Introduction of Textile Testing:

Types, Objectives, Importance

and Methods
What is textile testing?
The quality of a product or process is checked before it is put into large-
scale usage. The quality of the product, its performance, and its reliability
are the key factors while testing is performed. Testing can be defined as the
methods or protocols adopted to verify/determine the properties of a
product. It can be divided primarily into two types: regular process testing
and quality assurance testing. Routine testing helps to streamline the daily
process.

Quality assurance testing helps the process or product in the long run to
establish credibility. Testing can also be defined as the procedures adopted
to determine a product’s suitability and quality.

Textile testing is a key in gauging product quality, ensuring regulatory

compliance and assessing the performance of textile materials. It is a vital
basic tool during the processing of a textile raw material into the product.
It also helps the distributors and consumer to determine the end product’s
quality. It can include the analysis of the property of a known or an
unknown material. So, textile testing refers to the procedures adopted to
determine quality throughout the textile product chain (textile fibers, yarns
and materials etc). It can be summarized as the application of engineering
facts and science to determine the quality and properties of a textile
product. Mainly it involves the use of techniques, tools, instruments and
machines in the lab for the evaluation of the properties of these different
forms of textiles.
 Fig: Testing textile
So we can define textile testing in the following way,
Applying engineering knowledge and science to detect the criteria and
properties of any textile material or product (such as fibre, yarn, fabric) is
called textile testing.

Objectives of textile testing:

The main objective of textile testing are:

To check the quality and suitability of raw material

To monitor the production (process control)
To assess the quality of final product
To investigate the faulty materials
To set standards or benchmarks
For R&D (research and development) purpose
For new product development

We can elaborate objectives of textile testing in the following

ways:

For researchers, testing results aid the development of new products

or new processes, which can save money and resources before
production starts on an industrial scale. They also help in the
 choosing of the best possible route to achieve the end product.

Testing helps in the selection of the best possible raw materials. “Raw
material” is a relative term; for example, fiber is the raw material for
spinning, and yarn is the raw material for weaving.

Testing helps in the process control through the use of advanced

textile process-control techniques.

Testing ensures the right product is shipped to the consumer or

customer and that the product meets the customer specifications.

Testing in general, and textile testing in particular, is affected by the

following factors: Atmospheric conditions affect test results as textile
products are greatly influenced by moisture and humidity. The test method
adopted will also cause variation in test results. The testing instrument is
also a vital part and, if not properly calibrated, can cause serious variation.
Human error is another source of variation.

Textile testing starts with textile fibers and goes all the way through to the
final product. The fiber test includes the length, strength, elongation,
fineness, and maturity. The yarn test includes linear density, single yarn
strength, yarn evenness, and yarn hairiness. The fabric test includes aerial
density, weave type, and air permeability.

In order to carry out the testing of the textile products, a well-equipped

laboratory with a wide range of testing equipment is needed. Well-trained
operators are also a prerequisite for the running of the laboratory. The cost
of establishing and running the lab is nonproductive and is added to the
cost of the final product. These nonproductive costs increase the cost of the
final product and therefore make it an expensive trade. Therefore, it is vital
that testing is not performed without accumulation of some payback to the
end product. Testing is carried out at a number of points in a production
cycle to improve the quality of the product.

Types of textile testing:

Textile testing can be classified according to the basic technique used and
on the basis of the data obtained. The former can be divided into
destructive and nondestructive testing, the latter being defined as the
application of noninvasive methods to reach a conclusion as to the quality
of a material, process, or product. In other words, it is inspection or
measurement without doing damage to the test specimen. Examples
include drape testing and assessment based on the Kawabata evaluation
system. Destructive testing is performed to test for failure of the sample.
This type of test is much easier to perform and yield precise information
and is more simple to understand than nondestructive testing. Examples of
destructive testing are tensile testing and tear testing.

On the basis of data obtained, testing can be classified into objective and
subjective. The former can be defined as the testing that gives us
quantitative data, which can be easily further processed and interpreted.
Subjective testing can be defined as that which gives us qualitative data,
which is difficult to interpret and is greatly influenced by operator bias.

Importance of textile testing:

Principle importance of textile testing are;

1. To ensure the product quality

2. To control the manufacturing process
3. For customer satisfaction and retention
4. Good reputation (brand image) among consumers

Testing importantly supports the personnel involved in the textile supply

chain, from the textile fiber to the end product. The testing of textile
products aids persons involved in the running of the production line.

During testing, the discrepancy of the product, for example, its strength,
maturity, waste percentage (for fibers), aerial density, and weave design
(for fabrics), is properly measured. Thus the selection of the proper raw
material is an important factor. Standards of control should be maintained
to reduce waste, minimize price, and so on. Faulty machine parts or
improper maintenance of the machines can be easily detected with the help
of textile testing. Improved, less costly, and faster protocols can be
developed by researchers with the aid of testing. The efficiency and quality
of the product can also be enhanced with the help of regular and periodic
testing.

Customer satisfaction and loyalty can also be won by producing according

to customer specification in good time. In short, testing is an essential
pivot to the whole textile product supply chain.

The cycle of testing starts with the arrival of raw material and continues up
to delivery of the final product. The production of the required end quality
is impossible if the raw material is incorrect. The textile product supply
chain comprises different processes, which include the raw material
(natural or man-made fiber), yarn manufacturing, fabric manufacturing,
textile processing, and apparel and home furnishing manufacturing. It also
includes some industrial products, like ropes, cords, and conveyer belts. All
the aforementioned processes are performed in separate units or in a
single unit if the establishment is a vertical production unit.

