NATIONAL INSTIUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY

FABRIC SCIENCE – III

ASSIGNMENT – 1

TOPIC: SINGEING

SUBMITTED TO: Ms. ABOLI NAIK

SUBMITTED BY: DHRUV SAHNEY

BFT/17/54
INDEX
1. INTRODUCTION TO PREPARATION

2. INTRODUCTION TO SINGEING

3. CONCEPT BEHIND SINGEING

4. PARAMETERS BEHIND SINGEING

5. TYPES OF SINGEING

6. ADVANTAGES OF SINGEING

7. YARN SINGEING
 INTRODUCTION TO PREPRATION

Need for preparation/ pretreatment

The basic objective of pretreatment processing is removal of added or natural impurities
present in textile fibres to improve the absorbency. This prepares the textile substrate for
downstream processes like dyeing, printing, finishing etc.Improvement in absorbency brings
about

 Improved comfort
 Improved downstream processing
Improved here means not only higher dye/finish uptake but also more uniform treatment.
In case of silk, degumming improves lustre but reduces absorbency
The nature and amount of natural impurities present depends on the fibre type ( generally
high in natural fibres ). In general, synthetic fibres do not have any natural impurity. Added
impurities are the additives or chemicals which are added to facilitate certain processes like
weaving (sizing) or prevention of static (lubrication/antistatic treatment during melt
spinning).
Pretreatment stage

 Is non- value –added stage of the coloration process

 Is often not optimized
 Makes excessive use of chemicals, auxiliaries and utilities
 Is characterized by high carry-over of preparation residues
This makes it imperative to understand the science of impurity removal and functions of
various chemicals and auxiliaries used in pretreatment.
 INTRODUCTION TO SINGEING

WHAT IS SINGEING?
The protruding fibres on the surface of a fabric manufactured with spun yarns may be desirable in
that they impart a little softness to the fabric, but nonetheless they are seen as a nuisance. These
protruding fibres

1. Create a fuzz which might obscure sharpness of a print or a coloured strip on the garment

2. Can attract soil

3. May aggravate pilling

Many cotton materials are valued for their smooth appearance e.g. lustrous sateen and satin
weaves. Hence, in general, it is desirable to remove these surface fibres. One of the most
common methods to do this is just burn off these fibres! This is known as Singeing.

• The verb singe literally means to burn superficially. Technically, singeing refers to the
burning-off of:
• Loose fibres not firmly bound into the yarn and/or fabric structure;
• Loose yarns not firmly bound into the fabric structure;
• Protruding fibre ends sticking out of the textile yarns and/or fabrics.
CONCEPT BEHIND SINGEING
PYROLYSIS
Pyrolysis refers to transformation of a substance by the action of heat. At temperature of
pyrolysis (Tp), both thermoplastic and non-thermoplastic fibres decompose (pyrolyze) into
lower molecular weight fragments. Many of these low mol. Wt. fragments are volatile and
flammable.

COBUSTION
The process of burning is termed as combustion. The temperature at which the fibre catches
fire is known as temperature of combustion (Tc). This is always higher than Pyrolysis
temperature. The chemical change, which begins at temperature of pyrolysis, continues
through the temperature of combustion. At or above Tc the substrate starts burning. The
complication arises in case of thermoplastic fibres, which may actually melt before they
pyrolyze or burn i.e., Tm<Tp or Tc

PARAMETERS FOR SINGEING

The protruding fibres are generally burned off in a gas flame. The gas is passed through a
slot burner which is longer than the fabric width. A series of nozzles are present on the
burner. When the burner is started, it creates a uniform flame along its entire length. Since
the type of fibre in a fabric and its construction have significant influence on the burning
behaviour of fibres, singeing parameters needs to be adjusted very carefully. In fact, every
time the fibre type or fabric construction changes, singeing parameters needs to be changed
and may require some fine tuning as well.
Following are the parameters which need to be considered during singeing a fabric:

 Fabric Speed
 Flame Intensity
 Flame Colour
 Burner Position
 Flame Distance from Fabric Surface
TYPES OF SINGING
Plate singeing machine
Plate singeing machine consists of 1-2 inch thick copper plates which are heated from below
by burning heavy petroleum oil. The plates are heated to a bright red color and the fabric
passes over the plates at speeds up to 200 yards per minute. A special traversing
arrangement is provided to prevent local cooling which may occur due to constant passage
of cloth over it. The singed cloth is then run through water to extinguish the spark.

Rotary cylinder machine

Cloth passes over a hollow cylinder. It rotates slowly in a direction opposite to that of fabric.
It is fired internally.

Gas Singeing
In gas singeing, a suitable mixture of gas and air under pressure is used as the heat source.
This mixture is fed into a slot burner where it undergoes combustion. Coal gas, petrol gas or
butane gas may be used as the fuel.
The width of the burner can be adjusted to suit different fabric widths. The flame height and
consequently the heat intensity can be varied for different fabrics by altering the pressure of
the mixture or the ratio of gas and air in mixture.
Upon combustion the temperature of the flame may reach 13000C.
It is important to preheat the cloth to reduce its moisture content before singeing, as a dry
cloth performs better than a cold fabric. The heat energy may convert the moisture in fabric
to steam which can hinder singeing.
Immediately after singeing, the cloth may be quenched in an aqueous bath to quench any
like spark to prevent a potential fire.

ADVANTAGES OF SINGEING
 Fabrics, which have been singed, soil less easily than un-singed fabrics.
 The risk of pilling, especially with synthetics and their blends, is reduced in case of
singed fabrics.
 Singed fabrics allow printing of fine intricate patterns with high clarity and detail.
 The risk of skitter dyeing with singed articles dyed in dark shades is considerably
reduced, as randomly protruding fibres are removed in singeing which could cause
diffused reflection of light.
YARN SINGEING
Textile yarns are singed for applications like sewing thread, where the resistance caused by
protruding fibres during high speed sewing needs to be lowered. The high friction may lead
to a lot of frictional heat generation, leading to damage to fabric and frequent yarn
breakage.
BIBLOGRAPHY

 www.britanica.com
 www.nptel.com
 www.textilelearner.com
 www.fibre2fashion.com

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