Kawabata Evaluation System For Fabrics Research Articles

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES CORRESPONDING TO COMFORT FEEL OF BEDDING FABRICS

The market for bedding products in Thailand now offers a wide range of physical attributes (fiber types, structures, fabric densities, thicknesses, and weights) that produce a variety of tactile sensations and comfort qualities. This study investigated the comfort properties of bedding fabrics in Thailand. Twenty-one bedding fabric samples were collected and measured for their mechanical and surface properties based on the Kawabata evaluation system for fabric (KES-F) as well as the horizontal wicking test and abrasion resistance, air permeability, wrinkle recovery, and thermal resistance (Qmax). The primary hand value (HV) and total hand value (THV) were calculated using the Kawabata hand evaluation equation KN-201-LDY describing women's thin dress fabric, using 5 different properties from the KES-F (tensile, shear, bending, compression, and surface friction). The principle component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis of the physical properties of fabric samples showed that the samples could be placed in 4 groups. The first group was mostly cotton woven samples. The second group consisted of 2 samples that were both knitted, while the third group was mostly mixed (M) fabric samples. The last group contained cotton and M cotton samples. The first cluster was considered to provide the best hand-feel characteristics of all 4 clusters, while the second cluster was considered the least desirable based on hand-feel. The findings of this study should assist the bedding textile sector in developing new products.

Tactile Perception of Woven Fabrics by a Sliding Index Finger with Emphasis on Individual Differences

Haptic sensing by sliding fingers over a fabric is a common behavior in consumers when wearing garments. Prior studies have found important characteristics that shape the evaluation criteria and influence the preference of consumers regarding fabrics. This study analyzed the tactile perception of selected woven fabrics, with an emphasis on the participants’ individual differences. Individual differences generally are discarded in sensory experiments by averaging them. Small differences among consumers can be important for understanding the factors driving consumer preferences. For this study, 28 participants assessed fabrics with very distinct surface, compression, and heat transferring properties by sliding their index fingers along the surface of the fabric. The participants also engaged in a descriptive sensory analysis. The physical properties of the fabric were measured using the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F) system. Moreover, parameters at the finger–fabric interface, such as the contact force, finger speed, and skin vibration, were measured during the assessment. This study used analysis of variance to eliminate nonsignificant attributes. Consonance analysis was performed using principal component analysis (PCA) on the unfolded sensory and interface data matrices. Finally, the physical and interface data were regressed onto sensory data. The results showed that the contact force and finger speed were nonsignificant, while skin vibration was a possible replacement for surface physical properties measured by the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F) system with an equal or slightly improved explainability.

Development and performance of jacquard woven retro-reflective textiles with African design patterns

Retro-reflective materials are important for safety purposes, such as enhancing the visibility of pedestrians at night when they wear garments with reflective materials and therefore reducing pedestrian fatalities. This has challenged different manufacturers to produce effective materials that provide the best retro-reflection. Most of these materials are applied as stripes on clothing, but can also extend to artisans using reflective yarns in their creations. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research and the synthesis of reflective yarns and African design patterns (due to its symbolic value for the African people) to create effective textiles that have the necessary properties for visibility at night. In this research work, a new approach is adopted by using a design process that combines jacquard weaving technology, reflective threads and African design patterns to produce retro-reflective textiles. The subsequent reflective effects captured in a darkroom show the retro-reflective ability of the samples. The testing carried out by using the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics shows that the total hand value (THV) of the samples makes them suitable for men’s winter dress shirts and women’s thin winter dresses (with positive values) but not suitable for the summer garment (with negative values) counterparts respectively. This new approach might extend the ideation to produce retro-reflective textiles that can be applied for many different uses.

Ultra-fine self-powered interactive fiber electronics for smart clothing

Fiber electronics discretely integrated into daily life is taking center stage for its enormous potentials for healthcare, physiological monitoring, and human-machine interfaces. However, the state-of-the-art fiber electronics are remarkably distinguished from generic fibers in diameter, stiffness, smoothness, and productivity. Here, we developed a universal scalable manufacturing process and generic fiber-like fine and soft self-powered interactive electronics with a diameter of only dozens of μm and a continuous length of hundreds of kilometers. These fiber electronics are prepared with a large-scale manufacturing speed (>20 m/min), and adapt to modern textile technology including weaving, knitting, sewing and embroidering. Moreover, Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics was systematically employed to analyze the fiber electronics enabled e-textile’s sensorial comfort, suggesting that adding the fiber electronics to fabric benefits its tactile sensations (e.g., softness, fluffy and fullness). Based on tribotronics, the interactive fiber electronics-based smart clothing demonstrates versatile applications including biomechanical energy harvesting, vital signal detecting, human motion recognizing and tactile sensing.

