Yarn Production Research Articles

TEMPERATURE REGULATING POLYESTER SHORT STAPLE RING SPUN YARNS BY PCM NANOCAPSULE APPLICATION

Phase change materials (PCMs) are thermal energy storage materials and therefore they are used for the manufacturing of heat-storage and thermo-regulated textiles. In this study, it was aimed to produce polyester spun yarns with thermo-regulation function via an alternative capsule application method. In the study, PMMA-co-MAA walled nanocapsules were synthesized by emulsion polymerization method and an alternative capsule application method was used to apply PCM nanocapsules into the staple polyester yarn structure during the yarn production process. Ne 30/1 polyester ring spun yarns with knitted twist were produced and some of the PCM nanocapsule and produced yarn properties were analyzed. According to the results, PCM nanocapsules had dimensions around 200-400 nm, uniform size distribution and spherical morphology. They could store approximately 100 j/g heat and had sufficient thermal resistance. With the developed capsule application method, nanocapsules were successfully applied to spun yarn structure and produced polyester yarns exhibited temperature differences in the range of 2-5 °C compared with undoped reference ring spun yarns. The results of the study indicated that this application method could be an alternative to fabricate thermo-regulating fabric surfaces and such integrated yarn materials have demonstrated promising potential for the production of thermoregulating textile material.

Research on thermal comfort and moisture management properties of drapery fabrics produced with polyester yarns having different fibre cross-sectional shapes and TiO2 amount

This study aims to provide an investigation regarding the effect of fibre cross-sectional shape, incorporated TiO2 amount (%) during polyester yarn production, and the weft density parameters respectively, on thermal comfort, moisture management, water vapour permeability, and air permeability properties of polyester drapery fabrics. Completely randomized three-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted at the significance level of 0.05. SNK tests were also performed to observe the means of each parameter. Some of the weft yarn production parameters and the weft density (picks/cm) factors were found as significant factors in some thermal comfort and moisture management, water vapour, and air permeability properties of drapery samples.

Study on the strength of needle-punched nonwoven material made on the basis of sole trader "Miras"

Coarse sheep wool and wastes from the production of woolen yarns are currently considered to be a special waste that requires large disposal costs due to low market demand. For this reason, wool has serious consequences for the environment. However, this type of raw material is considered a promising insulating natural fiber due to its thermal and acoustic properties. Moreover, wool meets the requirements of environmentally friendly materials that are used for yurts, insulation of buildings, and acoustic insulation for the automotive industry. Nevertheless, the sustainability and energy efficiency of insulation materials are currently evaluated comprehensively. In this context, the correctness of the composition of nonwoven fabric, its thickness and strength characteristics, as well as the number of layers play an important role. The purpose of this work is to study the relationship between strength characteristics and thickness, as well as the number of layers in nonwovens made of 100 % wool mixed with coarse and fine fibers, and to determine the most optimal variant of insulating nonwovens. 4 samples of one, two, three and four-layered materials were used in the study. The tested samples of insulating materials were evaluated according to the parameters of breaking load, strength and elongation. The results of the research showed that with an increase in the number of layers of material, there is an increase in the tested two indicators: breaking load and strength. The elongation rates were uneven. Consequently, by examining all three parameters, it was found that the best option is a three-layered nonwoven material.

Implementation of lean principles in the yarn manufacturing industry: a system dynamics approach

