to it by the wrapping yarn during stretching. The gain in strength for these variants was 21–81% in comparison with a typical twistless composite yarn. Flexible composites made of such yarn configurations can find numerous uses in construction, geotextiles, ballistic protective garments, aerospace, automotive and shipping industries.

Effect of Spinning Triangle and Production Speed of Hollow-Spindle System on the Bouclé Yarn Structure

This study aims to show the impact of both the width of the base of the spinning triangle and the production speeds of hollow-spindle spinning machines on the structure of ultimate multiple-thread-structure bouclé yarns and similar fancy yarns. A hollow-spindle spinning machine was used and bouclé yarns were made of a core thread, an effect thread and a (multifilament) binder. Initially, five bouclé yarns were made by setting the widths of the base of the spinning triangle at five levels, i.e. 4.5 mm, 7.5 mm, 10 mm, 13 mm and 16 mm. A further six bouclé yarns were made to show the changes that occur to the spinning triangle at various production speeds. The resulting fancy bouclé yarns were assessed by measuring the size, number and circularity ratio of bouclé profiles. It was found that at low production speeds, i.e. at start-up, that the spinning triangle was unstable, which adversely affected the structure of the final bouclé yarns. However, at production speeds higher than 17 m/min, the spinning triangle became stable, though such a stable spinning triangle had no impact on the structure of the resulting fancy bouclé yarns. The results of this study may help fancy yarn manufacturers to avoid making defective fancy yarns.

Engineering the Structure of Multi-thread Fancy Boucl\xe9 Yarn: Individual Effects of the Number of Wraps and the Overfeed Ratio

This study is about the influence of the number of wraps and the overfeed ratio on the fancy bouclé yarn structure. The bouclé yarns of this study were made on a hollow-spindle spinning system. The number of wraps and the overfeed ratio were increased incrementally and individually in two different experiments. It was found that there were significant linear relationships between increasing the overfeed ratio and increasing the number and size of fancy bouclé profiles, but at the expense of decreasing their circularity ratio and changing the bouclé yarn morphology. However, increasing the number of wraps made a significant linear reduction to the size of fancy bouclé profile but without affecting their number. This study aids bouclé yarn manufacturers to increase their understanding of the structure and aesthetics of bouclé yarns. It also shows them how the morphology of bouclé profiles may change when the overfeed ratio or the number of wraps is changed. In particular, variants of bouclé profiles may appear, which can increase the potential for those variants to attract the attention of designers and consumers. It also can strengthen the manufacturers’ capabilities to satisfy the needs of a wide range of consumers, by creating a wider range of novelty clothing.

Precision Manufacturing of a Linear Fiber Assembly with Axially Varying Compositions and Structures by Using Computer Numerically Controlled Ring Spinning

Ring spinning is an effective technology for forming multi-component spun yarns. There is an increasing need for multifunctional textiles with characteristics, such as antibacterial properties, UV protection, easy cleaning, and color alteration, which can be achieved via various physical and mechanical processing approaches, such as electrospinning, friction spinning, hollow spindle spinning, and ring spinning. In particular, ring spinning is based on the mechanical processing of fibers, and it is suitable for mass customized production systems. However, conventional ring spinning involves a fixed fiber blending ratio and yarn linear density, which limits its usefulness for fabricating multifunctional textiles due to the uncontrollable composite yarn structure. In the present work, we propose a new method for manufacturing a three-component spun yarn by combining a computer numerical control system with a ring spinning frame, which increases the flexibility of yarn production. The as-prepared composite yarns possess axially varying compositions and structures, which can be readily tuned by changing the feeding speeds of the back rollers, and these aspects can facilitate the fabrication of multifunctional textiles for mass production at a low cost. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to demonstrate the feasibility of fabricating a three-component spun yarn with tunable compositions and structures by employing a ring spinning frame.

Structural Ratio of Multi-thread Fancy Yarn: Interaction Effect of Both the Number of Wraps and the Overfeed Ratio on Fancy Bouclé Yarn Structure

ABSTRACT This study was conducted to present the Structural Ratio of Multi-thread Fancy Yarn as one parameter that accounts for the interaction pattern between the number of wraps and the overfeed ratio. The fancy yarns were made on a hollow-spindle spinning machine and the experiment was based on a full-factorial experimental design. It was found that increasing both the overfeed ratio and the number of wraps at the same time increased the Number of Fancy Profiles, while the Size of Fancy Profile was reduced. Further, the type of fancy profiles was changing such that the structural ratio of multi-thread bouclé yarn should be between 0.88 and 1.2wpm. Lower values were suitable to make generic overfed fancy yarns while higher values were suitable to make gimp yarns. This study is the first study to account for such an aspect of fancy yarn structure.

