AATCC Test Method 193-2017

Aqueous Liquid Repellency: Water/Alcohol Solution Resistance Test

Developed in 2004 by AATCC Commit- 4.2 The alcohol specified in this RH prior to testing (see 12.5).
tee RA56; reaffirmed and editorially re- method is flammable. Keep away from
vised 2005; editorially revised 2006, heat, sparks and open flame. Use with ad- 8. Procedure
2008, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018; revised equate ventilation. Avoid prolonged
2007; reaffirmed 2012, 2017. Techni- breathing of vapor or contact with skin. 8.1 Place the test specimen flat on the
cally equivalent to ISO 23232. Do not take internally. white textile blotting paper on a smooth,
4.3 Exposure to chemicals used in this horizontal surface.
procedure must be controlled at or below 8.1.1 When evaluating open weave or
1. Purpose and Scope “thin” fabrics, conduct the test on at least
levels set by governmental authorities
1.1 This test method can be used to de- [e.g., Occupational Safety and Health two layers of the fabric; otherwise, the
termine the efficacy of a protective finish Administration’s (OSHA) permissible ex- test liquid may wet the underlying sur-
that is capable of imparting a low energy posure limits (PEL) as found in 29 CFR face, not the actual test fabric, and
surface on all types of fabrics, by evaluat- 1910.1000; see web site: www.osha.gov thereby cause confusion in the reading of
ing the fabric’s resistance to wetting by a for latest version]. In addition, the Ameri- the results.
selected series of water/alcohol solutions can Conference of Governmental Indus- 8.2 Wearing clean laboratory gloves,
of different surface tensions. trial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold brush the pile of napped or pile fabrics
Limit Values (TLVs) comprising time lightly with your hand in the direction
2. Principle weighted averages (TLV-TWA), short giving the greatest lay of the surface prior
term exposure limits (TLV-STEL) and to placing the drops of the test liquid.
2.1 Drops of standard test liquids, con- ceiling limits (TLV-C) are recommended 8.3 Beginning with the lowest-num-
sisting of a selected series of water/ as a general guide for air contaminant ex- bered test liquid (AATCC Aqueous Solu-
alcohol solutions with varying surface posure which should be met (see 12.1). tion Test Grade Liquid No. 1), carefully
tensions, are placed on the fabric surface place small drops [approximately 5 mm
and observed for wetting, wicking and 5. Uses and Limitations (0.19 in.) in diameter or 0.05 mL volume]
contact angle. The aqueous repellency on the test specimen in three locations
grade is the highest numbered test liquid 5.1 This test method is not intended to along the filling direction. The drops
which does not wet the fabric surface. give an absolute measure of the resis- should be approximately 4.0 cm (1.5 in.)
(The scale ranges from zero to eight, with tance of the fabric to staining by all aque- apart. The dropper tip should be held at a
a rating of eight signifying the most re- ous materials. Other factors, such as com- height of approximately 0.6 cm (0.25 in.)
pellent surface.) position and viscosity of the aqueous from the fabric surface while placing
substances, fabric construction, fiber drops. DO NOT TOUCH THE FABRIC
3. Terminology type, dyes, other finishing agents, etc., WITH THE DROPPER TIP. Observe the
also influence stain resistance. This test drops for 10 ± 2 s, from approximately a
3.1 grade, n.—in textile testing, the can, however, provide a rough index of
symbol for any step of a multi-step stan- 45° angle.
aqueous stain resistance, in that generally 8.4 If no penetration or wetting of the
dard reference scale for a quality charac- the higher the aqueous solution repel-
teristic. fabric at the liquid-fabric interface and no
lency grade, the better resistance to stain- wicking around the drops occur, place
NOTE: The grade is assigned to test ing by aqueous materials, especially liquid
specimens exhibiting a degree of the drops of the next higher-numbered test
aqueous substances. This is particularly liquid at an adjacent site on the fabric and
quality comparable to that step of the true when comparing various finishes for
standard. again observe for 10 ± 2 s.
a given fabric. 8.5 Continue this procedure until one
3.2 aqueous repellency, n.—in tex-
tiles, the characteristic of a fiber, yarn or of the test liquids shows obvious wetting
6. Apparatus and Materials (see 12.2)
fabric whereby it resists wetting by aque- or wicking of the fabric under or around
ous liquids. 6.1 Test liquids prepared and num- the drop within 10 ± 2 s.
bered according to Table IV.
4. Safety Precautions 6.2 Dropping bottles (see 12.3). 9. Evaluation
6.3 White AATCC Textile Blotting
NOTE: These safety precautions are Paper (see 12.4). 9.1 The AATCC Aqueous Solution Re-
for information purposes only. The pre- pellency Grade of a fabric is the numeri-
6.4 Laboratory gloves (general purpose
cautions are ancillary to the testing proce- cal value of the highest-numbered test
is sufficient).
dures and are not intended to be all inclu- liquid which will not wet the fabric
sive. It is the user’s responsibility to use 7. Test Specimens within a period of 10 ± 2 s. A grade of
safe and proper techniques in handling zero (0) is assigned when the fabric fails
materials in this test method. Manufac- 7.1 Test two specimens of the same the 98% water solution test liquid. Wet-
turers MUST be consulted for specific size from each sample. Specimen size ting of the fabric is normally evidenced
details such as material safety data sheets should be sufficient to allow for the com- by a darkening of the fabric at the liquid-
and other manufacturer’s recommenda- plete range of test liquids to be evaluated, fabric interface or wicking and/or loss of
tions. All OSHA standards and rules but shall be no smaller than 20 × 20 cm contact angle of the drop. On black or
must also be consulted and followed. (8 × 8 in.) and no larger than 20 × 40 cm dark fabrics, wetting can be detected by
4.1 Good laboratory practices should (8 × 16 in.). Specimens from sample to loss of “sparkle” within the drop.
be followed. Wear safety glasses and im- sample should be the same size. Condi- 9.2 Different types of wetting may be
pervious gloves when handling test liq- tion the test specimens for a minimum of encountered depending on the finish, fi-
uids in all laboratory areas. 4 h at 21 ± 2°C (70 ± 4°F) and 65 ± 5% ber, construction, etc.; and the determina-