The effect of ecological washing treatments on the comfort properties of dyed cotton fabrics

Ecological washing treatments are being widely applied for textile finishing. However, these treatments may cause changes in the mechanical and surface properties of textile materials, thus influence the tactile properties of fabrics. These sensitive low-stress mechanical properties will affect the comfort of the human body. In this work, the changes in comfort properties of dyed cotton fabrics, after ecological new bleach and enzymatic washing treatments, are systematically investigated using a tensile testing machine - the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-FB) - and the air permeability tester. The results show that mechanical and fabric hand properties are differently affected by the different treatments. Finished cotton samples were found suppler and rougher than the untreated fabric due to the mechanical friction during the finishing cycle, including fabric-to-fabric and fabric-to-machine friction. As a result of our finishing treatment, tensile strength, bending properties, air permeability and thermal conductivity are decreased, however, the compressibility (EMC) tends to increase after the various finishing treatments. Moreover, the best bending properties, which reflect the flexibly of the fabric, are obtained for the new bleached sample. The possible origins for the changes mentioned above - caused by the different treatments- are evaluated and discussed.

Effect of laser treatment on pigment printing on denim fabric: low stress mechanical properties

In textile and fashion industry, it is common to combine laser treatment and pigment printing processes for creating special design and aesthetic effects. Other than aesthetic effects, comfort is also a concern to the customer. This paper examines comfort properties, in terms of low stress mechanical properties, of laser treated and pigment printed denim fabric. Tensile, shearing, bending, compression and surface properties were examined by Kawabata evaluation system for Fabric under standard procedure. It was noted that tensile, shearing, bending and compression properties of the denim fabric were affected by laser treatment and pigment printing. This influence could be caused by action of the laser during the treatment as laser can damage the fabric and yarn, and can also burn the fabric surface. The pigment used in printing forms a thin layer on fabric surface making the denim fabric more rigid and difficult to deform. Moreover, surface properties of denim fabric samples were not affected by laser treatment or pigment printing and nor was there any effect of the two combined treatments. The denim fabric samples became smoother and had an even surface.

A New Approach to Evaluate Fabric Hand Based on Three-Dimensional Drape Model

Abstract Fabric quality and performance is assessed subjectively by the customer using an important and complex phenomenon of fabric hand. Objectively, it is evaluated with complicated and expensive instruments, such as Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F) and Fabric Assurance with Simple Testing (FAST). The present research explores a non-touch objective approach, i.e., three-dimensional (3D) drape model to estimate fabric hand. Fabric hand prediction was testified on different commercial fabrics spanning a wide range of areal weight, thickness, yarn count, and fabric density. Fabric objective ranks based on drape indicators using principal component analysis (PCA) were compared with subjective ranks of fabric hand. Additionally, fabric drape is evaluated three dimensionally and a new drape indicator drape height (DH) is proposed. The cosine similarity results have proved fabric drape as an objective alternate to fabric hand.

Application of Kawabata evaluation system for the tactile properties of woven silk fabrics in textile industry