PurposeThe textile industry contributes 2 and 3% to the global and Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP), respectively. India supplies a quarter of global cotton yarn. Yet, most yarn manufacturing companies use outdated methods and lack organisational skills and strategies. Improvement in processes in India could significantly help the industry worldwide.Design/methodology/approachThe variables that influence the performance of the system were identified. Their interrelationships and impact were identified from the employees in the chosen case study, a yarn manufacturing industry. A System Dynamics (SD) approach was employed to study the benefits of implementing 5S lean strategies. The impact of each variable on various performance measures such as throughput, Work In Progress, processing time, waiting time, idle time, over-processing and scraps was analysed.FindingsImprovement in outcomes reflected an enhanced adoption of leanness in the industry. The decision-makers can utilise this study to optimise the necessary parameters in the system and attain the desired productivity levels. Better resource management and reduced processing time helped increase the despatch rate by 9.735% and decrease the WIP by 23.01%. Time management helped to reduce the inventory, idle time and waiting time. Over-processing, defects and scraps were minimised, indicating a shift towards lean.Research limitations/implicationsThis study pioneers the use of SD simulation models for optimising yarn manufacturing using lean strategies. Improvement in performance measures by integrating these strategies opens avenues for future research using multiple approaches to address a problem.Practical implicationsImplementing 5S lean principles and simulations enhances productivity, reduces waste and optimises resource management for the yarn manufacturing industry. Decision-makers can employ simulation to witness the outcomes of their changes without investing cost and time and without associated implementation risks.Originality/valueThe use of a simulation model to witness the benefits of incorporating lean strategies in yarn production has not been explored. This approach could help the managers and policymakers understand their existing system's shortcomings and critical areas that require improvement.

Mass production of carbon nanotube fibers and hybrid yarns for high-performance helical auxetic yarn strain sensors

With the spectacular physical properties of electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and thermal conductivity, carbon nanotube (CNT) fibers are favored in many fields such as energy storage devices, sensing, electromagnetic shielding and structural reinforcement, especially in flexible sensing devices. However, the lower tensile properties of CNT fibers limit their further application in stretchable strain sensors, especially when monitoring large deformation variables. Here, large-scale continuous production of CNT fibers has achieved through floating catalytic chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) technology. In the meantime, the CNT fibers were hybrid with Kevlar fibers to obtain hybrid CNT yarns with the strength of 168.4 MPa and the electrical conductivity of 7.78 × 104 S m−1. The strength of the hybrid CNT yarns produced by this method is higher than that of 40 count cotton yarns, which is perfectly suited for the fabrication of textile devices. Through knitting with three-dimensional elastic fabrics, the textile-based sensors exhibit promising sensing ability, washability, weather tolerance and sweat resistance, owing to the excellent physical and chemical properties of the hybrid CNT yarns. Moreover, stretchable strain sensors exhibit fast response and cycle stability, which provides unique opportunities in designing smart textiles with fast response and environmental durability.

Sericulture in Rural Assam: A Key Aspect for Entrepreneurship Development

The current global scenario certainly presents enormous opportunities for the Indian silk industry. Agriculture and agro-based industries are crucial to the growth of rural economies in developing nations such as India. Sericulture is a traditional agro-based economic activity that has historically been important in terms of job creation and income generation. Given the industry's off-farm and on-farm employment possibilities, it has the potential to offset the seasonality impact on the rural economy. The need for relatively little initial investment makes this industry more appealing to rural entrepreneurs. Mulberry, Oak Tasar, Muga, and Eri are the four different types of silk that are uniquely produced in the North East India. Assam produces more eri and muga silk than mulberry and tasar. Women are better suited to the sericulture sector because it relies heavily on in-house or off farm activities. To understand the scope of employment generation and the growth of different silk cultures in Assam a decadal analysis has been done considering the number of families engaged in sericulture and production of silk yarn from 2011-2021. It has been observed that ericulture has grown in popularity over time since it is comparatively cheap and generates more income than other forms of sericulture. Moreover the growth of sericulture industry in terms of families engaged and production of silk yarn was not always stable over the years. Price fluctuations, lack of proper market, lack of transportation and storage facilities, poor finance, lack of technology penetration, low productivity, and the industry's rural nature are the key obstacles that are holding back the industry to grow to its full potential.

