March - April 2013

This issue of SITRA NEWS covers the following topics:

Page no.

PRODUCTIVITY AND COSTS What cotton fibre quality is required to achieve higher production rates in ring frames? TECHNICAL NOTES Fibre properties influencing cotton cleanability PROJECTS Inter-fibre cohesion in imported & indigenous cottons and its influence on yarn quality 6 MEDICAL TEXTILES - Series 20 CONSULTANCY SERVICES OFFERED BY SITRA DURING MARCH APRIL 2013 STAFF NEWS TRAINING PROGRAMMES ABSTRACT OF A TECHNICAL ARTICLE 11 3

12 12 14 16

SITRA News

March - April 2013

What cotton fibre quality is required to achieve higher production rates in ring frames?
Some mills have requested SITRA to suggest norms for cotton fibre quality to achieve SITRA standard production rates in ring frames. It is difficult to fix norms for fibre properties towards achieving standard production rates in ring frames, since besides fibre quality, many other parameters more particularly technology of machines and their condition and expected yarn quality also determine the production rate. Nevertheless, towards helping mills in this regard an attempt has been made to present the fibre quality being used by the mills achieving SITRA standard production rates and above. As mills are aware that since 1997 SITRA has been conducting an inter-mill study on Costs, Operational Performance and Yarn Quality, popularly known as CPQ study. So far 28 studies have been completed. In each study, over 100 mills from all over India are taking part. These studies, besides costs and operational parameters, also cover quality of cotton used by the mills for different counts. The average fibre quality used by the mills achieving standard production rates and above was culled from the data available in the last 2 CPQ studies (27th and 28th). The fibre quality data available for 8 different counts and varieties, yarns ranging from 20s to 60s are given in Table 1 and the corresponding yarn quality achieved by the mills is given in Table 2.

SITRA News

March - April 2013

Table 1 Higher production rates and corresponding cotton fibre quality maintained by the mills
S. no. Average Avg. cotton quality particulars No.of Spindle Prodn./ Str. 2.5% Count Fineness Trash UR mills speed (g/ spl./ Tpi SL (%) (MC value) (%) tex) (mm) (rpm) 8 hrs. (g) 3.1 3.8 17.5 30 48 23 290 15600 2 1. 20s 3.0 3.5 23.1 30 47 23 162 17150 8 2. 30s 3.1 3.6 26.8 30 47 23 117 18780 14 3. 40s 2.5 3.6 19.4 30 47 22 210 17500 2 4. 30s CH 2.7 3.8 18.1 30 48 21 226 17830 3 5. 30s CH-Comp. 2.7 4.0 19.6 30 47 23 205 17600 2 6. 30s CH-Ex. 2.9 3.6 22.1 30 47 22 148 18800 5 7. 40s CH 3.5 3.5 31.0 31 46 25 77 21370 3 8. 60s C-Comp. SITRA Std. (P) 262 159 110 199 199 199 142 73

Note:

SL = Span length; UR = Uniformity ratio MC = Micronaire; P = Production per spindle per 8 hours (g)

Table 2 Higher production rates and corresponding yarn quality achieved by the mills
S. no. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Count 20s 30s 40s 30s CH 30s CH-Comp. 30s CH-Ex. 40s CH 60s C-Comp. No.of mills 2 8 14 2 3 2 5 3 CSP 2675 2540 2450 2600 2850 2525 2400 3150 U% 10.7 12.0 13.5 9.6 9.4 9.8 10.2 11.1 Total Hariness imperfections / km index 204 630 1280 75 64 91 170 264 6.4 6.8 6.2 6.6 5.1 6.6 6.2 3.4

It can be seen from Table 1 that the average fibre quality used by the mills achieving standard production rates and above is almost same for the coarse and medium counts, as given below. Avg. cotton fibre quality used by the high productivity mills (for 20s to 40s)
2.5% span length (mm) Uniformity ratio (%) Fibre strength (g / tex) Fineness (mc value) Trash content (%) 30 47 23 3.7 3.0

Note:

