20
S. Raja Balasaraswathi and R. Rathinamoorthy
has reduced the fragmentation of the polyamide fabrics during the washing. It is
also reported that the treatment can withstand the washing by post-wash analysis
[56]. In other research, biodegradable polymers Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly
Butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate (PBSA) are coated on polyamide fabrics to
reduce microfiber shedding. In this, electrofluidodynamic process is carried out to
provide better homogeneity of coating while not affecting the handle and wettability
of the fabric. They have reported a strong reduction, more than 80%, in the microfiber
generation of treated fabrics compared to untreated ones [57].
To consolidate, the surface treatments have a significant impact on the microfiber
shedding. Mechanical finishes have accelerated the shedding [43, 47, 55] whereas
the chemical finishes have controlled the shedding to a considerable extent [56, 57].
However, only the effect of brushing is studied among various mechanical finishes.
The other finishes like calendaring and singeing might reduce the shedding where
the detailed researches are not found. In the case of chemical finishes, the effective
reduction has been noted. Yet the researches have been done on polyamide fabrics
alone. The other point to be considered with chemical finishes is durability as the
finishes will degrade over the domestic laundering of fabrics.
4.5 Effects of Aging
The time elapsed since the material was formed is referred to as the age of the material.
The aging can be of different types including physical aging, thermal degradation,
chemical attack, mechanical stress, and photochemical degradation. Throughout the
material usage, it undergoes different types of aging and the effect of aging on the
textile properties will vary with types of aging. As a result of physical aging, the
fibers get harder, denser, and stiffer. Further, the exposure of the textile materials to
light throughout the usage can cause photochemical degradation which can result in
the reduction of molecular weight of the polymer [58].
As a result of aging, there will be considerable changes in the physical and mechanical characteristics of the textile materials. These changes can affect the shedding
behavior of textile materials. Hence it is important to analyze the effect of garment
aging on the shedding behavior of the textile materials. Various studies have been
made to understand the effect of aging on the microfiber shedding. Hartline et al.
studied the microfiber shedding of new and aged garments. They simulated the aged
garments by subjecting the fabrics to 24 h of continuous washing. The mechanically
aged garments shown increased shedding and shed 25% more fibers than the new
garments. They have used a filtering system where two different pore sizes were
used. The significant difference between the new and aged garments was noted in
the 333 µm filter and no significant variation is noted in 20 µm filter. From this, they
have concluded that the aging of garments causes an impact on the larger fibers than
the shorter fibers. Moreover, more fraying was noted in the visual examination of
aged garments and this can attribute to the increased shedding in the aged garments
[59]. Similarly, the other researchers have analyzed the impact of aging on shedding
S. Raja Balasaraswathi and R. Rathinamoorthy
has reduced the fragmentation of the polyamide fabrics during the washing. It is
also reported that the treatment can withstand the washing by post-wash analysis
[56]. In other research, biodegradable polymers Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) and Poly
Butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate (PBSA) are coated on polyamide fabrics to
reduce microfiber shedding. In this, electrofluidodynamic process is carried out to
provide better homogeneity of coating while not affecting the handle and wettability
of the fabric. They have reported a strong reduction, more than 80%, in the microfiber
generation of treated fabrics compared to untreated ones [57].
To consolidate, the surface treatments have a significant impact on the microfiber
shedding. Mechanical finishes have accelerated the shedding [43, 47, 55] whereas
the chemical finishes have controlled the shedding to a considerable extent [56, 57].
However, only the effect of brushing is studied among various mechanical finishes.
The other finishes like calendaring and singeing might reduce the shedding where
the detailed researches are not found. In the case of chemical finishes, the effective
reduction has been noted. Yet the researches have been done on polyamide fabrics
alone. The other point to be considered with chemical finishes is durability as the
finishes will degrade over the domestic laundering of fabrics.
4.5 Effects of Aging
The time elapsed since the material was formed is referred to as the age of the material.
The aging can be of different types including physical aging, thermal degradation,
chemical attack, mechanical stress, and photochemical degradation. Throughout the
material usage, it undergoes different types of aging and the effect of aging on the
textile properties will vary with types of aging. As a result of physical aging, the
fibers get harder, denser, and stiffer. Further, the exposure of the textile materials to
light throughout the usage can cause photochemical degradation which can result in
the reduction of molecular weight of the polymer [58].
As a result of aging, there will be considerable changes in the physical and mechanical characteristics of the textile materials. These changes can affect the shedding
behavior of textile materials. Hence it is important to analyze the effect of garment
aging on the shedding behavior of the textile materials. Various studies have been
made to understand the effect of aging on the microfiber shedding. Hartline et al.
studied the microfiber shedding of new and aged garments. They simulated the aged
garments by subjecting the fabrics to 24 h of continuous washing. The mechanically
aged garments shown increased shedding and shed 25% more fibers than the new
garments. They have used a filtering system where two different pore sizes were
used. The significant difference between the new and aged garments was noted in
the 333 µm filter and no significant variation is noted in 20 µm filter. From this, they
have concluded that the aging of garments causes an impact on the larger fibers than
the shorter fibers. Moreover, more fraying was noted in the visual examination of
aged garments and this can attribute to the increased shedding in the aged garments
[59]. Similarly, the other researchers have analyzed the impact of aging on shedding