Systematic Insights into a Textile Industry: Reviewing Life Cycle Assessment and Eco-Design

The worldwide textile sector is one of the most polluting and consuming natural resource value chains. In recent years, trends have demonstrated a linear model driven by fast fashion, increasing the sustainability problems of this sector. The European market and industry are changing the paradigm and promoting some actions towards a sustainable value chain. This paper applies a systematic approach to reviewing scientific research, where Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is implemented as a tool to understand the impacts considering a holistic life cycle framework, from raw materials to the end-of-life of textile products. The methodology and criteria applied resulted in 73 articles used for qualitative analysis, of which 39 met the criteria for quantitative analysis. The quantitative results reported in the studies were organized and presented by phase of the garment production life cycle (production of fiber, yarn, fabric, manufacturing, and recovery/end of life). From a cradle-to-gate perspective, wool yarn production, by worsted processing, was the material with the highest values (95.70 kg CO2 eq/kg) for climate change/global warming potential, closely followed by silk fabric (80.90 kg CO2 eq/kg). Extending to a cradle-to-grave boundary, polyester had the highest values for the previously mentioned category, reaching a potential release of 40.28 kg CO2 eq per kilogram of polyester textile. When data was available, the user phase predominantly contributed to climate change/global warming potential. Additionally, there were significant differences in maximum and minimum values for some of the materials, which were related to methodological considerations, database inventory, and frequency of use and care considered by the different authors. The study also addresses the considerations and limitations of diverse LCA impact assessment tools.

A Novel Elastic Conductive Yarn for Smart Textile Applications

Conductive yarns are crucial for electrical connections in electronic textiles. Challenges in conductive and elastic properties of conductive yarns, their durability, and compatibility with existing manufacturing processes limit mass production and affordability of conductive yarn. This work investigates elastic, shell‐conductive, and noncorrosive electroconductive yarns for textile‐based wearable electronics. The existing textile manufacturing processes (plaiting, coiling, and twisting) are used to fabricate elastic conductive yarn (ECY) using different blend ratios of stainless steel conductive yarn and elastomeric yarn. The ECY samples are inspected for structural uniformity, conductive coverage, ability to be woven, thickness, and extensibility. The most promising ECY exhibits a breaking force of 10.87 N, a tenacity of 2.04 cN tex−1, and an elongation at break of 61.1%, suitable for integration into e‐textiles where elasticity is required. The ECY with a conductive coverage of 85.36% provides better electrical connection points, while a thickness of 0.69 mm and linear density of 534 tex make it compatible with traditional textile manufacturing equipment. Findings demonstrate that the fabrication method and input parameters significantly impact the properties of ECY, including their elasticity and conductive coverage. Utilizing ECYs in fabric circuit boards can enable improved smart wearables for sustainable and modular integration of electronic components.

Toward generalizable robot vision guidance in real-world operational manufacturing factories: A Semi-Supervised Knowledge Distillation approach

The complexity and diversity of scenarios, along with the presence of environmental noise in factory settings, pose significant challenges to the implementation of deep learning-based vision-guided robots for smart manufacturing. In response to these challenges, we introduce a novel Semi-Supervised Knowledge Distillation (SSKD) framework that has been extensively validated and deployed across numerous real-world production lines. The proposed SSKD framework combines the advantages of semi-supervised learning and knowledge distillation to offer optimization for the majority of deep learning models. Experiments conducted in real-world factory settings demonstrate that the SSKD framework significantly enhances the performance of deep learning models, reducing inference time from 185 ms to 45 ms and improving generalizability across different working environments, achieving recall and precision values that exceed 99.5% and 92.6%, respectively, achieved a remarkable 200% improvement in labor efficiency. Our innovative SSKD framework provides a reliable and scalable solution for enhancing manufacturing productivity and product quality. The success of this approach in transforming vision-guided robotic systems for smart manufacturing highlights its potential for broader industry adoption. The SSKD framework offers a reliable and scalable solution for enhancing manufacturing productivity and product quality. Our results underscore the potential of this innovative approach to transform vision-guided robot systems in smart manufacturing, making it an attractive candidate for widespread adoption in the industry. We are proud to report that, as of the end of 2022, the SSKD framework has been successfully implemented in 50 robots – a more than ten-fold increase from the initial 4 in 2020 – resulting in an annual yarn production capacity exceeding 100,000 kg. This accomplishment underscores the practical impact and effectiveness of the SSKD framework in real-world production lines.

