A study on within-fibre diameter variation of wool

This work established and experimentally validated several models for accurately predicting wool fibre and yarn properties. The results will be useful in fibre selection, and will help predict fibre processing performance and end-product quality.

Wool industry : a decade of turbulence : an examination of some of the factors contributing to the crisis within Australia's wool industry, and the resulting economic, social and demographic effects on a small isolated rural community

A central issue of this thesis has been an examination of the effects that the current wool crisis has had on the Balmoral district, an area almost solely devoted to the production of wool and wool sheep. Examines the methods being utilised to try to alleviate some of these effects.

Spectroscopic and model compound studies relevant to wool processing

Describes the development of a cell to hold loose wool fibre, fabric and yarn samples for the collection of Fourier Transform Raman spectra. Then follows a detailed study of reactions of Lanasol (Ciba) dyes with wool, the dyes forming covalent bonds with various amino acids in the fibres.

Prediction of wool knitwear pilling propensity using support vector machines

The propensity of wool knitwear to form entangled fiber balls, known as pills, on the surface is affected by a large number of factors. This study examines, for the first time, the application of the support vector machine (SVM) data mining tool to the pilling propensity prediction of wool knitwear. The results indicate that by using the binary classification method and the radial basis function (RBF) kernel function, the SVM is able to give high pilling propensity prediction accuracy for wool knitwear without data over-fitting. The study also found that the number of records available for each pill rating greatly affects the learning and prediction capability of SVM models.

Recent research on natural fibres and textiles

This paper provides an overview of recent research on a range of natural fibres and textiles. The focus is on work carried out at Deakin University’s Centre for Material and Fibre Innovation, which is a multidisciplinary research centre with over 100 researchers. The fibres include hemp, wool, silk, and alpaca fibres. Research on yarns, fabrics, and fine powders made from wool and silk fibres are briefly discussed also.

The within-fibre diameter variation of wool has been examined systematically, which highlights the importance of this hard-to-measure fibre attribute. A relationship between hemp fibre fineness and residual gum content has been established, which provides a rapid means of assessing the residual gum content in the degummed hemp fibres. Silk and wool fibres have been converted into ultrafine powders for advanced applications. The Resistance to Compression (RtC) behaviour of wool and alpaca fibres has been closely examined, which challenges the belief that RtC is a good indicator of fibre softness. Ways of reducing the hairiness of natural fibre yarns, predicting the pilling propensity of wool knits, and functionalising fabrics for superhydrophobicity and photochromic or colour changing effects are discussed.

Pulsed plasma polymerization of hexamethyldisiloxane onto wool : control of moisture vapor transmission rate and surface adhesion

A new fabric with potential in medical textiles has been developed by application of a surface coating on wool using pulsed plasma polymerization of HMDSO. This coating enabled a controllable MVTR and surface adhesion. MVTR in the range recommended for optimum wound healing was obtained by varying frequency, monomer pressure and deposition time. Lower surface adhesion was achieved. Peeling tests, contact angle measurements, SPM force curves and ATR FT-IR were used to characterize the surfaces for both wool and a PE model substrate. All these results were consistent with a decrease in surface energy after PP-HMDSO treatment. ATR FT-IR results showed a siloxane film with less organic Si(CH₃)_n groups and more SiOSi cross-links.

Cuticle modifications and dyeing property of ultrasonically scoured wool

Ultrasonics has the potential to reduce the cost and environmental impact of textile processing. This work investigates the effects of utrasonic irradiation during wool scouring on fibre surface properties and fibre dyeing rate. A range of ultrasonic frequencies were used in the scouring bath to examine the forms of fibre cuticle damage. It was shown that ultrasonically scoured wool underwent some modifications of the fibre surface structure which resulted in a higher rate of dye uptake by the fibres, when compared with the conventionally scoured wool. The lower the ultrasonic frequency the more sever was the cuticle damage to wool during scouring, hence the higher the fibre dye uptake.

Improving wool/polyester yarn quality by transposal spinning with movable balloon control ring

To improve yarn quality in ring spinning frame, this paper examines transposal spinning with the movable balloon control ring. The left-transposal spinning and the right-transposal spinning were experimented to spin two yarns; after installing the movable balloon control ring, the two methods were respectively used to spin two other yarns again. All the experiments were on the same ring frame and the raw material was wool/polyester blend roving with a ration of 30/70. The main quality indexes of the four yarns were tested and analyzed, including hairiness, tensile property, evenness and usual faults. The results show that the yarn spun by the left-transposal spinning has a better quality than the right-transposal spinning, and after adding the movable balloon control ring, the improvement of yarn hairiness strength and evenness, as well usual faults, is very obvious. So, in the advantage of transposal spinning, the method of installing the movable balloon control ring can improve some deteriorative problems and make yarn quality better. In addition, the method gives new insight into energy efficiency. The research in this field in on the way and the result is in accord with the Low-carbon Economy.

