BRITISH STANDARD AEROSPACE SERIES BS 4F 123:

1996

Specification for

Woven nylon narrow

fabrics for aerospace
purposes
(nominally 235 dtex
yarns)

Confirmed
December 2011
BS 4F 123:1996

Committees responsible for this

British Standard

The preparation of this British Standard was entrusted to Technical

Committee ACE/21, Narrow woven fabrics for aerospace purposes, upon which
the following bodies were represented:

British Narrow Fabrics Association

Ministry of Defence
Society of British Aerospace Companies Ltd.

This British Standard, having

been prepared under the
direction of the Engineering
Sector Board, was published
under the authority of the
Standards Board and comes
into effect on Amendments issued since publication
15 March 1996

© BSI 11-1999
Amd. No. Date Comments

The following BSI references

relate to the work on this
standard:
Committee reference ACE/21
Draft for comment 95/700888 DC

ISBN 0 580 24930 1

 BS 4F 123:1996

Contents

Page
Committees responsible Inside front cover
Foreword ii
1 Scope 1
2 Normative references 1
3 Information and requirements to be agreed and to be
documented 1
4 General requirements 1
5 Yarn 1
6 Construction and properties 1
7 Finish 3
8 Dimensional stability 3
9 Identification 3
Table 1 — General requirements (given in BS F 100) 1
Table 2 — Construction and properties 2
Table 3 — Colour codings 3
List of references Inside back cover

© BSI 11-1999 i
BS 4F 123:1996

Foreword
This British Standard has been prepared by Technical Committee ACE/21 and is
one of a series for textiles of a quality suitable for aerospace purposes. It is a
revision of BS 3F 123:1990 which is withdrawn. This edition brings the standard
up to date and introduces values for maximum masses for the aerospace textiles
covered by the standard.
A British Standard does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a
contract. Users of British Standards are responsible for their correct application.
Compliance with a British Standard does not of itself confer immunity
from legal obligations.

Summary of pages
This document comprises a front cover, an inside front cover, pages i and ii,
pages 1 to 4, an inside back cover and a back cover.
This standard has been updated (see copyright date) and may have had
amendments incorporated. This will be indicated in the amendment table on the
inside front cover.

ii © BSI 11-1999
 BS 4F 123:1996

1 Scope 4 General requirements

This British Standard specifies the requirements for
woven nylon narrow fabrics for aerospace purposes,
in which the basic yarns are nominally 235 dtex.
NOTE The latest edition of an Aerospace Series standard is
indicated by a prefix number.
2 Normative references
This standard incorporates, by dated or undated
reference, provisions from other publications. These
normative references are made at the appropriate
places in the text and the cited publications are
listed on the inside back cover. For dated references,
only the edition cited applies; any subsequent
amendments to or revisions of the cited publication
apply to this standard only when incorporated in the
reference by amendment or revision. For undated
references, the latest edition of the cited publication
applies, together with any amendments.
3 Information and requirements to be
agreed and to be documented
The following information to be supplied by the
purchaser shall be fully documented. Both the
definitive requirements specified throughout the
standard and the following documented items shall
be satisfied before a claim of compliance with the
standard can be made and verified:
a) the finish (see 7.1)
b) if required dyed, the colour (see 7.2).
Table 1 — General requirements (given in BS F 100)
Section of
Section title
BS F 100
In addition to the requirements specified in
clauses 5 to 9, those requirements and tests of
the latest edition of BS F 100 which are listed in
Table 1, shall apply.
5 Yarn
5.1 The narrow fabrics shall be manufactured from
bright continuous filament nylon 6.6 yarn having a
nominal tenacity of 70 cN/tex and nominal
extension at break of 15 %.
5.2 Yarns for warp and weft shall be constructed
from singles of nominally 235 dtex, having (34 ± 2)
filaments.
5.3 The number of plies of yarn and turns per metre
of twist shall be in accordance with Table 2.
5.4 Yarns shall not be sized.
6 Construction and properties
6.1 The fabric in the finished state shall conform to
the requirements given in Table 2.
6.2 The webbings shall be woven on a shuttle loom.
Shuttleless constructions shall not be permitted.
6.3 For the fabrics listed in Table 3, some of the
main warp ends shall be coloured. These threads
shall be centrally disposed, and of the same
composition and structure as the other main warp
threads, and shall be included in the total number
given in Table 2.
Requirements and tests