For data regarding other counts, please refer CPQ study reports

- D.Shanmuganandam Liaison and Consultation Division

SITRA News

March - April 2013

Fibre properties influencing cotton cleanability

It is a common experience that different cottons respond differently to the same opening treatment. The response primarily depends on trash content and some fibre properties. The combined influence of fibre properties on the response of cotton to cleaning is termed as Cleanability of Cotton. Hence, Cleanability is defined as C = CE / t Where, C = Cleanability of cotton, CE = Cleaning efficiency, t = Trash in feed material. Cleanability in short refers to the cleaning efficiency achieved in a given beater (or series of beaters) for a given level of waste extraction without causing any fibre damage or nep generation. However, as is well known, cleaning efficiency tends to increase with increase in the amount of waste extracted in the beater. Hence, while calculating the Cleanability of Cotton, the amount of waste extracted ought to remain constant for different cottons. A pilot study towards identifying fibre properties influencing Cleanability of Cotton has been carried out at SITRA and the results are reported in this technical note. Nine cottons, differing widely in fibre properties, were taken for the study and they are F-414, LRA, Ruska, Digvijay, MCU 5, DCH 32, Kati, Giza and Pima. The major fibre properties of the cottons are given in Table 1.

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March - April 2013

Table 1 Major fibre properties of cottons studied

S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Type of cottons F-414 LRA Ruska Digvijay MCU 5 DCH 32 Kati Giza Pima 2.5% SL (mm) 24.7 27.0 34.2 21.2 30.0 32.5 27.4 34.4 34.6 Bundle strength (g/tex) 18.6 22.6 24.4 14.4 23.4 25.2 20.3 28.5 31.9 Micronaire value 4.1 4.0 4.5 4.7 3.2 2.7 4.6 4.1 4.1 Maturity co-eff. 0.788 0.800 0.880 0.778 0.782 0.728 0.802 0.872 0.862

All the cottons were processed through a spiked beater. (This ensures that the cleaning treatment given to the cottons remains the same). Care was taken to ensure that no fibre damage occurred during the treatment. However, the amount of waste extracted was different for different cottons. Hence, the cleaning efficiency for the nine cottons was normalized for a given level of waste extraction. Cleaning efficiency of different cottons (Normalised), % trash in feed material and the cleanability factor are given in Table 2. (for the nine cottons under consideration). Table 2 % Trash in feed material, cleaning efficiency and Cleanability (C) values of cottons studied
S. no. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Type of cottons F-414 LRA Ruska Digvijay MCU 5 DCH 32 Kati Giza Pima Trash in feed material (%) 3.02 3.11 2.00 2.15 1.80 3.00 2.10 1.94 1.48 Cleaning eff. (%)* 27.8 8.4 9.0 8.8 10.0 14.3 38.1 28.9 39.2 Cleanability 9.2 2.7 4.5 4.1 5.6 4.8 18.1 14.9 26.5

* Normalised values

SITRA News

March - April 2013

To relate cleanability with fibre properties, a linear polynominal of the following form, was attempted C = K1 + K2 x L + K3 x S + K4 x F + K5 x t Where, L = 2.5% span length (mm); S = Bundle strength at 3mm gauge (g/tex); F=f/m (Micronaire value / maturity co-efficient); t = % trash in cotton. (K1, K2, K3, K4 and K5 are constants) By the method of least squares, the values of various constants were estimated and they are K1 = 61.2, K5 = -8.89 K2,= -2.17, K3 = 1.91, K4 = -2.17,

Hence, the expression to determine the cleanability (C) from fibre properties is given by: C = 61.2 2.17 L + 1.91 S 2.17 F 8.89 t (i) A fairly high correlation of the order of 0.87 was obtained between actual and predicted values of C; (Figure 1)
25 20 Predicted'C'values 15 10 5 0 0 5 10 15 20 25

Actual'C'values

Figure 1 Relationship between actual and predicted C values - Dr.K.P.Chellamani, Spinning Division
SITRA News