Experimental study on the spinning geometry of multi-thread fancy yarn on hollow-spindle spinning machines

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define the relationships between the structure of multi-thread fancy yarns and the combination of the rotational speed of the hollow-spindle spinning system and thickness and stiffness of the effect component.Design/methodology/approachTo do so, two groups of fancy yarns were made using stiff and soft effect threads and at six different machine settings.FindingsIt was found that the stiff effect thread was suitable to make fancy yarns at low rotational speeds, while the thickness of the effect threads was more important than its stiffness at low number of wraps. Additionally, even when using the same number of wraps and the overfeed ratio, a bouclé yarn, a gimp yarn, a wavy yarn or a loop yarn may results if the thickness and stiffness of the effect thread and the rotational speed were all controlled properly.Originality/valueThis study helps fancy yarn spinners to determine the type of final fancy yarns by controlling the spinning geometry in the first spinning zone.

Study of maximum tensile strength of fancy yarns using the design of experiments

This study was conducted to identify the factors and the interactions which affect the maximum load of multi-thread fancy yarns. The objectives of this research was to identify the relative contribution of each factor and interaction leading to the maximisation of the tensile strength. The fancy yarns were made on a hollow-spindle spinning machine. The experimental design of this study had seven factors – with two levels each and was repeated five times. It was found that using two single yarns, instead of a similar two-ply yarn, for the core component increased the value of maximum load. The effect component contributed positively to the load only when it was a three-ply cotton yarn rather than a three-ply bamboo yarn since the former had interactions with the core and the binder. Excessive wraps reduced the maximum load. The effect of the overfeed ratio on the maximum load was weak. The manufacturing process in general had low levels of variability. This research is important because it contributes to a broader understanding to the effect of seven factors on the structure, quality, and mechanical properties of multi-thread fancy yarn.

Experimental study on the spinning geometry of multi-thread fancy yarn on hollow-spindle spinning machines

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to define the relationships between the first spinning zone of the hollow-spindle spinning system and technological parameters of manufacturing multi-thread fancy yarn.Design/methodology/approachA simple mathematical equation was introduced to account for the effect-thread helices. The validity of this equation was tested using visual observations of the helices of the effect thread in terms of their number, width and regularity and then compared against the theoretical values.FindingsIt was found that higher overfeed ratios increased the diameter of the helices without affecting their number, while increasing the rotational speed increased their number but reduced their diameter. The effect of these changes on the fancy yarns was that higher number of helices resulted in more fancy profiles while wider helices resulted in larger fancy profiles.Originality/valueThis research offers fancy yarn manufacturers a better understanding of the manufacturing process of fancy yarn and its practical advantage is to help them in determining the type of the resultant fancy yarns by controlling the geometry of the first spinning zone.

Electromagnetic shielding, wicking, and drying characteristics of CSP/AN/SSW hybrid yarns-incorporated woven fabrics

To improve the wearing comfort, durability, and antibacterial properties of the electromagnetic (EM) shielding property, a type of multifunction EM shielding woven fabrics which having great liquid transport and drying ability were fabricated in this study. This study aims to investigate theirs liquid transport, drying, and electromagnetic (EM) shielding properties. For this purpose, initially six types of multifunctional crisscross-section polyester (CSP)/antibacterial nylon (AN)/stainless steel wire (SSW) metal hybrid yarns with different wrapping amounts were produced using hollow spindle spinning technique. Conductive woven fabrics were then woven with CSP/AN/SSW metal hybrid yarns as weft yarns, and PET filaments as the warp yarns. The liquid transport and drying ability of the conductive woven fabrics were evaluated in terms of wicking ability and water evaporation rate, which are two vital factors that affect the physiological comfort level of personal protective clothing (PPC). Results indicated that adding CSP yarn in the fabricated EM shielding woven fabric could obviously improve the drying rate of the fabric. The EM shielding behavior of these woven fabrics were analyzed using a vector network analyzer in the frequency range of 300 kHz–3 GHz. Results showed that the wrapping amounts of the metal hybrid yarns significantly affect the wicking and drying abilities of the woven fabrics. In addition, the lamination angles of the fabrics with different amounts of layers remarkably affect their EM shielding characteristics.

Wicking behavior and antibacterial properties of multifunctional knitted fabrics made from metal commingled yarns

In this study, stainless steel wires (SSWs) were selected as conductive filler to produce antibacterial nylon (AN)/crisscross-section polyester (CSP)/SSW multifunctional metal commingled yarns with hollow spindle spinning technique. All metal commingled yarns used AN and CSP yarns to wind around the SSW in the S- and Z-directions as the outer and inner wrap yarns, respectively. The wrapping density varied from 8.0 to 15.5 turns/cm, which exhibited an obvious influence on the tenacity and elongation of the commingled yarns. Metal composite knitted fabrics made from the commingled yarns were tested in terms of their horizontal wicking capability, drying rate, and surface resistivity properties. Results showed that knitted fabric KC-11 displayed the best horizontal wicking capability, drying rate, and surface resistivity values. To evaluate the effect of the layer number of knitted fabrics on comfort, the air permeability of the fabric KC-11 was also discussed. The air permeability decreased from 421.6 to 140 cm3/cm2/s, when the layer number increased from one layer to six layers. The antibacterial activity of the KC-11 sample was assessed against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria according to the AATCC 90-2011 standard method. The presence of the AN yarns in the metal composite knitted fabrics displayed an obvious inhibition zone for both types of bacteria, which can be attributed to the high antibacterial activity of organosilicon quaternary ammonium salt component.