Investigation of the use of hemp fibers in recycling spinning

In recycle yarn spinning, the original fibers are added to the blend as a carrier because of the recycled fibers obtained by opening from fabric scraps are very short and coarse. In the textile recycling industry, mostly petroleum-based synthetic fibers are used as carrier fibers. In an environmentally important activity such as recycling spinning, it is necessary to reduce the use of synthetics used as carrier fibers. When considered from this point of view, hemp fibers come to the fore with their important performance and environmental features. Based on this fact, in this study, in addition to the standard production conditions in the recycling yarn production facility, hemp fibers in different proportions were added to the blends to reduce the ratio of polyester as carrier fiber and the effects of this situation on yarn quality were examined. According to the results, it was observed that adding hemp fiber to the recycle yarn blend increased yarn tenacity, yarn unevenness and yarn hairiness while decreased yarn elongation properties.

Investigation of the Carbon Footprint of the Textile Industry: PES- and PP-Based Products with Monte Carlo Uncertainty Analysis

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism was developed to ensure that industrial sectors operating outside the EU follow the same environmental standards and targets while competing with the EU’s carbon market. This mechanism aims to calculate the carbon footprint of goods and services imported into the EU and make carbon adjustments accordingly. The transition phase, starting in 2023, represents the period when the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will be implemented. The completion of the transition phase is targeted for 2025. By this date, the effective implementation of this mechanism is aimed at demonstrating that countries outside of the EU comply with emissions regulations using Carbon at Border certificates. The textile industry’s products have a significant environmental impact throughout their life cycle, from the production of raw materials to the disposal of the finished product. Textile production, especially synthetic yarns, requires large amounts of energy, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. In this study, a “cradle-to-customer plus waste” life cycle assessment (LCA) is conducted to evaluate the environmental impacts of two products in the textile sector. The Monte Carlo analysis method can be used to handle uncertainties in LCA calculations. It is a method for modeling uncertainties and statistically evaluating results. In this study, this method is preferred at the stage of determining uncertainties. The processes from chips to yarns are investigated for two synthetic yarns: polyester (PES) and polypropylene (PP). The carbon emissions of PP and PES used in textiles are calculated for the first time in this study using detailed modeling with LCAs and a real application. The main production operations are considered: (i) transport of raw materials and packaging material, (ii) energy consumption during the production process, (iii) transport of products, and (iv) end-of-life steps. When the actual data obtained from a company are analyzed, the carbon footprints (CFs) of the PES and PP are calculated to be 13.40 t CO2-eq (t PES)-1 and 6.42 t CO2-eq (t PP)-1, respectively. These data can be used as reference points for future studies and comparisons. According to the results obtained, when the energy consumption and raw material stages in the production of the PES and PP products are compared, it is seen that the CF of PP yarn is lower, and it is more environmentally friendly. These findings can be utilized to enhance government policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing synthetic yarn production in Türkiye. Since PP and PES raw materials are predominantly used in synthetic yarns, this study’s objective is to quantify the carbon emissions associated with the utilization of these raw materials and provide guidance to companies engaged in their production.