March - April 2013

Inter-fibre cohesion in imported & indigenous cottons and its influence on yarn quality
It is well known that some of the imported cottons exhibit better spinning performance and yarn quality as compared to their indigenous counterparts. To be specific, the major fibre quality attributes of two imported and two indigenous cottons (which are commonly used to spin 60s Combed yarn & 40s Combed yarn) are given in Tables 1 & 2: Table 1 Quality attributes of imported and indigenous cotton
60s Cotton
Cotton type Fibre quality attributes 2.5 % Span Length (mm) Mic Value ( g/inch) Uniformity Ratio (%) Imported (Ultima Acala) 32.0 3.6 46.5 Indigenous (MCU-5) 31.5 3.7 46.0

Table 2 Quality attributes of imported and indigenous cotton

40s Cotton
Cotton type Fibre quality attributes 2.5 % Span length (mm) Mic value ( g / inch) Uniformity ratio (%) Imported Western African - Nambos 29.5 3.4 46.6 Indigenous (S6) 30.0 3.5 46.0

It is clear from the tables that the difference in major fibre quality attributes between imported & indigenous cottons (that are taken for the study) is rather marginal.

SITRA News

March - April 2013

However, when they are spun into yarns of appropriate linear density, there is significant difference in their quality attributes, particularly in yarn imperfections. The yarn quality details are given in Tables 3 & 4. Table 3 Quality attributes of yarns spun from imported and indigenous cottons
Count: 60s CW
Yarn quality attributes Single yarn strength CV (%) 60s CW from imported cotton (Ultima Acala) 60s CW from indian cotton (MCU5) Imperfections / Km Single yarn elongation CV (%) Thin places (-50%) 2 Thick places (+50%) 16 Thin + Thick places

8.69

11.76

18

9.16

12.12

10

26

36

Table 4 Quality attributes of yarns spun from imported and indigenous cottons
Count: 40s CW
Yarn quality attributes Count Single yarn strength CV (%) Imperfections / Km Single yarn elongation CV(%) Thin places (-50%) 8 Thick places (+50%) 39 Thin + Thick places

40s CW from imported cotton Nambos 40s CW from indian cotton S6

9.78

10.68

47

11.55

12.82

11

59

70

SITRA News

March - April 2013

The difference in yarn imperfections (measured at normal sensitivity levels) in 60s CW & 40s CW spun using imported & indigenous cottons could not be fully explained by the difference in the respective fibre quality attributes (that are commonly measured). Hence, the interfibre cohesion in imported & indigenous cottons was measured using Universal tensile tester (Instron) as per ASTM D 2612- 05 standard test method. The test method deals with measurement of interfibre cohesion in a bundle of fibres in the form of sliver or top. Finisher drawing sliver samples were prepared from the four cottons (imported & indigenous) and their inter-fibre cohesion values measured. The values are given in Table 5. Table 5. Inter-fibre cohesion in drawframe slivers made using imported & indigenous cottons
S. no. 1. 2. 3. 4. Sample Finisher sliver from Ultima Akala cotton Finisher sliver from MCU5 cotton Finisher sliver from Nambos cotton Finisher sliver from S6 cotton Inter -fibre cohesion (mgf / tex) 28.0 22.0 25.7 20.0

It is clear from Table 5 that inter-fibre cohesion is higher (around 30%) in slivers produced using imported cottons as compared to that from indigenous cottons. An attempt was made to develop an index expressing the inter-fibre cohesion (in drawframe sliver) in terms of fibre properties for imported & indigenous cottons and the same is given by i) IFC* = 33 2.5 % SL -------------------------------Mic value x SFC (n) 2.5 % SL -------------------------------Mic value x SFC (n) for imported cottons and ii) IFC = 25 for indigenous cottons