Thailand is one of well-known countries for the silk fabric production. However, there are just few studies focusing on tactile properties of silk fabrics. This study collected forty-one machined-woven silk fabrics manufactured in Thailand, Japan, China, Korea, Italy, France, India and USA. The fabrics were classified into 4 groups categorized by the fabric weight according to the “silk fabric” industrial product standard of the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) 176-2540 (≤ 90 g/m2, 91-120 g/m2, 121-160 g/m2, >160 g/m2). Mechanical properties of the silk fabrics were measured by the Kawabata evaluation system for fabric (KES-F). Correlations between fabric weight groups were analyzed to investigate the relationship among properties. The results showed significant effect of the fabric weight (per unit area) on only compression resilience (RC) and thickness. The thickness was also correlated with the compression properties (WC, RC), the bending rigidity (B) of the warp direction and the surface roughness (SMD). Moreover, the air permeability was associated with the coefficient of friction (MIU), the shearing properties (G, 2HG, 2HG5) and the tensile properties of the weft direction (EM, LT, WT). The total hand value (THV) was calculated by using the Kawabata hand evaluations KN-201-LDY for women’s thin dress fabric. The fabrics with the THV scores above 4 showed high quality for women’s dresses. The principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to examine the relationship between the mechanical properties and the fabrics. The results showed that the high-quality fabrics were plotted near each other as a group and related to some properties such as the coefficient of friction (MIU), the extensibility (EM), the tensile energy (WT) of the weft direction and the linearity of compression (LC). Finally, the biplot graph of the fabric distribution can be a guideline for a variety of applications. The fabrics for apparels mainly located in the lower-left quadrant while those located in the upper quadrant were appropriate for home textiles.

A digital replica of male compression underwear

With the development of society and increasing demands, the design of male underwear should conform to human ergonomics. However, some special delicate aspects related to morphological features of the male body need to use computer technologies for generating a digital replica of real bodies, with textile materials instead of real objects from the perspective of satisfying increasing needs. This article aims to apply three-dimensional (3D) simulation technology in compression clothes design. We have proposed the method of material precision simulation, body avatar establishment, and virtual underwear design. In this study, multiple 3D software to establish avatars of male bodies with different morphological features are used first. Secondly, the conversion of the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics results in a digital library of knitted materials to be explored, which are mainly based on elastic characteristics and compression performances. Then, we conducted a series of try-on tests with average size avatars, which are created using 3D scanning technology, and evaluated the pressure and comfort using a new method we recommended. Finally, the results of the virtual and actual tests are compared. All digital replicas achieve the same results as the real ones. This study can promote the application of 3D simulation technology in male compression underwear design by operating a digital replica instead of real objects.

Silhouette and handle design of cotton crepe fabrics for dresses

Purpose For over a century, traditional Japanese cotton crepe fabrics have been popular for men’s underwear in the humid summer. Now, consumer demand is for crepe fabrics that are more attractive, reflecting a shift in use from underwear to women’s dresses. The purpose of this paper is to clarify how the structures of the crepe and its constituent yarns affect the physical properties, handle and silhouette formability of crepe fabrics for dresses. Design/methodology/approach Three plain-weave gray fabrics were finished by four different processes to change their crepe structures. The mechanical and surface properties of the fabrics were measured using the Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics. The primary hand values and silhouette formability of the fabrics were calculated using conversion equations based on the physical properties. The handle of the crepe fabrics and the aesthetic appearance of flared collars made of them were assessed by female students using the semantic differential method. Findings Comparing the fabrics made from the same gray fabric, the piqué crepe fabrics showed larger Hari (anti-drape) and Shari (crispness) than the others. The subjective hand value of softness was closely related to fabric thickness. The assessors preferred the fine piqué crepe fabrics over the wide piqué fabrics regarding both the tactile feeling of the fabrics and the aesthetic appearance of the flared collars. The attractiveness of the flared collars was dominated by the shear stiffness of the fabrics. Originality/value The fine piqué crepe fabric made from fine yarns produced a more preferable handle. The fine piqué fabric made from thicker yarns produced flared collars with silhouettes that are more attractive. This indicates that the fine piqué structure is a positive feature that makes the fabric suitable for various types of dresses.

Buckling analysis of plain-woven fabric structure using shell element and a one cell-based integration scheme in smoothed finite element method

A one smoothing cell integration scheme in the strain smoothing technique in finite elements (referred as SFEM) was proposed to evaluate the nodal train fields of a four-node quadrilateral (Q4) shell element, which is based on the first-order shear deformation theory of plate (FSDT). A mixed interpolation of tensorial components (MITC) approaches for Q4 transverse shear strains also applied to eliminate a shear locking phenomenon that may occur when the thin plate/shell elements are geometrically distorted in curved geometries of fabric sheet. The numerical eigenvalues of buckling analysis of a plain-woven fabric sample, of which physical and mechanical parameters extracted from Kawabata evaluation system for fabrics (KES-FB), obtained a higher efficiency in numerical computation and approximated to Q4 shell element implemented in the finite element method (FEM).

