Abstract No.

Poster161

STUDIES ON MOISTURE CONTENT IN COTTON FIBRE ASSEMBLY (LINT)

IN RELATION TO VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Matish Chandra, Rajan and P. Nachane
Technologies for Prosperity, Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, India
The effect of temperature and relative humidity on absorption of moisture by cotton lint has not received
the attention of textile researchers, world over, to the extent it deserved and very little, scattered data are
available. The present experiment envisages the absorption or desorption of moisture by cotton lint at
different combination of Temperature (in the range of 14 to 44 Degree Celsius) and Relative Humidity (in
the range of 30 to 90 Percent). The information thus generated has, therefore, vast application in cotton
textile testing and trade as well, especially in context to the fact that world wide cotton is traded by
weight and at the same time moisture has a significant impact on fibre quality. The results obtained show
that the concept of gain or loss of moisture in a cotton fibre assembly is a complex phenomenon and it is
difficult to generalize it with respect to different ambient conditions. The study indicates that moisture
content increases with%RH at any given temperature as generally expected. However, at fixed relative
humidity it increases initially and then decreases with the increase in temperature, though only
marginally, in spite of higher availability of moisture(number of water molecules in vapour stage per
unit volume of air) in the atmosphere with higher temperature.
Abstract No. Poster162

COMFORT CHARACTERISTICS ADDED TO KNITTED FABRICS

FROM FLAX\COTTON BLENDED SPUN YARNS USING RING SPINNING SYSTEM
Suzan Sanad
Cotton Research Institute, Agric. Res. Center, Giza, Egypt, Faculty of Applied Arts, Mansoura, Univ
This investigation was carried out to estimate and compare comfort properties of blended yarns and
knitted fabrics, made with different proportion of cottonised flax and long staple Egyptian cotton
(Giza80) using ring spinning system. Cottonised flax was blended in proportions of 30%, 50% and 70%
with Giza 80 on draw-frame process. The 100% cotton sample was also spun to identical count for
comparison purpose. All the samples were spun to 20s, 30s, and 40s "cotton system" at a constant twist
multiplier "4.0 T. M., using the ring spinning procedure. Further, yarn samples were suitably waxed and
identically knitted into single jersey fabric with the same construction. Cotton and flax fibres, yarns and
knitted fabrics quality properties were evaluated and tested according to ASTM. The main findings
could be summarized as follows:
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The 100% cotton yarns were significantly higher yarn strength, elongation, evenness and lower
imperfections compared with the cotton /flax blended yarns.
A comparison of the bursting strength of the knitted fabric showed that those made from cotton
blended with cottonised flax yarns generally have lower bursting strength than those made from
100% cotton yarn.
Colour Efficiency (K\S) value of the flax-blended knitted fabrics were slightly higher than the
cotton knitted fabrics; however the difference between different flax blend ratio was statistically
insignificant.
Adding flax to cotton knitted fabrics increases the Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). UPF was
increased in the respective flax component with decreased yarn count.
The result showed that the knitted flax blended fabrics permit more moisture absorbed through
it, as compared to the 100% cotton knitted fabrics. This could be attributed to the large diameter
of the flax fibre, as fibre fineness. However the difference between cotton and its blends with flax
was statistically significant. The air permeability, moisture regain and UPF results revealed that
the knitted fabrics made from cotton /cottonised flax are more suitable for summer
World Cotton Research Conference on Technologies for Prosperity