1 General All requirements

2 Quality requirements
3 Physical tests
4 Chemical tests
Requirements for manufacture of narrow fabrics
Requirements for dyed textiles
Requirements for dimensions and tolerances
Requirements for freedom from corrosive impurities
(see section 4 of BS F 100)
Requirements for freedom from faults of woven narrow
fabrics
Test for determination of number of threads per unit length
in fabrics
Test for the determination of the mass of fabrics
Test for breaking strength and extension under force
Test for dimensional stability on heating: boiling water
If required by section 2 of BS F 100:
Test for conductivity of aqueous extract
Test for pH value of aqueous extract
Test for water soluble chloride
Test for water soluble sulphate

© BSI 11-1999 1
 Table 2 — Construction and properties
2

BS 4F 123:1996
Fabric Width Ends in Picks per Yarn structure including nominal twista Weave Maximum Nominal Minimum
designation width 100 mm mass per unit thicknessb breaking
Wrap Weft length strength

No. of Nominal No. of Nominal

plies twist plies twist
mm tpm tpm g/m mm N

613 51 300 185 ± 8 2 150 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 twill 20.3 0.66 7 350
602 25 212 142 ± 8 2 150 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 13.1 0.74 4 450
603 51 394 189 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 twill 14.5 0.43 4 450
8291D 38 196 212 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 8.4 0.45 2 800
107 25 190 181 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 7.3 0.45 2 200
8291C 25 130 212 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 5.6 0.45 1 870
173 25 91 158 ± 8 2 150 Z 1 200 Z Plain 6.6 0.43 1 775
276 25 142 189 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 5.3 0.41 1 475
8291B 19 94 212 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 4.4 0.45 1 400
404 13 100 122 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z Plain 3.3 0.38 1 100
8291A 25 80 212 ± 8 1 200 Z 1 200 Z 2/2 W twill 3.9 0.45 1 070
a
Tolerance on twist ± 20 %.
b
As measured in accordance with BS 2544 under a pressure of 21 kPa.
© BSI 11-1999
 BS 4F 123:1996

7 Finish 9 Identification
7.1 General The fabric shall be identified for ordering purposes
The fabric shall be either: by the number of this British Standard together
with the relevant designation given in Table 2 and,
a) scoured; or if required dyed, the colour.
b) scoured and dyed. NOTE This identification may be codified. For example, fabric
The required finish shall be specified in the contract no. 603, required dyed Nato Green, may be identified as British
Standard 4F 123/603/BS 381 C/285.
or order.
Table 3 — Colour codings
7.2 Dyeing
Fabric designation Colour code
If dyeing is required, either the fabric or the yarns
from which it is to be constructed shall be dyed. 613 6 black ends
The colour shall be identified wherever possible by 602 2 red ends
reference to an official standard, e.g. BS 381C, or 603 2 red ends
otherwise by pattern, and shall be documented in
NOTE These coloured threads are intended as an inspection
accordance with clause 3. aid to the user to differentiate these fabrics from others of
similar appearance.
8 Dimensional stability
The dimensional stability of the fabric, as supplied,
shall be such that when immersed in boiling water,
the lengthways shrinkage shall not exceed 2 %.

© BSI 11-1999 3
4 blank
 BS 4F 123:1996

List of references

Normative references

BSI publications
BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION, London

BS 5F 100:1991, Procedure for inspection and testing of textiles for aerospace purposes.
BS 381C:1988, Specification for colours for identification, coding and special purposes.
BS 2544:1987, Methods for determination of thickness of textile materials.

© BSI 11-1999
BS 4F 123:
1996
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