Synthesis and Application of Polyurethane-Modified Silicone as Finishing Agent for Cotton Fabric

The polyurethane modified organic silicone (PU-SA) was successfully synthesized via step-by-step polymerization with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and polypropylene glycol (PPG) used as monomers, dibutyltindilaurate (DBTDL) as the catalyst, trimethylolpropane (TMP) and N-methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) as the chain extender, and amino-terminated siloxane (SA) as the blocking agent. The chemical structure of PU-SA was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that PUSA had been successfully finished on the surface. Additionally, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the PU-SA treated fabrics showed low decomposition temperature and slightly high char residue. As a finishing agent, the effect of PU-SA on the handle of cotton fabrics was also studied by using a Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F). The experimental results found that PU-SA had a significant improvement on the bending properties, surface properties, and compressional properties. Moreover, the mechanical and anti-wrinkle properties of the cotton fabrics were also enhanced.

Evaluation of Luster, Hand Feel and Comfort Properties of Modified Polyester Woven Fabrics

This paper reports a hollow copolyester fiber modified with polyethylene glycol and sodium-5-sulfo-bis-(hydroxyethyl)-isophthalate, abbreviated as ECDP-H, which has the potential to be a replacement for cotton. The objective evaluation of luster (contrast glossiness) and Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F) (four Primary Hand Parameters and the Total Hand) of ECDP-H, PET and cotton fabrics are studied in order to investigate the cotton-like appearance of the ECDP-H. The results of moisture regain and dynamic moisture absorption values obtained indicate that the hydrophilicity of the ECDP-H fabric is better than that of PET fabric. The thermo-physiological performance for three fabrics is determined using air and water vapor permeability, wicking, warm-cooling feeling, thermal resistance and vapor resistance. The results show that the ECDP-H fabric has better hand and comfort properties than cotton.

Determination of model parameters for predicting handle characteristics of wool-rich suiting woven fabrics based on the Wool HandleMeter and KES-F

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of using the Wool HandleMeter as an economical and effective method to predict the handle characteristics of wool-rich woven fabrics suitable for winter suiting. The correlation analysis and step-wise regression method were used to determine applicable curve parameters extracted from the Wool HandleMeter in order to explain the handle characteristics of the woven fabrics by a series of multiple regression models. Moreover, an independent set of woven samples was selected to validate the regression models on the basis of the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics, subjective handle evaluation and the formability index FFAST. The results showed that the Wool HandleMeter together with the developed regression models is an excellent starting point for the simple evaluation of handle characteristics of wool-rich woven fabrics and can be the basis for further development of the Wool HandleMeter for woven fabrics.

A simple and efficient protocol to develop durable multifunctional property to cellulosic materials using in situ generated nano-ZnO

This article focuses on the development of a durable multi-functional finish for cotton fabric by direct synthesis of nano zinc oxide (nano-ZnO) particles in the pores of the fibres. Anions and cations of zinc nitrate interacted with cellulose molecules and opened up the internal pore structure of cellulosic fibrils that in turn acted as nucleating sites for the formation of nano-ZnO on reaction with sodium hydroxide. The finished fabric was characterized using XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, AAS, DSC and AFM. The finished fabric displayed excellent antibacterial activities (>99%) against two pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (Gram-negative) with 40 UPF even after 30 washes confirming the utility of this method. Inherent physical and mechanical properties of the fabric were found to be unaffected. Low stress mechanical properties evaluated by Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics indicated that the total hand value of the finished fabric changed from 3.54 to 3.40. A plausible mechanism for in situ formation of nano-ZnO and its durability on cotton fabric has been proposed.

Geometrical Modeling of Woven Fabrics Weavability-Limit New Relationships

Abstract The weavability limit and tightness for 2D and 3D woven fabrics is an important factor and depends on many geometric parameters. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature on textile fabric construction and property, and related research on fabric geometry, a study of the weavability limit and tightness relationships of 2D and 3D woven fabrics was undertaken. Experiments were conducted on a representative number of polyester and cotton woven fabrics which have been woven in our workshop, using three machines endowed with different insertion systems (rapier, projectiles and air jet). Afterwards, these woven fabrics have been analyzed in the laboratory to determine their physical and mechanical characteristics using air permeability-meter and KES-F KAWABATA Evaluation System for Fabrics. In this study, the current Booten’s weavability limit and tightness relationships based on Ashenhurst’s, Peirce’s, Love’s, Russell’s, Galuszynskl’s theory and maximum-weavability is reviewed and modified as new relationships to expand their use to general cases (2D and 3D woven fabrics, all fiber materiel, all yarns etc…). The theoretical relationships were examined and found to agree with experimental results. It was concluded that the weavability limit and tightness relationships are useful tools for weavers in predicting whether a proposed fabric construction was weavable and also in predicting and explaining their physical and mechanical properties.

