A Kinetic Model for Pilling of Wool Knitwear

Abstract

The simplified Conti and Tassinari model describing the kinetic mechanism of pilling was adopted for knitted wool fabrics, and the theory extended to compare the relative masses of pill able and nonpillable fiber being removed during the attrition process. Wool treated with potassium permanganate in saturated sodium sulphate forms fewer and smaller pills than untreated. Kinetic parameters were derived for random tumble and ICI pill box pilling, and pill build-up and decay rates were established. Application of the extended model shows that pillable fuzz is less than 4% of the total wool fiber removed in random tumble tests, and treatment with 5% permanganate decreases pilling by 90%. ICI pill box pilling is slow, and pill removal was incomplete after 140 hours. Similar proportions of fiber were involved in pill formation, but the extent of pilling and fuzz removal was greater than for random tumble pilling.

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