Abstract
Frictional characteristics of woven fabrics can determine smoothness and softness values of the fabric. Moreover different environmental conditions can leads to change the properties of the weaves.
In this paper, we studied the effect of temperature and relative humidity variations on the frictional properties of cotton and polyester fabrics. Plain woven fabrics were produced with polyester warp yarn and two different weft yarns (cotton and polyester). Each fabric was examined in various temperatures and relative humilities; then the frictional forces measurement was carried out on the fabrics in warp over warp direction. The results show that there is a statistically significant difference between the frictional parameters. This difference relates to the type of fiber material (weft yarns), temperature, and relative humidity.
In addition, the data reveal that cotton fabrics have more static and kinetic forces than polyester fabrics in all environmental conditions. Moreover, polyester fabrics exposed to a temperature of nearly 45°C and 100% RH, have the maximum smoothness. The highest roughness values for cotton fabrics were under conditions of 45°C and 20% RH.