Recent developments in wool related research in Australia

Fibre related research in Australia is entering a new era. In May 2010, the former Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Kevin Rudd, announced a $37 million grant under the Education investment Fund (EIF) scheme to establish the Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre (AFFRIC) at Deakin University’s Geelong Campus. This is $102 million joint initiative between Deakin University, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing (VCAMM). Wool related research fits within two of the four program areas under AFFRIC: green natural fibres and functional fibrous materials. Selected examples of our recent wool related research are discussed, with a focus on the work involving researchers at Deakin University.

Study on the antibacterial properties of superfine wool powder part I : experiment

The superfine wool-powder was prepared by ball and jet milling. According to FZ/T 01021-92 method the bacteriostatic property of the wool-powder was tested. The results showed that wool-powder had excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus (MRSA), and the antibacterial rate of E. coli could reach 85% and the MRSA could exceed 70%. The IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were used to discuss the antibacterial properties of superfine wool-powder.

Influence of stocking rate and mixed grazing of Angora goats and Merino sheep on animal and pasture production in southern Australia : 3 : mohair and wool production and quality

The effects of animal species (AS; Angora goats, Merino sheep, mixed-grazed goats and sheep at the ratio of 1:1) and stocking rate (SR; 7.5, 10 and 12.5 animals/ha) on fibre production and quality were determined in a replicated experiment on improved annual temperate pastures in southern Australia from 1981 to 1984. Separately grazed sheep produced the most total clean fibre/ha at each SR. Mixed-grazed treatments produced amounts of clean fibre/ha similar to the arithmetic mean of sheep and goat treatments at 7.5/ha (21.9 versus 21.3 kg/ha), 10% more at 10/ha (28.3 versus 25.3 kg/ha, P < 0.05) and 7% more at 12.5/ha (31.6 versus 29.6 kg/ha, P < 0.10). Clean wool production/head was affected by AS and SR but not year. Clean mohair production was affected by SR and year but not AS. Variation in mean fibre diameter (MFD) accounted for 67 and 71%, respectively, of the variation in clean wool and clean mohair production/head. There was an AS SR interaction for clean fibre production/t pasture. Growth rate of mohair was highest in autumn and least in summer. In each season, an increase in the SR reduced the clean mohair growth rate. Growth rate of wool was highest in spring and least in summer. Wool and mohair MFD were affected by an AS SR interaction. Mohair MFD was also affected by year and season. At 10/ha, wool from mixed-grazed sheep had a greater MFD than wool from separately grazed sheep (20.2 versus 18.9 μm) and mixed-grazed goats grew mohair 1 μm coarser than separately grazed goats. At 12.5/ha mixed-grazed goats grew mohair 1.9 μm finer than separately grazed goats. Mohair MFD was predicted by a multiple regression that included average liveweight for the period of fleece growth, season of growth (summer 1 μm finer than winter) and year (range 1.27 μm). Mohair MFD increased 4.7 μm/10 kg increase in average fleece-free liveweight (P = 6.4 10-14). Fleece-free liveweight alone accounted for 76.4% of the variation in mohair MFD. There was an AS SR interaction for the incidence of kemp and medullated fibres; under severe grazing pressure their incidence was suppressed. This experiment indicated that the principles associated with the effects of SR on wool production on annual temperate pastures apply to mohair production. Mixed grazing of Merino sheep and Angora goats produced complementary and competitive effects depending on the SR. Angora goats should not be grazed alone or mixed-grazed with sheep on annual temperate pastures at SR greater than that recommended for Merino sheep.

A correlation study of subjective sensorial evaluation and objective softness measurement of wool fabrics

Comfort is one of the most important aspects of clothing, especially for next-to-skin garments such as shirts and trousers for summer. Sensorial comfort has a strong relationship with both the mechanical and surface properties of apparel fabric. A comfortable textile material should have properties of softness, smooth surface or texture, be pleasant to touch and very flexible. When assessing fabric handle subjectively, the assessor usually strokes the fabric surface with one or several fingers and squash the fabric gently in hand. Thus, the perception of such handle includes complex parameters of compression, tactile sensation and textural effect. In this work, we attempted to use a simple technique of objectively evaluating fabric softness related properties, by measuring the force required to pull a fabric strip through a series of parallel pins (the pulling force). We also subjectively rated the fabric handle. The correlation analysis showed very good agreement between the fabric pulling force and subjective hand rating.