Structure design and property evaluation of silver/stainless steel composite fabric

This study presents a fabrication method for functional commingled yarns and prepared conductive knitted fabrics for shielding electromagnetic waves and electrostatic discharge. Stainless steel filament was used as core yarn, polyethylene terephthalate filament or silver yarn was used as wrapped yarn producing polyethylene terephthalate/polyethylene terephthalate/stainless steel filament or silver/silver/stainless steel filament commingled yarns via filaments hollow spindle spinning system and then knitting into silver/stainless steel composite fabric. The effects of cycle number and metal content on air permeability, surface resistance, and electromagnetic shielding properties of resultant knitted fabrics were discussed. Besides, influences of number of layers and lamination angle on electromagnetic shielding were also investigated intensively. The result shows that, conductive composite fabrics made by silver/silver/stainless steel filament commingled yarns and 450D polyethylene terephthalate plied filaments had higher surface resistance of 3.4 Log(Ω/sq) and 5.6 Log(Ω/sq), respectively, in coursewise and walewise directions. Electromagnetic shielding varied with number of layer, lamination angle, cycle number, and metal content. When six layers of conductive knitted fabrics were laminated with 45°, electromagnetic shielding reached 15 dB at 1–3 GHz frequency. The highest air permeability, 317.6 cm3/cm2/s, occurred at single-layer conductive composite fabric.

Electrical circuit model of elastic and conductive yarns produced by hollow spindle spinning

<title/>The implementation of electronic textiles which are capable of being applied as electrodes, sensors or heating elements is crucial in several fields of application, ranging from automotive to sports, from rehabilitation to art and design. However, current electronic textiles often suffer from poor mechanical properties, low drape and unstable electroconductive characteristics. One possibility to overcome these shortcomings is to introduce the electroconductive properties at a fibre or yarn level by combining traditional fibres and yarns with metal wires or metalised yarns. In this paper, we describe the production of multicomponent yarns which combine electroconductive properties with elasticity, drape and mechanical strength. We discuss the electroconductive properties of the yarns produced with hollow spinning technology. An electrical model based on Kirchhoff’s law was designed and validated with the abovementioned measurements.

Electro-conductive and elastic hybrid yarns – The effects of stretching, cyclic straining and washing on their electro-conductive properties

Electro-conductive yarns can be produced in various ways and can obtain very different properties in terms of conductivity, touch, as well as strength and elasticity. In this research, it was focussed on manufacturing elastic and electro-conductive yarns (el2-yarns) via hollow spindle spinning. All yarns comprised elastic core yarns, based on rubber, around which electro-conductive winding yarns, based on silver, copper and stainless steel, were wound. This paper presents the yarn’s electrical characteristics while stretching and after exposure to cyclic straining and washing. Analyzing the el2-yarn’s electro-conductive properties upon elongation, revealed that their electrical resistance remains constant over elongation levels up to 100%. Furthermore, it is shown that both, cyclic straining and washing, decrease the yarn’s electrical performance.

Electrical and impact properties of the hybrid knitted inlaid fabric reinforced polypropylene composites

A range of conductive knitted fabric reinforced polypropylene composites have been developed and their electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE), electrostatic discharge (ESD) and impact properties have been investigated. Carbon and aramid fibers are used as the reinforcement phase in the composites, while copper and stainless steel wires are incorporated as conductive fillers to provide the ESD and EMSE properties of the composite materials. The hollow spindle spinning system has been used to make SS/PP, Cu/PP, SS/C/PP, Cu/C/PP and Cu/K/PP uncommingled yarns. The double plain knitted fabric and its inlaid fabrics were fabricated from the yarns using a 5G traverse knitted machine. Changing the yarn composition, fabric knit structure, and stitch density varies the amount of copper and stainless steel conductive fillers in the composites. 4 layer cross-ply laminates were laid-up by hand, then formed into 3-mm thick conductive thermoplastic composites using a compression molding. It was observed that the EMSE and ESD of the composites increase with increasing the incident frequency, especially at higher frequency range. The effects of inlaid ends, materials and yarn constitutions on the EMSE of the conductive thermoplastic composites were investigated. The results indicate that the composites can be used for the purpose of electromagnetic shielding and ESD attenuation, as well as for some microwave applications.