Development of fabric smoothness tester

Abstract

An instrument has been designed and developed to measure the smoothness behavior of finished cotton fabrics. The instrument is based on pendulum principle. The weight (hang on string) comprises a frictionless wheel movable along arc shaped platform. The platform acts as a sample holder. When the weight is subjected to push, it swings back and forth in the platform. The amplitude of the swing reduces due to friction of the fabric. The amplitude is inversely proportional to the friction or roughness of the fabric. Various types of finished cotton fabrics are tested on the developed instrument. The results are compared with Kawabata system to verify the working of instrument. These results are also compared with the bending length and crease recovery behavior of the particular fabric sample. It is found that the lesser the bending length the more will be the smoothness. If the crease recovery angle is high, the fabric will be smoother. One way analysis of variance has been applied to find out effect of different processes on fabric surface smoothness property.