Characterization of Wool Fabric Surface in Terms of Transient Heat Transfer

A precise, simple method for characterizing wool fabric surfaces and moisture absorption has practical value in fabric design. Transient heat transfer has attracted attention because it is strongly related to the fabric surface and moisture absorption. To evaluate transient heat transfer for characterizing wool fabric surfaces, the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabrics (KES-F) was used to measure the maximum heat flux, qmax, and surface properties of wool fabrics. The effect of moisture regain on qmax measured at two ambient humidities (65% and 90% relative humidity) was also discussed. A rough surface and a large amount of fuzz decreased qmax. A high correlation (r2=0.858) between qmax at 65% and 90% relative humidity was found. Therefore, qmax is suitable for characterizing the difference in the surface roughness, surface fuzz, and moisture content of wool fabric.

A statistical analysis of low-stress mechanical properties of warp-knitted fabrics

Fabric hand is an indispensable characteristic for the selection of fabric and product development and the buying consideration for manufacturers and consumers. However, there is little comprehensive work on the hand feel property of warp-knitted fabrics due to the mainstream natural fibers (cotton, wool and silk) and other fabric structures (woven, weft-knitted and nonwoven). The increasing potential for the wide variety of applications and development of warp-knitted fabrics is not only because its fabric hand gives better determination for fabric marketing, but also because it provides extensive scope for fabric performance and appearance. This paper reports an experimental study on the integrated fabric hand behavior of a series of warp-knitted fabrics made for various apparel applications, such as sportswear, lingerie and leisure wear. These 105 fabrics were produced by varying different physical parameters, including fabric weight and fabric thickness. The Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F) was employed to obtain the fabric hand properties (primary hand value and total hand value) related with stiffness, smoothness and softness. All low-stress mechanical properties and fabric hand values from the testing results were used to verify the applicability of the KES-F on warp-knitted fabrics and to analyze the relationships of fabric parameters and hand characteristics. The results indicate that the KES-F is an appropriate tool to measure the hand attributes of warp-knitted samples, and moderate correlations between physical properties and mechanical behavior were found.

The effect of plasma treatment and tightness factor on the low-stress mechanical properties of single jersey knitted wool fabrics

The effects of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment and the tightness factor on the low-stress mechanical properties of weft-knitted wool fabrics were evaluated using the Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F). The statistical analysis showed that the plasma treatment and the tightness factor had significant effects on the fabric low-stress mechanical properties ( p-value < 0.05). Plasma-treated fabrics showed significantly higher bending and shear rigidity and hysteresis, compression energy, thickness, compressibility, surface friction and lower compression resilience and geometrical roughness values compared with untreated fabrics. An increase in the fabric tightness factor significantly increased fabric thickness, bending and shear rigidity and hysteresis, and decreased tensile extensibility and geometrical roughness. The relationship between primary handle attributes evaluated by Wool HandleMeter and KES-F mechanical properties was also investigated. The results confirmed a highly linear correlation between these two sets of data, where rough/smooth and hard/soft attributes evaluated by the Wool HandleMeter had the highest correlation with bending rigidity, shear properties and bending hysteresis, as measured by the KES-F.

Determination of Surface Properties of Paper Towels with KES-F System

In this study, 12 commercially available paper towels were collected from the market. Their shearing properties were evaluated by Kawabata Evaluation System for Fabric (KES-F). Three properties namely: (i) coefficient of friction (MIU), (ii) deviation of MIU (MMD) and (iii) geometric roughness (SMD). Experimental results revealed that the surface properties varied within the products. When different properties were correlated, it was found that there was not significantly relationship between MIU, MMD and SMD. However, weight and thickness had well statistically relationship to SMD.