A.P.S. Sawhney1, Kumar V. Singh2, B. Condon1, Su-Seng Pang3, Imtiaz Hossain3, and Matthew H. Hohenschutz3. (1) USDA-ARS-SRRC, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124, (2) Miami University, 056 L EGB, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department, Oxford, OH 45056, (3) Louisiana State University, 2508 CEBA Mechanical Engineering Department, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
The art of weaving continues to be the most predominantly used method of converting textile fibers into various end-products, including apparel. In fact, the weaving is by far the largest textile manufacturing sector, worldwide. However, the weaving process is complex and costly. Reliable prediction of weaving performance of a warp yarn without actual weaving can be cost effective and hence beneficial to a weaving mill in negotiating price contracts with their customers (buyers of the mill output). Although the weaving performance or the so-called weavability of a warp yarn depends on many factors, including the warp yarn preparation, the fabric construction and structure, the type and speed of weaving machine, and the quality of filling yarn, the quality or the weaving endurance of the (greige) warp yarn considerably influences the ultimate weaving performance or productivity, which, in turn, essentially determines the profitability of the textile mill. In an ARS-USDA supported research project to explore feasibility of size-free weaving of a cotton fabric, a prototype Yarn Endurance Tester (YET) was developed in collaboration with the Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, to cost effectively expedite the research on size-free weaving of different yarns with minimum actual weaving, since the weaving process, as mentioned previously, is very costly, complex, and, above all, time consuming in a laboratory scenario. Furthermore, since the inherent basic attributes/quality of a greige warp yarn is known to considerably influence the weavability or performance of its sized/slashed version, it is believed that the YET would be equally useful in assessing the sized yarns, as well, in traditional weaving. Hence, a brief description of the YET is the basis of this manuscript for the Cotton Beltwide ’08 Conference on Cotton Utilization.
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