So the raw material for a spinning unit is fiber, for a weaving unit is yarn,
for a textile processing unit is greige fabric, and so on. “Raw material” is a
relative term that depends upon the further process for which it is used. Its
testing is an important step, as improper raw material or low grade raw
material will not yield the required quality of the end product. The testing
of raw material is also performed to verify whether the incoming material
accords with the trade agreement. Its consignment is therefore accepted or
rejected on the basis of test results. The agreed specifications should be
realistic so that the incoming raw material properties can meet the
required level easily.

Production monitoring involves the testing of production line samples,

which is termed “quality control.” Its purpose is to sustain certain definite
properties of the end product within acceptable tolerance limits as per the
agreement between the producer and the consumer. A product that does
not meet the already agreed specification or the required quality will be
termed a “fail.”

The proper testing protocol as well as proper monitoring are also required.
The sampling techniques in use should also be selected properly, since the
wrong selection could lead to serious problems. At the same time, the
statistical tool employed is also an important factor. The collection of data
is one thing, but its proper evaluation and interpretation, and the action
taken on the basis of it, is an important factor in quality control.

Textile testing is vital to identify the particular cause of that fault so that it
can be avoided in future consignments. It will also help to rectify the
running process and enable it to run more smoothly so that the final
product accords with the customer’s requirement. It also helps to isolate
the faulty part or machine so as to resolve any dispute between the supplier
and the producer.

Importance of standards:
The tested textile materials should satisfy certain specifications. Some of
these requirements are implicit and others are explicit. The latter are those
that indicate a material’s performance in service or whether it will meet its
specifications or not.

The implicit requirement is that the test is repeatable, that is the textile
material will give the same results if it is tested again after some time by
another technician or at some other place or the customer’s laboratory. In
other words the test can measure the correct value of the property being
assessed. There is no use in testing if it is not reproducible, as it will then
count for nothing.

A lack of reproducibility of results can be attributed to the following.

Textile materials have natural variation, for example, fibers obtained from
a natural source have variation among their properties. In the material
process from fiber to yarn to fabric, the variations in properties smooth out
during the assembly of small variable units into large units. The problem of
material variation can be rectified with the help of the proper selection of
raw material and the use of appropriate statistical tools while analyzing
and interpreting the data thus obtained. It is important to minimize the
variations caused by the test method.

The possible reasons for variations caused by the test method

are:

1. The technician has significant influence on the result. This is attributed

to human error, human negligence, and not following the proper testing
protocols. The preparation of the test specimen, the use of the proper
instrument, the placement of the specimen on the testing machine, the
noting of the value, and the adjusting of the scale properly are all sources
of these types of variations.

2. An improper specimen size will also give an inaccurate result. For

example, the length of the specimen in the case of tensile testing will affect
the strength value of the specimen. So a change in specimen size will cause
variation in the test results.

3. Atmospheric conditions are a very important factor when checking

natural fibers. Fibers like cotton, viscose, and wool are greatly affected by
changes in temperature and relative humidity. The results will show
variation if conditions are changed while the test is being performed. The
proper conditioning of the test specimen and the laboratory needs to
adhere to specific parameters.

4. The use of proper test protocols is necessary to minimize variation.

Pilling can be checked by a pilling box as well by the “Martindale abrasion
tester.” The results obtained from the two types of testing equipment will
not be comparable, as the methods involved are different, resulting in a
variation of results.
5. The parameters used to perform tests, such as the speed of the machine
or the pressure applied, will affect the final results. When these change, the
results will also be changed. It is therefore necessary to lay down the
conditions of a test and the specific dimensions of the specimen, and also
to define a test procedure that minimizes operator variability, even within
a single organization.

In the case of the selling and buying of the product, it is important that
both parties will get the same results when they test the same material.
Disputes may arise due to the improper testing of the end product, which
can lead to severe legal action or the cancelation of the sale agreement.

Testing methods (sources of testing standards):

Testing is done primarily to test the quality and there are different ways to
carry out a test. Sometimes, different principles and instruments may be
employed to test a single criterion. Hence it is important to standardize the
testing methods or procedures. Various national and international
organizations have established standards for textile testing. Some of the
organizations involved in developing textile testing standards are as
follows:

AATCC - American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists

ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials
ANSI - American National Standards Institute
ISO - International Organization for Standardization
BSI - British Standards Institute

What is sampling and sampling techniques:

The aim of sampling is to produce an unbiased sample in which the
proportions of, for instance, the different fiber lengths in the sample are
the same as those in the bulk. Or to put it another way, each fiber in the
bale should have an equal chance of being chosen for the sample.

The sampling method used to select a fiber for testing depends upon the
form in which the fiber is available. We have published another article on
sampling techniques.

You can read this: Sampling Techniques for Fiber, Yarn, Fabric
and Garment Testing

References:

1. Advanced Textile Testing Techniques by Sheraz Ahmad, Abher

Rasheed, Ali Afzal, Faheem Ahmad
2. A Practical Guide to Textile Testing by K. Amutha
3. Handbook of Textile Testing and Quality Control by Elliot B. Grover
and D.S. Hamby
4. Physical testing of textiles by B P Saville