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Copyright © 2018 American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists
 A = Passes; clear well-rounded drop
B = Borderline pass; rounding drop with partial darkening
C = Fails; wicking apparent and/or complete wetting
D = Fails; complete wetting

Fig. 1—Grading example.

tion of the end point can be difficult on should be reported (see 7.1). Table I—Components of Variance
certain fabrics. Many fabrics will show 10.2 The aqueous solution repellency Table for Alcohol/water test
complete resistance to wetting by a given grade should be measured on two sepa-
Single operator 0.26
test liquid (as indicated by a clear drop rate specimens. If the two grades agree, Between operator/within laboratories 0.43
with a high contact angle, see Fig. 1, Ex- report the value. When the two grades are
ample A) followed by immediate pene- not in agreement, a third determination
tration by the next higher-numbered test should be made. Report the grade of the 11.3 Critical differences. For the com-
liquid. In these instances the end point, third determination if that value is the ponents of variance in 11.2, two observa-
and aqueous solution repellency grade, is same as either of the first two determina- tions should be considered significantly
obvious. However, some fabrics will tions. When the third determination is different at the 95% probability level if
show progressive wetting under several different from either of the first two, re- the difference equals or exceeds the criti-
test liquids as evidenced by a partial port the median value. For example, if the cal differences shown in Table II.
darkening of the fabric at the liquid- first two grades are 3.0 and 4.0 and the
fabric interface (see Fig. 1, Examples B, third determination is a 4.5 value, report
C and D). For such fabrics, the point of the median value of 4.0. Report the aque- Table II—Critical Differencesa
failure is considered to be that test liquid ous solution repellency grade to the near-
which exhibits complete darkening of the est 0.5 value (see Fig. 1 and 9.3). No. of Single Within
interface or any wicking within 10 ± 2 s. Observationsb Operator Laboratory
9.3 A failure occurs when two (or 11. Precision and Bias 1 0.50 0.79
more) of the three drops applied from a
given test liquid show complete wetting 11.1 Summary. Intralaboratory tests 2 0.18 0.59
(Fig. 1[D]) or wicking with loss of con- were conducted in November 2002 and 3 0.15 0.48
tact angle (Fig. 1[C]). A pass occurs if January 2003 to establish the precision of
a
two (or more) of the three drops applied this test method. Both intralab testings in- The critical differences were calculated using t –
volved two participants in one laboratory 1.950, which is based on infinite degrees of
show clear well rounded appearance with freedom.
high contact angle (Fig. 1[A]). The grade rating two specimens of each of seven b
An observation is a unit of measure obtained
is expressed as the integer value of the fabrics each day for three days. The from the median of the grades for 2 (or 3)
pass test liquid immediately prior to the grades of these intralabs use the scale specimens.
fail test liquid. A borderline pass occurs from 1-10. All materials necessary for the
if two (or more) of the three drops ap- intralabs were provided by customer fab-
plied show the rounded drop with partial ric trials and were processed at two finish
darkening of the test specimen (Fig. load levels. The fabrics used included Table III—Mean Values from
1[B]). The grade is expressed to the near- nylon, polyester, cotton and polyester/ Testing of Specimens
est 0.5 value determined by subtracting cotton materials. The unit of measure was
one-half from the number of the border- the median of the grades of the two (or Finish load level
line pass test liquid. three) specimens rated each day. Fabric Low High
11.2 The components of variance as Cotton 3.5 5.5
10. Report standard deviations of the aqueous solu- Polyester 7.5
tion repellency grade were calculated as Cotton/Polyester 1.5 2.5
10.1 The specimen size used for testing shown in Table I. Nylon 6 8

