Abrasion and Tensile Properties of Cross-Linked Cotton Fabrics

Abstract

Fiber toughness, fabric construction, and pretreatment were found to affect abrasive wear in permanent-press trouser cuffs. Samples of Pima S-2, Hopi Acala, and Deltapine 15 cottons were processed into twelve constructions of print-cloth weight fabrics. Cross-linking with the dimethylol dihydroxyethyleneurea-type resin was applied as a continuous process to fabrics after scouring and after slack mercerizing. Nitrogen contents of treated fabrics show that type of cotton, fabric construction, and pretreatment affected the amounts of resin reacted with the fabric. Pima cotton had the lowest and Deltapine the highest level of nitrogen in almost every fabric construction. Pima cotton fabrics showed less wear during conventional abrasion test and laundering and greater crease-recovery angles than did the other cottons. Cuffs of basket-weave fabrics with 0.87% nitrogen showed less crease wear during laundering than did plain weave at 0.64% nitrogen. At comparable nitrogen content, slack-mercerized fabrics were more durable at a higher crease-recovery angle than were cuffs made from scoured fabrics. ~

Alkali pretreatments and crosslinking of lyocell fabrics

“…A high flexural rigidity in fabrics results from reduced mobility of yarns past one another at crossover points, and it is accompanied by low crease recovery and poor abrasion resistance (Reeves et al 1967;Grant et al 1968Grant et al , 1973. In the non-crosslinked set, the pieces pretreated with 4 mol/l NaOH and LiOH exhibited high rigidity and low crease recovery as compared to the controls, but the abrasion resistance did not differ.…”

“…The distribution of crosslinks within fiber structures also has an influence. For the same crosslinker content, the crease recovery is greater if there is a uniform distribution of crosslinks through the fiber bulk than if the crosslinks are localized at the fiber surface (Joarder et al 1969;Grant et al 1968;Bertoniere et al 1981). But, a uniform distribution of crosslinks also tends to reduce tensile strength while preserving abrasion resistance, and a greater surface localization of crosslinks preserves the tensile strength but reduces the abrasion resistance (Bertoniere et al 1981;Rowland et al 1983).…”

Alkali pretreatment and resin finishing of lyocell: Effect of sodium hydroxide pretreatments

“…For the same crosslinker content, better crease recovery is obtained if greater penetration and more uniform distribution of the crosslinker exist through fiber/yarn cross sections than if the crosslinker is restricted to their surfaces. [18][19][20] The dip in CRA values exhibited by the samples pretreated with 4 mol/L NaOH is indicative of high rigidity and low elastic recovery. The large crease recovery improvements in the resin-finished samples pretreated with 4-8 mol/L NaOH may be attributed to the greater penetration of the crosslinker within the fibers and yarns in the samples.…”

“…18,22,23 However, samples from the no-resin set and all samples pretreated with 4 mol/L NaOH, which exhibited low crease recovery along with high flexural rigidity, also exhibited high abrasion resistance (discussed later). Hence, the flexural rigidity peaks in samples pretreated with 4 mol/L NaOH and the high CFR exhibited by the no-resin set may be attributed to a temporary setting known to occur in lyocell fabrics after alkali treatments, 24 which dissipates as fabrics are worked on in the course of further processing or handling.…”

“…18,25 Substrate hydrolysis leads to an overall reduction in strength, whereas embrittlement may lead to different types of strength loss depending on the distribution of the crosslinking reagent in the substrate. A higher surface concentration of the crosslinker leads to reduced abrasion resistance but preserves tenacity, whereas greater penetration leading to a more uniform distribution of the crosslinker through the fabric structure preserves abrasion resistance but reduces tenacity.…”