Abstract
A method is described for quantitatively assessing the low-level wear or damage that may be sustamed by cotton fabries during mechanical agitation in the wet state. The method involyes dyeing of the damaged and control fabries in a two-component dye hath with preferential absorption of one dye by the mechanically damaged fibers. The key to the quantitative use of this technique lies in the careful characterization of the color imparted to the various dyed swatches. A simple and reproducible dyeing procedure is described. The two direct cotton dyes employed are those originally specified by F. L. Snnons as a stain for momtoring the action of the "beater" on cellulose fibers used in papermaking.
The utility of this dye uptake method is illustrated with data from several experi ments encompassing a wide range of power inputs. The extent of surface fiber damage as indicated by the colorimetric data is shown to correlate with both the weight of fibrous debris liberated from the test loads and with subjective evaluations of fabric harshness.
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