An Analytical Approach to the Effect of Laundering Processes on the Drape and Stiffness Properties of Cotton Woven Fabrics

Abstract

A comprehensive investigation on the effect of laundering on fabric properties such as drape coefficient and other associated stiffness properties has been introduced. The process of laundering has been critically analyzed and broken down to its constituent elements or ingredients, namely, temperature, hydrogen ion concentration (pH) and mechanical action during washing. The effect of each factor and their interaction have been statistically determined for laundering plain woven cotton fabrics using 24 factorial design. The relative significance of these effects has been graphically represented. It has been found that temperatures, pH and mechanical action have positive effects, while the interaction of temperature-mechanical action and temperature-mechanical action-pH have significant negative effect on both drape and bending modulus of the fabrics under test.