Environmental assessment of a spinning process for the production of ring-spun hybrid yarns from recycled carbon fiber: A cradle-to-gate approach

The study of sustainable remanufacturing processes using recycled carbon fiber to enhance its applicability in high-performance materials is a key research direction. To this end, their environmental performance should be assessed. Here, an attributional life cycle assessment combined with environmental life cycle costing is performed for an innovative spinning process recently developed for the production of ring-spun hybrid yarns suitable for manufacturing reinforcements for good-quality polymer composites. Results indicate that the process cumulatively affects approximately 65.4% of the total environmental impact regarding climate change, use of fossils, and use of minerals and metals. The preparing and carding phase predominantly contributes to nearly all environmental impact categories. Greenhouse gas emissions from the process were quantified as 10.5 kg-CO2 eq/kg, significantly below those produced by virgin carbon fiber manufacturing (24-31 kg-CO2 eq/kg). Overall, considering the potential landfilling or incineration of waste used as input, the process brings environmental benefits ranging from 56% to 76%. A sensitivity analysis indicates that replacing manufacturing scraps with recycled carbon fiber from pyrolysis represents the input change with the highest environmental impacts, while thermoplastic fiber use does not significantly alter environmental performance. The study demonstrates that using recycled carbon fiber from manufacturing scraps is preferable to using recycled carbon fiber from pyrolysis when life-cycle impact is considered. The choice between polyamide and polyester should rely on the specific impact category to be addressed and the desired mechanical properties to be achieved in the final composite.

An Economic Analysis of Processing of Rainfed Cotton in Virudhunagar District of Tamil Nadu, India

The cotton processing industry holds a significant position in the Indian economy as the second-largest labor-intensive activity after agriculture, providing direct and indirect employment to the Indian population. Given the commercial importance of cotton at the national and State levels, there is a recognized need to thoroughly examine the cotton value chain, which includes producers and various stakeholders. Hence this study was proposed and conducted in 2022 covering 90 rainfed cotton growers, seven ginners, six spinners and twenty-seven weavers in Virudhunagar district. The findings of the study revealed that the cotton producers receive a share of (Rs.7006.1 per quintal) 48.37 per cent of the consumer rupee per quintal. The cost and returns analysis showed that, the stakeholders at different level i.e ginners, spinners and weavers incurred Rs.7591.11, Rs.18089.64 and Rs.31251.22 to process per quintal of product i.e kapas, lint, yarn and fabrics production and received as returns of Rs.10587, Rs. 27354.16 and Rs.48934.00 by them. The weavers had the highest financial profitability (1.52) in cotton value chain, followed by spinners (1.47), ginners (1.35) and farmers (1.11).

MXene nanosheets woven in polyacrylonitrile nanofiber yarns aligned spider web as a highly efficient sorbent for in-tube solid phase microextraction of beta-blockers from biofluids

The use of electrospinning has received much attention in the production of nanofiber webs due to its advantages such as flexibility and simplicity. The direct electrospinning of nanofibers in an aligned or twisted form and the production of nanofiber yarns can turn nanofibers into woven fabrics, which leads to an increase in the diversity of nanofiber applications and improves their end-use possibilities. In this work, a victorious nanofiber yarn spinning system was used with the help of a rotating funnel. Yarn formation was studied using a composited polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/MXene polymer solution ejected from two oppositely charged nozzles. Finaly their application for packed-in-tube solid-phase microextraction of β-blocker drugs from biofluids was demonstrated. The separation and quantification of analytes were performed by HPLC-UV instrument. The 3D-yarn PAN/MXene sorbent exhibited high flexibility, porosity, sorbent loading, mechanical stability, and a long lifetime. The characterization of the final nanofiber was carried out utilizing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray mapping, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis. Various parameters that affect the extraction efficiency, such as extraction time, pH, ionic strength and flow rate of sample solution, and type, volume and flow rate of eluent, were investigated and optimized. Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection were obtained in the range of 1.5–3.0 μg L−1. This method demonstrated appropriate linearity for β-blockers in the range of 5.0–1000.0 μg L−1, with coefficients of determination greater than 0.990. The inter- and intra-assay precisions (RSDs, for n = 3) are in the range of 2.5–3.5%, and 4.5–5.2%, respectively. Finally, the validated method was put in an application for the analysis of atenolol, propranolol and betaxolol in human urine and saliva samples at different hours and acceptable relative recoveries were obtained in the range of 89.5% to 110.4%.

