The aim of this study was to develop statistical models for the effect of binder concentration and curing temperature and time on the air permeability, tear strength, tensile strength, and crocking fastness of pigment-printed nonwoven polypropylene fabric. The design and analysis of the experimental work were carried out using MINITAB â statistical software according to the Box-Behnken design of response surface methodology. Models were successfully developed. It was found that binder concentration improves the wet crocking and tensile strength while having a negative impact on all other responses. Increase in curing temperature and time affects the fabric tear strength negatively but has a positive effect on wet crocking fastness and fabric tensile strength. It could be concluded that pigment prints of good dry crocking fastness may be obtained on polypropylene nonwovens without deterioration in the mechanical strength and air permeability to a commercially unacceptable level. However, further work is required to improve the wet crocking fastness properties.
Shape memory polymer (SMP) composites are attractive and excellent smart materials due to their outstanding properties and rich functionality as they combine typical mechanical and functional properties of composites with shape memory properties. In particular, 3D reinforced preforms have tremendous potential for the development of functional composites by using the capabilities of 3D woven fabric preform design, and polymer shape memory behavior. Within that scope, this work aims to investigate the shape memory behavior and shape recovery properties of a specific type of 3D multilayer woven SMP composite in response to external stimuli. For this purpose, nine different multilayer stitched fabrics are produced with different weave structures, and different fabric thread densities using polyimide filaments. Then, a series of tests is carried out on these fabrics to evaluate their mechanical and physical properties. The layered fabric design that delivers high mechanical performance is next involved to manufacture the SMP composite samples, for which shape recovery capability is investigated. Fold-deploy and other shape memory cycle tests are performed to evaluate the shape memory characteristics. An optical 3D scanner based on fringe projection is further proposed to precisely acquire the geometry data and perform deformation analysis to quantitatively evaluate the shape fixity and shape recovery behaviors. The results from this study are very promising, demonstrating that these multilayer SMP structures can successfully be recovered following the desired design constraints without noticeable damage.
In this study, we developed multifunctional and durable textile sensors. The fabrics were coated with metal in two steps. At first, pretreatment of fabric was performed, and then copper and silver particles were coated by the chemical reduction method. Hence, the absorbance/adherence of metal was confirmed by the deposition of particles on microfibers. The particles filled the micro spaces between the fibers and made the continuous network to facilitate the electrical conduction. Secondly, further electroplating of the metal was performed to make the compact layer on the particle- coated fabric. The fabrics were analyzed against electrical resistivity and electromagnetic shielding over the frequency range of 200 MHz to 1500 MHz. The presence of metal coating was confirmed from the surface microstructure of coated fabric samples examined by scanning electron microscopy, EDS, and XRD tests. For optimized plating parameters, the minimum surface resistivity of 67 Ω, EMI shielding of 66 dB and Ohmic heating of 118 °C at 10 V was observed. It was found that EMI SH was increased with an increase in the deposition rate of the metal. Furthermore, towards the end, the durability of conductive textiles was observed against severe washing. It was observed that even after severe washing there was an insignificant increase in electrical resistivity and good retention of the metal coating, as was also proven with SEM images.
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