Washability and abrasion resistance of illuminative knitted e-textiles with POFs and silver-coated conductive yarns

Abstract

For the integration of conductive yarns in e-textiles, knitting offers structural versatility and malleability for wider product applications in the contexts of wearables and interiors. To enable mass adoption of conductive materials, it is imperative for users to be able to launder these materials as part of product maintenance. Interactive textiles knitted from polymeric optical fibres (POFs) and silver-coated conductive yarns are able to illuminate and change colours via integrated touch sensor systems. Current research only focuses on the washability and abrasion resistance of conductive yarns solely and not both POF and conductive yarn within the same fabric structure. This study is novel as it investigates the washability and abrasion resistance of POF and silver-coated conductive yarn integrated knitted textiles with different loop structures and the impact to their illuminative function. POFs were knitted within the same fabric structure by the inlay method using a 7-gauge industrial hand-operated flatbed knitting machine. This study examined how washing and abrasion affect POFs and silver-coated conductive yarn in five different knit structures, and the illuminative function of the knitted textiles. Washing and abrasion affected the resistance of conductive yarns. Scratches and bent POFs were observed after 20 gentle washing cycles. However, washing had minimal impact on the illuminative function of the knitted e-textiles examined in this study. The experiments provide evidence that e-textiles knitted with POFs and conductive yarns in the same fabric structure withstand washing and abrasion and thus have the potential for mass market adoption in fashion and interior applications.

Influence of stitch type division and geometry on the electrical properties of conductive embroidered structures

“…It is used for evaluating the durability of textile materials in use i.e., lifespan. Changes on the surface caused by abrasion can be reflected in changes of physical properties, for instance: reflectance factor and color change 43 liquid transport phenomena in the porous systems, 9 electrical resistance 12 etc.…”

“…11 Among commercially available yarns, silver-coated conductive yarns have also been widely used in wearable e-textiles, since silver is the most conductive metal, it is affordable, and has great antibacterial properties. 12 These polymer-based conductive silver-coated threads are ready for embroidering due to their physical similarity to conventional embroidery threads. Embroidery technique enables the management and integration of yarn with varying electrical characteristics, such as varying resistances, as well as the provision of several other benefits.…”

Wearable textile antennas: investigation on material variants, fabrication methods, design and application

“…In order to be able to establish textile antennas on the market and to use them purposefully in sectors like medicine, sports or the military, factors such as washability or drying must be taken into account in addition to the electrical properties (Lam et al, 2022). Rotzler & Schneider-Ramelow (2021) discuss the influence of various variables on the washability of e-textiles.…”

The Influence of Domestic Washing on the Performance of Conductive Sewing Threads

“…2022) developed textiles with polymeric optical fibers (POF) and silver-coated conductive threads using a flat knitting machine. The study explored how washing and wear affected the lighting and conductivity properties of interactive POF knit textiles, noting significant resistance changes in half and full milano knitted fabric due to increased loop density in the weft direction [8]. Liu et al (2020) researched the washability of conductive fabrics laminated with various metal coatings (Cu, Ag, Ni/Cu, Ni/Cu/Co) on common textiles such as spandex, nylon, and denim.…”