Effects of fiber type and yarn production technique on pile yarn and carpet performances

Pile yarns, which are commonly used for machine-made carpets, are produced from fibers such as wool, polypropylene, acrylic, polyamide, and polyester by using different yarn production techniques. In this study, drawn textured polyester pile yarns (DTY), bulked continuous polyester pile yarns (BCF PES), and bulked continuous polypropylene pile yarns (BCF PP) were produced with trilobal cross section, same number of filaments and linear density. In order to determine optimum fiber type and yarn production technique for machine-made carpets, both physical, thermal properties of pile yarn samples and resilience, appearance retention of carpet samples were investigated. Breaking strength-elongation, crimp contraction and shrinkage tests, were applied to the pile yarn samples. Compression/recovery, dynamic loading, static loading, hexapod tumbler, and soiling tests were also carried out to analyse carpet resilience and appearance retention performances. According to the yarn physical test results, it was revealed that pile yarn samples have similar performance and DTY samples have highest crimp contraction and shrinkage values among all pile yarn samples. Better compression/recovery properties and less thickness loss after dynamic and static loading tests were observed with DTY PES carpet samples. However, BCF PP carpet samples showed better resilience behaviour than other carpet samples. Hexapod test results showed that DTY PES carpet samples have the best appearance retention results. For soiling performance, it was observed that there was no significant difference between the carpet samples.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Worsted and Woollen processing in wool production: ReviWool® noils and other wool co-products

The textile and fashion industry is becoming increasingly active in measuring its environmental performance. As far as wool is concerned, there is quite abundant literature on environmental impacts available. However, previous studies very rarely distinguish between the different co-products of the wool transformation, and often attribute the same impact to fibers produced from worsted processing (longer and more expensive fibers) and woollen processing (shorter and cheaper fibers). This study firstly provides a detailed mapping of processes and products involved in the wool production chain, from sheep grazing to yarn production, with particular attention to the shorter fibers, which have been mostly neglected in previous literature. Secondly, this study uses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to analyze the environmental impacts of the different intermediate co-products. In particular, when multi-output processes occur, impacts are distributed proportionally to their relative economic value, using therefore an economic allocation. This approach enabled the calculation of environmental impacts of fibers used both in the worsted and woollen processing. It results that shorter fibers generally have lower impacts than longer fibers used for the production of fine yarns. Specifically, most short fibers have an impact on climate change ranging from 25 to 30 kg CO2 eq/kg, while, longer fibers have an impact of 78–97 kg CO2 eq/kg. The physiological variation in the ratio between worsted and woolen co-products of multi-output processes appears to have little effect on the final impact results. Finally, since the grazing phase is highly variable, impacts on climate change of the analyzed intermediate products have been re-calculated using, for the greasy wool, the lowest and highest values of impact found in literature. Impacts of the analyzed products vary sensibly according to the value considered for the greasy wool, but the relationship between them is rather stable.This paper contributes with detailed information and easily replicable data which could be used as a basis for the environmental assessment of wool garments and for improving the sustainability in the wool sector.

Emerging Technologies and its Adoption: A Booster for Garment Development and Expansion in Tasar Silk Industry of Jharkhand with Special Reference to the Artisans and Weavers of Ranchi

Abstractt: The Tasar silk Industry has proved its potential in raising sustainable income and employment in the rural sector of Jharkhand State (India) and is a growing activity in the primary sector which aims more income to the artisans and workers of this industry. This paper entitles an artisanal industry that concentrates on the study regarding the impact of technologies on sericulture in selected area. Sericulture is an agro-industrial activity aiming to produce silk though rearing of silkworm. It involves the raising of food plants (Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia tomentosa, Shorea robusta etc) for silkworm, rearing of silkworm for production of cocoons, reeling and spinning of cocoons for production of yarn for value added benefits such as processing and weaving. The knowledge of technology has found to have greater impact on improving the productivity, production and manufacturing of Tasar Silk Fabric in terms of agriculture as well as its allied activities. This study finds out significant positive impact of knowledge about advanced technology and its adoption on the development of the sector by the artisans so that the Tasar Silk Garment Industry grows and benefit its stakeholders

A novel method for reducing yarn hairiness with dynamic and static friction rollers on the yarn guide

Fiber torsional control is critical for reducing the hairiness of high-quality yarns during the yarn formation process. However, the applied fiber torsion that facilitates fiber motion and transfer in conventional ring spinning is still under exploration. In this study, we designed a device with dynamic- and static-friction rollers for reducing harmful hairiness. The key mechanisms and mechanical model of the applied forces on fiber torsion and motion contacting dynamic- and static-friction rollers were theoretically analyzed. Exceptional fiber torsion was obtained by creating gradient friction resistance from the varied applied pressures while providing full internal and external transfer to forcibly capture and trap exposed fibers into the main yarn body. Compared to conventional ring-spun yarns, yarns spun by the dynamic-friction roller exhibited reduced harmful hairiness, improved tensile properties, a tighter yarn surface, and improved yarn irregularity. However, the excessive force applied by the static-friction roller deformed exposed fibers to cause fiber accumulation and fiber loss, resulting in reduced yarn performance. These results can be used to develop novel spinning methods for various fiber materials for high-quality yarn production.

Collaborating with a Scottish Heritage Brand towards Enhancing and Preserving Sustainable Artisan Hand-Weaving Practices through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership

This paper discusses a Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) with a global Scottish heritage brand to develop a year-round sustainable business model through a design-led approach to new product innovation that improves their sustainability credentials. Sustainability in textile production is under increasing scrutiny from the media, governments, regulators, and consumers, all demanding transparency in the supply chain. The company has an excellent track record of sustainable employment in rural communities and sought through the project to improve their production processes and waste output. Sustainability is a vast topic, where collaboration can help to address these key challenges. The company manages an artisan hand-weaving manufacturing system where yarn production and fabric finishing are regulated by the 1993 Harris Tweed Act of Parliament that protects and restricts production to the Outer Hebrides. The success or failure of the Harris Tweed® industry directly impacts the wider economy of the Outer Hebrides, which is considered “remote, rural, fragile” by UK and Scottish governments and their economic development agencies. The paper describes how academic/business collaboration can positively encourage innovation and help reposition businesses within a changing economic and sustainable landscape that explores these new opportunities. The paper reflects on how KTPs are a mechanism with mutual benefits, where pooling individual knowledge and resources can develop strong, sustainable, and authentic relationships that can provide tangible impacts of new knowledge generation and application within a scholarly and research context that can be clearly aligned to notions of bringing value to the sector, users, and the curriculum.

An investigation on non-flammability properties of polypropylene knitted fabrics

The research performed in recent years regarding synthetic filament yarns is improving the structures and properties of such yarns, and diversifying their usage areas. Most of the current studies being carried out in this field are in the form of bringing functionality to filament yarns. And one of these functional properties is the production of flame-retardant yarns from different types of polymers. In this study, polypropylene (PP) raw material was mixed with organophos- phonate based flame retardancy additive at rates in between 1% and 8% in the feed hopper of a laboratory-type melt spinning machine during PP filament yarn production and then knitted fabric structures were obtained from these yarns. Then the flame retardancy properties of these PP knitted fabrics were tried to be determined by vertical flammability tests and Limit Oxygen Index (LOI) tests. Test results indicated that after flame time and char length values had significantly decreased and values of LOI had increased in knitted fabrics by the increase in additive rate. In conclusion, it was observed that the increase in the rate of flame retardancy additive had significantly improved the non-flammability properties of the PP samples.