AATCC Technical Manual/2019 TM193-2017 387

Copyright © 2018 American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists
 Table IV—Standard Test Liquids
AATCC Aqueous Solution Surface Tensions
Repellency Grade Number Composition *N
0 None (fails 98% water)
1 98:2/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 59.0
2 95:5/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 50.0
3 90:10/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 42.0
4 80:20/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 33.0
5 70:30/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 27.5
6 60:40/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 25.4
7 50:50/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 24.5
8 40:60/Water : isopropyl alcohol (vol:vol) 24.0

*N = dynes/cm at 25°C

11.4 Bias. The true value of the aque- of listing equipment and materials sold by its grading table. NOTE: Ratio of test liquids
ous solution repellency grade can only be Corporate members, but AATCC does not does affect surface tension of the liquid. Use
defined in terms of this test method. qualify, or in any way approve, endorse or cer- only analytical grades of test liquids. The sur-
Within this limitation, this test method tify that any of the listed equipment or face tension of the liquids should be checked
materials meets the requirements in its test every month or the liquids in the dropper
has no known bias. methods. bottles should be replaced every month from
12.3 For convenience, it is desirable to a sealed stock solution bottle since the iso-
transfer the test liquids from stock solutions to propyl alcohol concentration decreases due to
12. Notes dropping bottles; each marked with the appro- evaporation.
priate AATCC Aqueous Solution Repellency 12.4 Available from AATCC, P.O. Box
12.1 Available from Publications Office, Grade number. A typical system found useful 12215, Research Triangle Park NC 27709; tel:
ACGIH, Kemper Woods Center, 1330 Kemper consists of 60 mL dropping bottles with +1.919.549.8141; fax: +1.919.549.8933; e-mail:
Meadow Dr., Cincinnati OH 45240; tel: +1. ground-in pipettes and Neoprene bulbs. Prior [email protected]; web site: www.aatcc.org.
513.742.2020; web site: www.acgih.org. to use the bulbs should be soaked in heptane 12.5 Often AATCC Test Method (TM) 118
12.2 For potential equipment information for several hours and then rinsed in fresh hep- (Oil Repellency: Hydrocarbon Resistance
pertaining to this test method, please visit tane to remove soluble substances. It has been Test) and TM193 are done concurrently. It is
the online AATCC Buyer’s Guide at www. found helpful to place the test liquids in se- recommended that the specimen sizes for each
aatcc.org/bg. AATCC provides the possibility quential order in a wooden platform on the test be the same.

388 TM193-2017 AATCC Technical Manual/2019

Copyright © 2018 American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists