UNIT – III

CRIMP
DEFINITION
When warp and weft yarn interlace in fabric they follow a wavy or corrugated path.
Crimp% - Measure of waviness in Yarn.
Crimp % - Excess of length of the yarn axis over the cloth length.
Crimp and its influence on fabric properties
• Resistance to abrasion
• Shrinkage
• Fabric behavior during Tensile Testing
• Faults in fabric
• Fabric design
• Fabric costing
Resistance to Abrasion
• If crimp is more in yarn, the abrasion resistance of a fabric will be more
• Yarn with high crimp will resist the abrasive action.
Shrinkage
• Largest amount of shrinkage is that represented by increase of crimp.
• Shrinkage is mainly due to yarn swelling and the resulting crimp increase.
Fabric behavior during Tensile Testing
• While extend a strip of fabric in one direction (Warp), crimp is removed and
the threads are straightened, which cause the other direction (Weft) crimp of
threads is increased known as crimp interchange.
• Sample loses its shape and the middle portion gets contracts. This is known as
waisting.
Faults in fabric
• Variation in crimp gives rise to faults in fabrics.
Ex: Reduction in strength, Stripes in yarn dyed cloth.
• Crimp variation due to improper tension in the yarn during yarn preparation
and weaving
Fabric design
• Control of crimp % is necessary when a fabric is design to give degree of
extensibility.
• Otherwise the finished appearance of the fabric will not be satisfied.
Fabric costing
• Crimp is very much related to length, so the quantity of the yarn required to
produce a given length of fabric will be affected because of the warp and weft
crimp %.
• Crimp is playing an important role in calculating the cost of yarn requirement.
Cover Factor
• Cloth Cover is the fraction of area of the fabric covered by both warp and weft
threads.
• Cloth cover factor = K1+K2-(K1K2/28)
K1 = Warp Cover factor = EPI/√Warp ct
K2 = Weft Cover factor = PPI/√Weft ct

Shirley crimp tester

• When yarn is removed from a fabric it is no longer straight but it is set into the
path that it took in the fabric as shown in Fig.
• Crimp tester is a device for measuring the crimp-free length of a piece of yarn
removed from a fabric.
• Length of the yarn is measured when it is under a standard tension whose value
is given in Table.
• Standardized tension as per British standard are given below,

Yarn Count Tension (gm)

Cotton Finer than 7 Tex 0.75 tex

Coarser than 7 Tex 0.20 tex + 4

Woolen and 15 to 60 Tex 0.20 tex + 4

Worsted 60 to 300 Tex 0.07 tex + 12
 All Man made All counts Tex / 2
continuous
filament yarns

• Instrument consists of two clamps, one of which can be slide along a scale and
the other which is pivoted so as to apply tension to the yarn.
• Sample of yarn removed from the fabric is placed in the clamps with each end
a set distance into the clamp.
• This is because the length of yarn in the clamps has to be allowed for in the
measurement.
• The right hand clamp can be moved along the scale and it has an engraved line
on it at which point the extended yarn length can be read.
• Left hand clamp is balanced on a pivot with a pointer arm attached.
• On the pointer arm is a weight which can be moved along the arm to change
the yarn tension, the set tension being indicated on a scale behind it.
• At zero tension the left hand clamp assembly is balanced and the pointer arm
lines up against a fixed mark.
• As the weight is moved along the arm the clamp tries to rotate around the pivot,
so applying a tension to the yarn.
• When a measurement is being made the movable clamp is slid along the scale
until the pointer is brought opposite the fixed mark.
• The length of the yarn can then be read off against the engraved line.
• The crimp, which is the difference between the extended length and the length
of the yarn in the fabric, is defined as:

Percentage crimp = (L1 - L0)X 100

L0
L1 – Extended Length
Lo – Original Length
 FABRIC STRENGTH
Testing of fabrics becomes essential.
Reasons:
o Check the specification
o Note the change in structure
o Note the change in physical, chemical properties etc.
o To investigate complaints.
o Design the fabric for specific purpose
o Know the fabric properties in turn by the interaction of fiber, yarn
or weave
Different types of strength.
o Tensile strength
o Tearing strength
o Abrasion resistance
o Wear resistance
o Bursting Strength
Depending upon the Suitability of fabric, the strength has to be tested.

Different tester for different use

• Tensile strength - ordinary dress material, Shirting, suiting etc.
 • Wear & abrasion resistance-work’s
resistance man cloth
• Tearing strength-Ribbon,
Ribbon, tapes, bandage cloth
• Bursting strength-Parachute
Parachute cloth, filter cloth, non-woven,
non woven, nets &Knitted.

Tensile strength testing

• To determine the Tensile Strength and Elongation of the given fabric samples.
• Works under Constant rate of traverse (Pendulum lever type) principle.
• The instrument is same as Lea strength tester except for the type of jaws, which
are designed to mount the fabric between rectangular plates.
• Lower clamp moves down at the rate of 12”/ min. As soon as the sample breaks
the catch will arrest the position of
of the pendulum and helps to note down the
load from the dial.
TEST PROCEDURE
• Place the sample between top and bottom clamps.
• Tighten the jaws; the sample should not slip during testing.
• Switch on the motor
• Stop the motor when the specimen is completely broken
• Note down the elongation scale reading and breaking strength from the dial
calibrated in Kgs / lbs
• Release the pendulum arm carefully
• Remove the test specimen from the clamps
• Repeat the procedure for 5 tests per sample
• Calculate average breaking strength, CV% of the breaking strength, elongation
% and CV% of the elongation%.
Three tests may be used.
• Raveled strip method
• Cut strip method
• Grab method
Raveled strip method
Tension Test on a strip of fabric
• Specified specimen width is secured by raveling away yarn
• Specimen size:
– Width of 2 inches and 8 inches length
– To cut the samples of 12” x 2.5”, the extra length apart from the above
specimen is used for gripping in jaws.
– Threads from both the edges are removed until the width is reduced to
2” exactly.
– Rate of traverse for the bottom clamp 12”/min.
Cut strip method
Tension test on a strip of fabric, the specimen width is secured by cutting the fabric.
• Specimen size: Same as raveled strip method
– Width of 2 inches and 8 inches length
 – To cut the samples of exact width and no raveling of the sample is
necessary.
– Rate of traverse for the bottom clamp 12”/min.
– Method is used for coated and heavily sized fabric, where raveling of
thread is difficult.
Grab Test method
Tension test on a fabric, in which only a part of the width of the specimen is gripped
in the clamps.
Ex: If the specimen width is 4” and the width of the jaw is 1”, the specimen is
gripped centrally in the clamps.
Specimen size:
• Test Sample size 4” x 6” are cut from the master sample.
• The 6” length is parallel to the yarn to be tested and is dependent on the
gauge length.
• In setting the testing instrument the clamps must be set 3” apart.
• Rate of traverse for the bottom clamp 12”/min.

CLAMP BREAK or JAW BREAK

• If fabric sample breaks in the clamps or at the edge of the clamps (within 0.5cm
of the line of contact of the pair of jaws), is called as a clamp break or Jaw
break.

ABRASION RESISTANCE
• Abrasion is just one aspect of wear and is the rubbing away of the component
fibers and yarns of the fabric.
• Measured by subjecting the specimen to rubbing motion in form of geometric
figure, i.e., straight line which becomes widen ellipse, until it forms another
straight line in opposite direction and traces same figure under known
conditions of pressure & abrasive action
Points to be considered in Abrasion Resistance testing
Condition of specimen
Choice of testing instrument (Flat, Edge)
Choice & Direction of abrasion (Straight, Round, Ellipse)
Choice of abradant (Fabric, Emery sheet)
Cleanliness of specimen & instrument
Tension on the Specimen (High or Low)
Pressure between abradant & specimen
End point of the Test
Assessment of Abrasion damage
Compare abraded with unabraded specimen
No. of cycles required to produce a hole, broken threads or broken strip.
Loss in weight (Against the No. of Cycles)
Microscope examination of the damage to the Yarns and fibers
Loss in strength (Tensile, Tear, Bursting)
Change in other properties such as air permeability, luster etc.
PRINCIPLE
• Principle of 2 simple harmonic motions working at right angles.
SAMPLING
• Cloth is selected without selvedge and any creases.
• Four samples are cut for 38mm diameter.
INSTRUMENT
• Machine consists of a top plate supported by 3pillars with a ball 1 caster on top.
• Casters allow easy movement to the plate is driver by mechanical device.
• The pins on the cams engage the slots in the plate.
• The 2 outer pin work in horizontal line and centre pin in vertical line.
• The fabric samples are mounted on four sample holders which will be moved
by top plate.
• The abrading material is fixed on the platform below the sample holders.
• Weight the fabric specimens, Set the counter to zero
• Mountt the sample on the sample holder without any wrinkles
• Switch ON the motor
• Remove specimen from clamp & Weigh it
• Calculate the weight loss %, which is the measure of abrasion resistance (if the
weight loss is less, the fabrics is highly resistant to abrasion).
abrasi
• END POINT: Determined by the three ways:
• Loss in weight of the specimen for fixed no of cycles. (Constant
Revolution Method)
• No of cycles to develop a hole on the test specimen ( Puncture
Resistance Method)
 PILLING
Pilling is a problem in staple fiber fabrics.
Accumulated on the surface of the fabric.
Entangled due to the mild frictional action during processing/wearing.
Factors responsible for pilling
Fiber characteristics - Morphological, Chemical, Structure, Length, Strength,
Extensibility.
Yarn characteristics - Blend, Count, Twist, Ply, Hairiness, Regularity.
Fabric Characteristics- Weave, EPI, PPI
Frictional/ abrasive force - linear/ rotational rubbing forces during wear
Fiber characteristics
• Morphological: Fibers with smooth surface, cylindrical shape & cross section
have greater tendency to pilling.
• Chemical: Pilling depends on the chemical composition of fiber. Synthetic
fibers are more to pilling than natural fiber.
• Fiber Structure, Fineness, Length, Strength, Orientation of the chain molecules,
short staple length
Yarn characteristics
• Blend composition: Higher synthetic fiber blend increases pilling.
Blend - Higher Pilling
Pure – Lesser Pilling
• Twist: Direct Influence on Pilling
Higher Twist - Low pilling
• Plying: Less pilling than Single Yarn
• Regularity: Uneven Thick and thin yarn have great tendency to pill.
• Hairiness: Greater the Hairiness, More pilling.
• Short fibers: Higher shorter fibers - Greater Pilling.
Fabric Characteristics
• Weave: Open structure, long float length which increases pilling- Twill, satin
weaves.
• Knitting: Higher the interlacement will reduce the pilling.
 • Ends & Picks: Higher the EPI &PPI will reduce the Pilling
Frictional / Abrasive force
• Most important factor for pill information.
• Increase in Frictional / Abrasive force increase pilling.
PILLING TESTER
Pills are small knots (or) balls of mixture of large number of small fibers
accumulated at the surface of the fabric and entangled by the mild frictional
action during processing (or) weaving.
They are soft but firmly held on the surface of the material.

METHOD OF TEST
A specimen (125 mm x 125 mm) is cut from fabric (2 for warp 2 for weft).
Stitched face-to-face and turned inside out.
Placed round a rubber tube 6 inch long, 1.25in. outside dia and 1/8 in. thick.
Cut ends of the fabric are covered by cellophane tape.
Four such tubes are placed in a box (9 in. x 9 in. x 9 in.) lined with cork 1.8
inch. in thick.
The box is rotated at 60 rpm for 5 hours.
 For garments which are normally subjected to repeat washing as well as to
wear, washing may be done prior to sample preparation.
After the test is over, the extent of pilling is assessed visually by comparison
with the arbitrary standards 1,2,3,4 and 5.
5 – No change (very weak formation of pills)
4 – Slight pilling (Weak formations of pills)
3 – Moderate pilling (Moderate formations of pills)
2 - Severe pilling (Obvious formations of pills)
1 – Very severe pilling (Severe formation of pills)

FABRIC BURSTING STRENGTH

PRINCIPLE
• Pressure in a liquid is enerted in all direction and this phenomenon of a liquid
is used for testing bursting strength in Hydraulic bursting strength tester.
SAMPLING
• The specimen should be free from fabric faults.
• Avoid selvedges
• Avoid same end in the different specimens to get reliable results.
• Upper & lower clamping surfaces have circular opening of 75mm (3 inch) in
diameter
• Molded synthetic rubber (diaphragm) – 1.80 ± 0.05mm in thickness
• Pressure required to raise the force surface of diaphragm is 30 ± 5 K Pa.
TEST PROCEDURE
• Material to be tested is taken and clamped by a ring over a thin flexible rubber
diaphragm.
• Material is clamped over a circular hole in the upper face of the reservoir.
• Pressure i.e. the liquid is increased by values (or) screw driver piston.
• Due to increase i.e. pressure, the diaphragm bulges, taking with it the
specimen.
 • At some point the fabric bursts and the pressure at that point is indicated by the
pressure gauge.
• Average strength, CV% are calculated.