* IFC Inter-fibre cohesion

SITRA News

March - April 2013

This is largely attributed to the relatively higher level of convolutions in imported cottons. Convolutions are ribbon like twists which are produced during drying of the cotton cell content under the influence of sun. As per available information, Egyptian cottons have about 230 convolutions / inch, American cottons have around 190 convolutions / inch and Indian cottons in the range of 125 130 convolutions / inch. Two experiments were carried out (using one imported cotton and one indigenous cotton) to identify the optimum combination of draft (in fly frame & ring frame) from the point of view of yarn quality i.e) drafts in flyframe & ringframe were altered to have more or less same total draft (draft in flyframe X draft in ringframe) for a given count and the corresponding yarn quality attributes studied. The parameters & quality attributes are given in Table 6. In the case of imported cotton (with higher value of IFC in drawframe sliver) a relatively higher level of draft in ringframe and for indigenous cotton (with lower value of IFC in drawframe sliver) a comparatively lower level of draft in ringframe (for a given level of total draft draft in flyframe x draft in ringframe) appear to be good from the view point of yarn quality, particularly imperfections. It is postulated that higher level of draft in ringframe for materials with higher IFC is necessitated for effective removal of twist in roving and thereby to ensure good control over drafting waves. Trials with some more counts of yarns spun using imported & indigenous cottons are in progress.

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Yarn quality attributes Imperfections / km Thin places (- 50 %) 8 2 12.12 13.75 10 16 Thick places (+ 50%) 38 16 26 36 Thin + Thick places 46 18 36 52 Draft in flyframe draft* Draft in spinning frame Single yarn strength CV (%) Single yarn elongation CV (%) 11.8 10.0 450 11.8 10.0 450 38 45 9.16 12.24 38 45 10.02 8.69 12.96 11.76

Table 6 Draft distribution between fly frame & ring frame and the corresponding yarn quality attributes

S. No.

Count

IFC in draw frame sliver (mgf/ tex)

10

60s CW (Ultima - Akala)

28.00

60s CW (MCU5)

22.00

draft = draft in flyframe x draft in ringframe * total

- K.P.Chellamani & M.K.Vittopa Spinning Division
March - April 2013

March - April 2013

MEDICAL TEXTILES
Series 20

Antistatic fibres acting as antibacterial fibres

Biotec is a permanent antibacterial fabric for all usage areas where bacterial proliferation presents a danger. Biotec is particularly useful to the hospital environment as well as the agri-food industry. Biotec is manufactured using R-stat fibre. R-stat fibre is a PA 6.6 fibre covered with a fine layer of copper sulfide (0,2 micron) intimately integrated into the polymer by a chemical process. The R-stat fibre is a good conductor of electricity, and it prevents accumulation of static charges on clothing. The copper ions liberated by this layer affect the metabolisms of the bacteria and prevent their proliferation. The Biotec fabrics are available in a plain weave version of 180 g/m2, and in twill format of 215 g/m2. As per available information, these fabrics can endure fifty cycles of hospital washing without their antistatic and antibacterial properties being affected. Biotec is mainly intended for the manufacture of shirts, blouses, trousers and operating room fabrics. The R-stat P anti-static fibre based on high tenacity PES as the host polymer can be used in the manufacture of air filter systems. The fibre has excellent electrical conductivity combined with durable antibacterial properties. The fibres resist long exposure to high temperature (1700 C) and to acid hydrolysis as usually required for many industrial filter systems. Fibres which promote healing A polynosic fibre into which naturally occurring radioactive minerals are incorporated is claimed to be promoting healing. The mineral mixture contains 18 elements including uranium, thorium, cerium and neodymium. Health materials based on these minerals are harmless and occur naturally in hot spring areas. The effect is to stimulate metabolism, sterilizing, deodorizing and to create a relaxed feeling. To be continued - K.P.Chellamani and M.K.Vittopa, Spinning Division
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March - April 2013

S.no. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Consultancy services offered by SITRA during March - April 2013 MEDICAL TEXTILES - 11
Type of study Capacity rating study A study on yarn realisation Estimation of conversion cost Ukg study Energy audit Study on water consumption & material to liquor ratio of soft flow dyeing machines Study on the water consumption of yarn dyeing machines Optimisation of process sequence and parameters to achieve the desired width-wise dimentional stability in cotton / flax blended woven fabrics after processing 1 1 1 1 1 3 1

No. of mills

Besides the above major consultancy studies, SITRA also offered solutions to four adhoc problems in the area of spinning process. One hundred and fourty eight instruments were calibrated, 3 instruments were certified and 240 accessory samples were tested.

