Abstract
A quantitative laboratory method for evaluating levelness of acid wool dyes is described. The procedure consists of running half of a normal yarn-dye cycle and then making additions of white yarn and dye liquor equal in amount to those in the original batch. The second half of the cycle is then run, and the yarns are removed. Reflectances of the two dyed yarns are determined on a G. E. recording spectrophotometer and a "levelness index" is calculated as the ratio of dye concentration on the yarn added at the mid-point of the cycle to that on the yarn started at the beginning of the cycle.
The technical background of the test method is outlined and the results of tests on repre sentative dyes are tabulated. It is shown that the test method has sufficient flexibility to permit examinations of the effects of dyeing variables on levelness. An example is cited showing the effect of salt concentration on levelness of Alizarine Cyanine Green CG ex. (C. I. 1078).
The example above is applied to plant production, and the levelness of 500-pound Hussong stock-dyed batches is evaluated by spectrophotometer reflectances, converted to dye concen tration, of stratified samples from the batches of stock. It is shown that the coefficient of dye concentration variation among the 8 samples from a plant batch is proportional to the laboratory "levelness index."
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