Indian Journal of Fibre & Textile Research Vol . 28, June 2003. pp. 1 57- 1 62

Influence of ring traveller weight and coating on hairiness of acrylic and cotton yarns

i Usta & S Canoglu"

Department of Texti le Studies, Faculty of Technical Education, University of Marmara, Goztepe, 8 1040 Istanbul , Turkey

Received 10 January 2002; revised received 14 March 2002; accepted I I JUlie 2002

The i nfiucnce of ring travellers of different weights, types and coatings on hairiness of 30 tex (a,ex , 3 1 .6) acrylic yarns spun from microfibres and cotton yarns has been studied. The yarns were also knitted into fabrics to observe and evaluate pi l l ing values. It is observed that the hairiness values of acryl ic and cotton yarns decrease as the traveller weight increases, regardless of the type of coating used. The C2f fiat travellers cause less hairiness than M2dr hal f round travcl lers. Short fibres are found to be the main factor to cause yarn hairiness.

Keywords: Acrylic yarn, Colton yarn, Pil l ing, Spinning, Yarn hairiness

1 Introduction Hairiness influences the properties of yarns and

fabrics. In warp yarns, it can cause considerable breakage and hence the stoppage of weaving looms, thus reducing the efficiency of production. It causes pi ll ing on fabrics and spoils their appearance. Yarn hairiness is very complex but it is now routinely tested as the other parameters of yarns. The hairiness can be defined as the state of migrated fibre ends and fibre loops pushed to the surface of the yarn body. The factors causing the yarn hairiness can be studied from three different angles, i .e . physical properties of fibres, yarn parameters and machine parameters used.

The influence on hairiness by ring travellers has been a field of several investigations. In most of the studies, it has been observed that the yarn hairiness decreases as the weight of the travel ler increases, whereas in some studies it is stated that as the traveller weight increases, the hairiness decreases gradually down to a certain point and then begins to increase 1 -5 . The present work was therefore aimed at studying the influence of ring travel ler type, weight and coating on hairiness of acrylic yarns spun from microfibres and cotton yarns.

2 Materials and Methods

The experiments were carried out on 30 tex (aleX. 3 1 .6) yarns produced from acrylic microfibres and

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E-mail : scanoglu @marmara.edu.tr

cotton fibres under the laboratory conditions (20 ± i) C and 65 ± 2 % R H) . Before spinning, the rovings were conditioned for 48 h. The fibre specification and the ring spinning parameters are shown in Tables 1 and 2 respectively .

2. 1 Ring Travellers

Two different travel lers (C2f and M2dr), each having 8 varying weights, 4 types of coating and 2 profiles, were used for the study.

Table I - Fibre specifications

Speci fication

Linear density, dtex

Staple length, mm

2.5 % Span length, mm

50 % Span length, mm

Strength, g/tex

Elongation, %

Acryl ic

0.9

38

Fibre Cotton

1 .7 (4.4 micronaire)

29.7

1 4.4

1 7 .5

7 .9

Table 2 - R ing spinning parameters

Machine dimensions, mm 650x l 960xlOOO

Diam. of drafting rollers, mm 28

Diam. of top rollers, mm 28

Front drafting zone, mm

Main drafting zone, mm

Spindle length, mm

Tube length, mm

R ing diameter, mm

Flange width, mm

Spindle speed, rpm

45

42 2 10

260

50

4 10,000

1 58 INDIAN J. F IBRE TEXT. RES . , JUNE 2003

The following coding was used to identify different travellers:

C 2 Codes

f SP

L Coaling Typ' of 1m,,',, : I I Ring flange lype '----I�� Traveller profi le

Type of travel ler: C (standard type) and M (thick type of C). Ring flange: Type 2 (4. 1 mm) Traveller profi le: f ( flat ) and dr ( half round ).

Table 3 - Spinning detai ls 30 lex (a «x ' 3 1 .6) yarn [Spindle speed. I 0,000 rpm I

Travel ler lype

C2f

Coal ing lype

SP

B

M

S

M2dr SP

B

M

S

Cotton roving

lex

550

550

550

550

550

550

550

550

Acrylic Traveller roving weighl

lex mg

600

600 60, 7 1 . 80. 85, 95. 600 1 06. 1 1 2 , 1 25

600

600

600 60, 7 1 , 80, 85, 95,

600 1 06, I 1 2, 1 25

600

SP- Superpolish, B- B lacknic, M - M icronic, and S - Si lvernic

Coating type: SP (superpolish) specially polished; B (blacknic) nickel coating; M (micronic) chrome coating; and S (si lvernic) silver coati ng.

Eight different cops produced with each traveller type are shown in Table 3 .

2.2 Determination o f Yarn Hairiness

All the yarn samples produced were kept under the standard laboratory conditions for 48 h before testing for hairiness on Zweigle G 565 hairiness meter. The yarn delivery speed was 50 m/min. The number of protruding fibres, N 1 (> I mm long), N2( < 2mm long), N3( < 3mm long) and S3(> 3mm long) were observed. Four tests were carried out for each yarn sample.

2.3 Fibre Forms Affecting Hairiness

In th is work, 9 different forms of fibres were determined on the surface of yarn using a projection microscope, s imilar to that in Onions and Yates6

works. These fibre forms were photographed by scanning electron microscope (Jeol JSM 5200). In th is study, 6 fibre forms (short fibres, long fibres, fibre bridges, fibre loops, loose fibres and vertical fibres) have been used in measuring yarn hairiness. However, only short fibres and fibre bridges are taken into consideration (Fig. I ) as they are first and second major fibre forms in the measurements (Table 4).

The yarn samples were re-examined under the projection microscope considering the photographs

Fig. I-SEM photographs showing hairiness in acryl ic and cotton yarns [Acryl ic : a - short fibres and b - fibre bridges; Cotton : e - short fibres and d - fibre bridges]

USTA & CANOGLU : INFLUENCE OF RING TRAVELLER WEIGHT AND COATING ON HAIRINESS 1 59

Table 4 - Number of fibres counted

Travel ler Number of fibres

weight Short fibres Long fibres Fibre bridges Fibre loops Loose fibres Vertical fibres mg C2f M2dr C2f M2dr C2f

60 a 1 78 1 36 72 1 1 2 1 68 c 165 2 1 2 102 1 78 1 05

7 1 a 1 62 148 63 148 1 83 c 156 1 89 86 1 65 92

80 a 170 1 56 66 1 2 1 1 78 c 1 42 20 1 73 1 25 1 1 0

85 a 1 5 1 1 2 1 68 98 1 5 1 c 1 36 1 86 78 1 36 92

95 a 1 48 1 32 45 92 1 45 c 1 1 8 145 56 1 5 8 65

1 06 a 1 36 I I I 36 86 1 70 c 1 25 1 56 35 85 1 00

1 1 2 a 1 24 98 28 75 1 7 1 c 85 1 28 22 63 1 20

125 a 96 92 25 62 1 20 c 72 1 1 9 1 8 48 1 02

Total a 1 1 65 994 403 794 1 286 c 999 1 336 470 958 786

a - acry l ic, and c - cotton

shown in Fig. l . The yarns were magnified (x50) and reflected on Projectina screen, scaled in cm. Two parallel lines, 2 mm (0.04 mm in actual yarn) apart, were drawn on the yarn appearance. Drawing was similar as reported in earlier work 7.8. The part between the parallel lines was assumed to be the yarn body. Two new parallel lines, 50 mm ( l mm in actual yarn) away from the yarn axis, were also drawn. The fibres within the area were considered as short fibres and those outside as long fibres (Fig. 2) .

The yarn sample of 1 m length was examined and evaluated with the assumptions as specified above. Fifteen tests were carried out for each type, coating and weight of traveller. Thus, 960 m of acrylic yarn and 960 m of cotton yarn were tested in total. Since the difference among the 60 measurements from 4 coated types of traveller was insignificant, only their mean values in 1 m are shown in Table 4.

It is observ.ed from the total values in Table 4 that when C2f type ring travellers are used for the acrylic yarns, the hairiness is caused, in order of importance, by fibre bridges, short fibres, long fibres, fibre loops, vertical fibres and loose fibres. In the case of cotton yarns, the fibre forms ranked as short fibres, fibre bridges, vertical fibres, long fibres, fibre loops and loose fibres. With M2dr type ring travel lers, the order becomes for acrylic yarns as fibre bridges, short

M2dr C2f M2dr C2f M2dr C2f M2dr

1 92 5 1 52 48 1 60 22 62

145 100 45 65 75 86 80

1 59 72 48 33 1 27 4 1 70 1 22 48 55 48 63 108 42

1 28 50 2 1 28 1 40 7 1 48 1 1 0 35 42 98 52 1 00 28

133 4 1 42 38 1 3 1 42 60 1 1 8 5 1 40 73 55 58 40

1 36 45 38 32 59 33 58 1 20 24 28 1 8 25 33 38

1 30 22 1 8 20 62 28 25 1 42 3 1 20 20 28 5 1 50

1 36 32 33 30 22 5 1 25 1 20 30 1 8 5 30 50 28

1 22 25 30 30 28 32 32 90 20 35 3 28 20 20

1 1 36 338 282 259 729 320 380 967 339 283 330 356 506 326

Region of long fi bres

Reg ia! of short fibres

Assumed yarn body

Fig. 2-Areas of protruding fibres

fibres, long fibres, loose fibres, vertical fibres and fibre loops. For cotton yarns, the order however is short fibres, fibre bridges, long fibres, loose fibres, vertical fibres and fibre loops.

According to these results, the short fibres and fibre bridges are found to be the major forms of fibres causing the yarn hairiness.

2.4 Pilling Assessment on the Fabric Knitted

To determine the effect of hairiness on the pilling of fabrics, the acrylic and cotton yarns were knitted into a stocking fabric on Bentley Comet machine (4 inch, E 14, 1 60 needles). The fabric samples were kept under laboratory conditions for 48 h .The samples (4 samples for each ring traveller type) were tested on Nu-Martindale fabric abrasion and pilling tester. Testing circle was set to 1000 rubs and the assessment made according to the Empa Standards (in

1 60 INDIAN J. FIBRE TEXT. RES., JUNE 2003

the order of 1 -2, 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 from worst to the best). The results are shown in Table 5 .

2.5 Determination of Yarn Tension

Yarn tension was determined during the spinning process using Schmid 2F2 instrument that measures between l OcN and 1 00cN. The yarn tension was measured when the ring rai l was at bottom position when the tension was at maximum. It is observed that the yarn tension tends to increase as the traveller weight increases (Table 6) with the

Table 5 - Pill ing values of knilted fabrics

Travel ler

weight

mg SP B

Pi l l ing value (Empa Standards)

C2f M2dr

M S SP B M

60 a 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3

c 2-3 2-3 2-3 2-3 2-3

a 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3 7 1

c 2-3 2-3 2-3 2-3 2-3

a 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3 80

c 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3

a 3-4 3-4 4-5 3-4 3-4 85

c 3-4 3-4 3-4 3-4 2-3

a 3-4 3-4 3-4 4-5 3-4 95

c 3-4 �4 3-4 3-4 3-4

a 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4 1 06

c 3-4 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4

a 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4 1 1 2

c 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4

a 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4 1 25

c 4-5 4-5 4-5 4-5 3-4

a - acrylic, and c - colton

3-4 2-3

2-3 2-3

3-4 2-3

2-3 2-3

3-4 3-4

2-3 2-3

3-4 3-4

2-3 2-3

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

3-4 3-4

S

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

2-3

3-4

2-3

3-4

3-4

3-4

3-4

3-4

3-4

SP - Ssperpol ish, B - blacknic, M - micron ie, and S - si lvcrnic

negl igible exemption of C2fSP (acryl ic) travel ler of 1 06 mg.

3 Results and Discussion The experimental results clearly show that the ring

traveller weight has a significant influence on yarn hairiness. It is observed that in general the hairiness decreases as the travel ler weight increases. The measurement of only S3 class of protruding fibres is taken as a criterion to assess hairiness of both the yarns by different types of travel ler (Figs 3 and 4). The other 3 classes show the same trend.

Fig. 3 shows that the hairiness of cotton yarn decreases as the weight of C2f type travel lers increases. The best results are obtained with micronic type of coating. The hairiness of the acrylic yarn also

45 -" -�b�fj - .: -��b��3 . . � . . �lbMJ4 - .' - . ���2 40 35 30 25 20

_ 15

t- :-__ . _ ....

!. 10 Cotton III 5 g 0

III III '" .§ 45 � 40

35 30 25

A crylic

- _ . .

20

� � L-�!�'=� -

�. -:�" �::='-�:-"���'I�7-�, ��-:�,..:,�;.�:'l�--::' -:-::... -:!�. '�' '�l:::"�=�.:..;:_::�t·--., 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 1 0 120 1 30

Traveller weight (mg) Fig. 3 - Hairiness of cotton and acrylic yarns with e2f

type of travellers

Table 6 - Spinning tension of yarns

Spinning tension, eN Travel ler ----,-------------�-=----------------------

60 " 7 1 a 80 " 85 a 95 a 1 06 a 1 1 2 a 1 25 a type

C2fSP

C2fB

C2fM

C2fS

M2drSP

M2drB

M2drM

M2drS

a

20.5

27.0

27.0

2 1 .0

26.5

25.0

27.5

28.0

c

26.0

28.0

28.0

29.0

26.0

28.0

28.0

29.0

a - acrylic, and c - colton

a c

28.0 29.0

3 1 .5 29.0

3 1 .0 29.0

28.0 30.0

32.0 29.0

29.0 29.0

27.0 29.0

30.5 30.0

" Weight of ring travel ler i n mg.

a c a c a c a c a c a c

29.5

35.5

30.0 3 1 .5

30.0 35.5

32.0 38.5 34.0 34.0 34.0 4 1 .5 35.0 40.0 36.0

32.0 38.0 33.0 39.0 34.0 40.0 36.0 40.5 36.5

33.0 30.5 33.5 3 1 .0 35.5

3 1 .0 3 1 .0 3 1 .5 32.0 37.5

32.0 30.0 35.5 32.0 34.5

32.5 30.0 34.5 32.0 34.5

32.0 30.5 34.0 3 1 .0 35.5

3 1 .0 3 1 .0 34.0 32.0 36.5

32.0 37.0 32.5 4 1 .0 34.0 46.5 36.0

32.5 38.0 33.0 45.6 35.0 43.5 36.0

34.0 38.5 34.0 39.0 35.0 43.0 36.0

33.0 36.0 34.0 38.0 36.0 40.0 36.5

32.0 36.0 32.5 37.0 34.0 4 1 .0 36.0

32.5 40.5 33.0 44.0 35.0 43.0 36.0

USTA & CANOGLU : INFLUENCE OF RING TRAVELLER WEIGHT AND COATING ON HAIRINESS 1 6 1

E ....... 11\ .... ;g 11\ 11\ '" . £; .... '6. I

:-1 ==.=..<.::r-3':lJ�S",.fLf -=--=!-=-J::&;:!.%BLJ:l�!l..-":'" ':...:..�.:...:' ·...r:&::I�J.;:t91J..1-=-:...:..�-=-.:..r. &==_�OJsA:!:LJ3 I 140 cotton 1 120

100 80 80 40 20

0

140 1 20 100 80 60 40 20

0 50

--

--

t.

• :::..·:.:..·..:-:�r1� '-·:..·! ·..: :.: : .. : . . . . . 11 . . • . . . • .

• . - . _ . _ . _ 1 -.- _ _ _ ....

Acrylic

60

. . .... - ..... . - .

70 80 90 100 Traveller weight (mg)

1 10

- . .

1 20 130

Fig. 4 - Hairiness of colton and acryl ic yarns with M2dr type of travelers

decreases as that in case of cotton with C2f type travellers. Superpolish travellers show the best results up to the weight of 1 1 2 mg, but blacknic types were better for h igher weights.

Fig. 4 shows that the hairiness of cotton yarn decreases with the increase in weight of M2dr type travellers, the decrease in hairiness being noticeably less with M2drSP and M2drM travellers. The best results are obtained with superpolish travellers of up to 85 mg, but with heavier weights the si lvernic types are better. The hairiness of the acrylic yarn decreases with the increase in weight of M2dr type travellers . Superpolish travellers give the best results up to 95 mg weight and si lvernic types are better for heavier weights.

3.1 Statistical Analysis

The values of hairiness observed using different weights and coatings of travellers for cotton and acrylic yarns production are shown in Table 7 .

Yarn tension also plays an important role i n yarn hairiness. The variance analysis of result is given In Table 8.

4 Conclusions 4.1 The hairiness of acrylic and cotton yarns decreases as the traveller weight increases, regardless of the type or coating. 4.2 The yarn tension increases as the weight of traveller increases. Hence, the weight of traveller has a significant influence on reducing the yarn hairiness.

Table 7 - Variance analysis of yarn hairiness usig different weights and coatings of ring travelers

( F-test)

Travel ler Acryl ic yarn Colton yarn

�'.O5 �1.O1 �1.115 �1.II1 C2f Weight n .s .

Coating n.s. n.s . n.s.

M2dr Weight s

Coating n.s. n.s . n.s . n.s.

s - significant, and n.s. - not significant

Table 8 - Variance analysis of yarn tension using different weights and coatings of ring travel lers

( F. test )

Travel ler Acryl ic yarn Cotton yarn

�1.I15 CI{).OI �'.O5 �1.O1 C2f Weight s s

Coating n.s. n.s. s s

M2dr Weight s s

Coating s s n.s. n.s.

s - signi ficant, and n.s. - not significant

4.3 C2f flat travellers cause less hairiness than M2dr half round travellers in both acryl ic and cotton yarns.

4.4 The hairi ness decreases with the travel lers of superpolish , blacknic , micronic and silvernic types of coating but the differences are insignificant.

4.5 Hairiness of the yarn is reflected as pi l l ing on the fabric produced. However, both acrylic and cotton fabrics do not show any pill ing when the yarns are spun with the C2f travellers of 1 06, 1 1 2 and 1 25 mg weights.

4.6 The travel lers of two counts heavier than the manufacturers' specification must be uti l ized in spinning under the simi lar condition to produce less hairy yarns.

4.7 In acrylic and cotton spinning, the use of flat C2f travellers can be preferred regarding hairiness in yarn provided that they are not objectionable by other considerations.

Acknowledgement The authors are thankful to the Research Centre of

the Marmara University, Yalova Fibre and Yarn Industries Co. and Temak Industrial and Commercial Co. of Textile Machine Auxiliaries, for supplying the materials.

1 62 INDIAN J . FIBRE TEXT. RES. , J UNE 2003

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