Meetings attended
Dr. Prakash Vasudevan, Director, attended a meeting on Standing Committee on labour, Lok Sabha Secretariat which was convened to take evidence from the representatives of the Ministry of Textiles on demands for Grants for the year 2013-14 held at Parliment Library Building, New Delhi. Dr. Prakash Vasudevan, Director, attended the Inaugural function of the Regional office of the Indian Technical Textile Association (ITTA), at SIMA, Coimbatore.
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March - April 2013

Dr. K.P.Chellamani, General Manager - Projects, attended the following meetings: - the Doctoral committee meeting held at PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore on 5th April, 2013. - the 10th Board of Studies meeting for the year 2012-13 held at Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam on 13th April, 2013. - the Cotton Advisory Board(CAB) meeting held at the Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai on 17th April, 2013. Mr. Sakthivel Perumalsamy, Head - Centre of Medical Textiles, attended the meeting of the appraisal & review of Technology Mission on Technical Textiles (TMTT) by M/s.Investment information Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) Management consulting services, held at Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai, on 8th March 2013.

Papers published
1. K.P.Chellamani, R.S.Vignesh Balaji and J.Sathish Spunlace wound dressing using bamboo fibres, Asian Textile Journal, March 2013, Volume 1, No. 3, pp. 69 - 79. 2. K.P.Chellamani and R.S.Vignesh Balaji Medical textiles using nonwoven technology - Part II, SITRA E-Bulletin, April 2013, Volume 1, Issue 2. 3. S.Mariappan and D.Shanmuganandam Improving yarn quality towards reducing knitted fabric defects - a case study, Asian Textile Journal, April 2013, Volume 22, No. 4. Seminars conducted The following seminars were organised by the CoE meditech towards creating business opportunities in medical textiles: - Business opportunities in medical textiles held at Salem in association with PLSC, Salem, supported by Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai.
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March - April 2013

- Investment opportunities in medical textiles held at Madurai in association with Madurai district small and tiny industries association, Madurai, supported by Office of the Textile Commissioner, Mumbai.

Awards received
The National Award for Technology Innovation : 2012-13, was awarded to K.P.Chellamani, D.Veerasubramanian and R.S.Vignesh Balaji for the project Barbed bi-directional surgical sutures under the category Innovation Polymers in public health care. This award is sponsored by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Government of India, New Delhi.

Recognition
Mr. G.Chandrasekaran, Senior Laboratory Assistant (SLA), Textile Engineering and Instrumentation Division has cleared the examinations conducted by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (Government of India) New Delhi, qualifying him as a Certified Energy Manager.

TRAINING

HOK

Entrepreneur development programme in Shuttleless weaving machines The programme was organised with the objective of educating young entrepreneurs on the technologies involved in weaving, case studies relating to woven fabric defects and remedial measures, TUF scheme, various sources of availing loans, the modalities involved in setting up new units etc. Five persons comprising of Managing Directors, senior executives and technical personnel attended the programme.
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March - April 2013

Pre-employment training and retraining programmes for textile workers Two out-station mills availed SITRAs training services for their workers. In all, 97 operatives were trained in 5 batches for the tenting jobs in ring spinning and auto cone winding. The training programmes were conducted in Kannada and Malayalam in each one mill. Programme on Training of trainers Under a request from a spinning mill in Kerala, a three day Training of trainers programme was organized to impart training to the mills trainers. The aim of the programme was to sensitize them to effectively discharge their role and functions and achieve improvement in the mills working. The topics covered included, productivity, quality management, waste reduction, proper planning and scheduling of activities, methods of training, identification of training needs, training evaluation, right work methods to be followed and effective communication and interpersonnel skills. A total of 13 trainers attended the programme. Training Programme on Energy Management in Spining Mills With a focus of reaching out its services to mills in upcoming textile clusters, SITRA organised a two-day training programme on Energy Management in Spinning Mills exclusively for the benefit of member mills of Andra Pradesh Spinning Mills Association. The programme was held at Guntur on 29th and 30th March 2013. Some of the topics that were covered during the programme included, selection and maintenance of electrical equipment, case studies in electrical distribution system, power quality problems and solutions, electrical safety audit, calculation of 40s converted UKG, modern energy conservation techniques in humidification, optimisation of compressed air consumption in textile industry, case studies in humidification and compressors and renewable energy sources. A total of 40 persons, including general managers, electrical engineers and electrical supervisors attended the programme.

