Humidity/Moisture

1.1. Humidity/Moisture and its importance

The amount of water vapor in the air is referred to as humidity. The more water that is in the
air there is, the higher we say that the humidity has risen. As the textile production process is
significantly affected by humidity so operating production process at standard atmosphere
has the following positive sides-

1) Reduced amount of static electricity generation due to friction.

2) It increases the flexibility of the material which facilitate production
3) Minimum amount of dust and fly are generated
4) Higher strength can be achieved
5) Material can absorb moisture which increases comfort ability.

1.2. Effect of humidity on the physical properties of textile material

1. Dimensional: The mass of the fibers is simply the sum of the mass of the dry fiber
plus the mass of the water. The absorption of moisture by fibers causes them to swell,
because of the insertion of water molecules between the previously tightly packed
fiber molecules. As a result, fiber length becomes shorter and cross-section becomes
wider.

Fiber Name Diameter Length

Cotton 20% 0.1%

Wool 14.8% 3.7%

Silk 16.5% 0.3%

Viscose 25% 3.7%

Nylon 1.9% 2.7%

2. Mechanical Properties: Some fibers, such as wool and viscose, lose strength when
they absorb water and some, such as cotton, flax, hemp and jute, increase in strength.
Furthermore the extensibility, that is the extension at a given load, can increase for
some fibers when they are wet.
3. Electrical Properties: The moisture content of fibers also has an important effect on
their electrical properties. The main change is to their electrical resistance. The
resistance decreases with increasing moisture content.
1.3. Moisture regain (MR) & Moisture content (MC) & their relationship
Moisture Regain: Moisture regain is the weight of water in a material expressed as a
percentage of the oven dry weight.

W
Moisture Regain, R = 100
D
Moisture Content: Moisture content is the weight of water expressed as a percentage of the
total weight.
W
Moisture content, M = 100
D+ W

Where D is the dry weight and W is the weight of absorbed water

Relation between moisture regain (MC) and moisture content (MC):

We know,
W
Moisture content, M = 100 .......... (i)
D+ W
W
Moisture Regain, R = 100
D
W
D = 100 ................ (ii)
R
Now, putting the value of D in equation (i)
We get,
W
M=  100
W
 100 + W
R
R100 W
=
100 W+ WR
R 100 W
=
W(100 + R)
100 R
 M= .................... (iii)
100 + R
This is the relation between moisture content and moisture regain.
Now, from equation (iii) we get,
100 R = 100M+MR
100M=R (100-M)
100 M
R=
100 − M
This is the relation between moisture regain and moisture content.
1.4. Moisture regain and Moisture content of some textile fibers

The following lists are some examples of MR and MC value of textile fibers-

Fibers Moisture Content Moisture Regain

(MC)% (MR)%
Cotton 7.8 8.50
Jute 12.1 13.75
Wool 13.8 16.00
Silk 9.9 11.00
Flax 10.7 12.00
Linen 8.0 8.75
Viscose rayon 11.0 13.00
Acetate rayon 6.0 6.50
Polyester 0.4 0.4
Nylon 4.0 4.5
Hemp 10.7 12.00
Acrylic 1.5 1.5
Spandex 0.6 0.6

1.5. Define-Standard atmosphere, testing atmosphere, conditioning &

relative humidity (RH) %
Relative humidity: Relative humidity is defined as the ratio of mass of water in a given
volume of air to the mass of water to saturate the same volume of air at the same temperature
expressed as percentage

It can also define as the ratio of the actual vapor pressure to the saturated vapor pressure at
ActualVapor Pr essure
the same temperature expressed as a percentage i.e. RH % = X 100 .
SaturatedVapor Pr essure
Absolute humidity: The absolute humidity is defined as the weight of water present in unit
volume of moist air measured in grams per cubic meter.

Standard atmosphere: standard atmosphere is defined as a relative humidity of 65% and a

temperature of 200C. For tropical countries it is 270C.

Testing atmosphere: The testing atmosphere is defined as a relative humidity of 65%±2%

and a temperature of 20±20C. For tropical countries it is 27±20C.

Conditioning: It can be defined as the keeping of textile material uncovered at testing

atmosphere before testing for 24 hours.
1.6. Calculation related to MR, MC and RH%
Example: The temperature reading of dry bulb and wet bulb are 700F and 600F respectively.
Find its RH% (constant=3).

Ans: We know,
Cons tan tXTemperatureDiff
RH % = 98 − X 100
Drybulbtemp
3 X (70 − 60)
= 98 − X 100%
70
=55.143%
Example: If the moisture content of 10 gm textile material is 10% then what will be its
moisture regain?

Answer: We know,

Moisture regain, Given data,

100 M Moisture content,
R=
100 − M M=10%
100  10
=
100 − 10
= 11.11%

Example: The oven dry weight of 200 grain jute yarn is 180 grain. Determine its Moisture
regain and Moisture content.
Ans:

We know,

Weight of water, W =Actual wt- oven dry weight = (200-180) grain =20 grain

Again,
W 20
R= 100 = 100 = 11.11%
D 180

And
W 20
M= 100 =  100 = 10%
D+ W 180 + 20

1.7. Correct Invoice Weight (CIW)

Usually textile materials e.g. fiber, yarn and fabric are sold in weight basis. The moisture
content present in the material is a considerable fact. In this regard, standard moisture content
is considered for different fibers as a result possibility of being loss is avoided. Determination
of such weight is known as Correct Invoice Weight.
If M=mass of consignment at time of sampling, D=oven dry mass of sample, S=original mass
of sample and C=oven dry mass of the consignment:

Then,
 100 + R 1 
Correct invoice weight = C   
 100 
Where, C = Oven dry weight, R1 = Commercial Moisture regain

If the material contains grease, oil other impurities then the formula used for calculating CIW
can be given as Where, A2 = Grease or other, B2 = oil or other
  100 + R 2 + A 2 + B2 
Correct invoice weight = C   
 100 
Example: Determine the CIW of 5 gm Cotton.
Ans: We know,

100 + R 1 100 + 8.5

CIW = C  = 5
100 100
= 5.425 gm
Example: Determine the CIW of 20 kg, 50/50 wool / viscose yarn.
Ans:
50 17 50 13
R= +
100 100
(Wool=17%, Viscose=13%)
= 8.5+6.5=15%
Now,
100 + R 100 + 15
CIW = C  = 20 
100 100
= 23 kg (Ans)