Tearing Strength Tester

Tearing strength is measure of the resistance to tear of either warp or weft serious of
yarn in a fabric.
• Methods of measuring Tear Test:
Tongue Tear Test.
Tongue Double Rip Test
Trapezoid Tear Test
Ballistic Tear Test
Wing Rip Tear Test
Elmendorf Tearing Tester
• Elmendorf Tearing Tester is made as per ASTM D 1426-96.
• Consists of a sector pendulum pivoted on anti-friction ball bearings on a
vertical bracket fixed on a rigid metallic base.
 • An adjustable knife is also mounted on the bracket, on which the pendulum and
the fixed clamp is mounted, it is centered between the two clamps for making
initial slit in the test specimen.

PROCEDURE FOR TESTING

• Raise the pendulum till it rests against the release lever.
• Open both the grips and insert the test specimen between the grips so that it is
located centrally in the two grips
• Tighten the grips in this position.
• When loaded, the specimen should have its longer edges parallel to the top of
the grips and the widthwise yarns should be exactly perpendicular to the top
edge of the grips.
• Raise the knife-edge to make the slit in the test specimen, raising it till the knife
goes up to the maximum extent possible.
• Lower the knife to its initial position. The slit should be 20 ± 0.15mm.
• Move the pointer till it rests against the pointer stop.
• Lift the pendulum release lever to release the pendulum.
• Hold the lever until the tear is completed and catch the pendulum on the return
swing by hand without disturbing the position of the pointer.
• Read the scale to the nearest whole division.
Single Rip/Tongue Tear Test
1. Tail ‘A’ is clamped in lower jaw and
‘B’ in upper jaw.
2. Speed 50mm/min or 300mm/min.
3. Separation of jaws causes the tear to
proceed through uncut part.
4. Averages of the five highest peaks are
taken as tear strength.
5. Depending on the directing of testing,
the tear strength of warp or weft yarns
are report
Tongue Double Rip Test
1. The central one is gripped in
one jaw and outer two is
other jaw.
2. Two tears are
simultaneously made so it is
known as double rip.

Trapezoid Tear Test

Same procedure used for tongue
tear test is applicable for this test
also
 Ballistic Single Rip Tear Test
• W1 - Mean tearing strength of
5 specimens torn through 1
inch
• W4 - Mean tearing strength
of 5 specimens torn through 4
inch
• Tearing strength = 1/6 (W4-
W1) lbs

Wing Rip Tear Test

1. It does not transfer the direction
of tear. In other methods, due to
wide difference in tear strength
of warp and weft the direction of
tear changes from high to low.
2. During the test, the point of
tearing remains substantially in
line with the centre of the grips.
3. Not suitable for loosely
constructed fabrics, (fail by
slippage of yarns rather than by
rupture of thread).

BALLISTIC STRENGTH TESTER

Ballistic or Impact Principle
• Using this principle Energy or Work required to break the specimen is
measured.
• This energy is known as Work of Rupture
 • Consist of a stand to which is fixed a semicircular (quadrant) scale
• Scale calibrated in inch.lbs to indicate the energy required to break the specimen
• Weighed pendulum is fulcrum at centre
• Grip is provided on the bob of the pendulum and another at base of the instrument at
RHS
• Catch is provided at the top , RHS of the scale to hold the pendulum
• Pendulum is raised to catch on the right hand of quadrant and kept in position
• Pointer is placed near to anticipated breaking position
• Lea to be tested is secured to base grip and grip of pendulum bob in proper way
without any twist
• Catch is then released & pendulum swings to other side pulling the sample & pointer
and rises to a height & ruptures the yarn
• Position of the pointer reads the energy spent in rupturing the sample in inch.lbs
• Experiment is repeated for 16 samples & mean is calculated

Merits of Ballistic test

• It is simple to carry out & it tests a large sample
• Rapid & faster than lea tester
• Not as liable to operator errors as lea test
• Every thread breaks and contribute final results
• Yarn friction plays a negligible part in obtaining final result
• Broken lea may be used for count test