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March - April 2013

INTEGRATED SKILL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (SITRA ISDS) The Integrated Skill Development Scheme initiated by the Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India, aims to leverage the strength of institutions like SITRA to augment the skill resources of the industry for enhancing capabilities for skill development. Under this scheme, SITRA is offering 13 different skill development programmes. Following are the details of the programmes that were conducted during March - April 2013. Eight outstation and six local mills availed for training their operatives. Totally, 484 operatives were trained in 20 batches in spinning mills for a period of one month for the tenting jobs in preparatory, spinning, cone winding, reeling, open end spinning, two-for-one twister and weaving. The training programmes were conducted in Tamil in 7 mills, Malayalam in 5 mills, Telugu in 1 mill and Hindi in two mills.

THERMAL AND WATER VAPOUR RESISTANCE OF THE ELASTIC AND CONVENTIONAL COTTON FABRICS
Dunja Sajn Gorjanc, Krste Dimitrovski and Mateja Bizjak, Textile Research Journal, Vol. 82, No. 14, September 2012, pp. 1498-1506 The clothing comfort depends mainly on the thermal and water vapour transfer properties of the fabric. The influence of incorporating elastane filaments in the weft direction of a cotton fabric and the structural properties of the fabric (thread density, weave type etc) on thermal & water vapour resistance of the fabric are reported in this article. Both plain weave & twill weave fabrics were studied by the authors. Thermal and water vapor resistance were determined with two novel methods and compared with the well-known permetest method. The thermal resistance was calculated according to the thermal conductivity method and permetest method, while the water vapour resistance was measured using water cup method and permetest method. The authors report
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March - April 2013

that the study results showed that elastane incorporation in the cotton fabric increases the thermal and water vapour resistance by 20% as compared to conventional cotton fabrics. It is also reported that twill weave fabrics showed higher thermal and water vapour resistance by 30-40%, in comparison with that of plain weave fabrics. - R.S.Vignesh Balaji Spinning Division

New Service offered

WATER CONSUMPTION AUDIT
Textile processing units, especially of small and medium scale nature, are facing tough times due to the imposed restriction of sanctioned production capacity per day in relation to the capacity of effluent treatment plant available in the factory. The effluent generated by a mill can be calculated on the basis of water consumed per kg of material processed, multiplied by the quantity of material processed in kg. As a thumb rule, a water consumption of 75 l / kg of material processed is considered for this calculation by the authorities. However, with the advent of low liquor ratio machines and right first time dyeing techniques, it is possible for the mills to achieve much lower water consumption levels than the limits as per thumb rule. SITRAs Textile Chemistry Division has been conducting water consumption audit of processing machines based on requests from mills towards ascertaining the water consumption in litres per kg of material processed. About 15 mills have already utilized the service in this regard and some of them have reported that as a result, they have received increased production capacity sanctioned by the authorities. Processing mills may make use of SITRAs water consumption audit to improve their sanctioned production capacities.

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March - April 2013

Consultancy Services Offered by the Textile Chemistry Division

This Division offers consultancy services to textile chemical processing industries and other related institutions on various technical and commercial aspects, a few of which are mentioned below: Project appraisal for new and expansion projects Technical guidance for setting-up of in-house quality control laboratory Techno-economic viability study for processing units Process optimization to achieve desired quality parameters Estimation of efficiency of various processes viz., desizing, scouring, bleaching, mercerizing, etc. Evaluation of elongation / shrinkage of fabrics due to processing Study on weight loss of textile materials during chemical processing Study on the production capacity of processing units Study of water consumption and / or material to liquor ratio of various processing machines Analysis of TDS and other parameters in textile processing effluents and troubleshooting of effluent treatment plants Time study for any given process in a wet processing unit Any other adhoc problems related to processing

Mills may make use of SITRAs above consultancy services as well. For details, please contact: S. Sivakumar Head Incharge, Textile Chemistry Division The South India Textile Research Association Coimbatore - 641 014, India e-mail: [email protected], Phone: +91 422 4215334, 4215328.
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