Treatment of Woven Fabrics to Enhance their Anti-Dust Property

Abstract

The quality of fabrics is determined by their relevance to the functions they are produced for. It is evaluated according to a set of criteria’s which appropriate for each type of fabrics. A fabric testing is one of the most important methods for fabrics evaluation during or after production by using laboratory devices which are relevant to fabric properties. A large area of the Republic of Sudan lies in the semi-desert climate through which the River Nile flows, and this geographical nature creates some climatic factors such as dusty winds that blow periodically through the year. This study is conducted to produce anti-dust fabrics by using three different types of materials: cotton (100%), polyester (100%) and a blend of cotton and polyester (50% for each). However, these materials are woven into various fabric designs: plain, twill 2/2 and sateen 4irregularextended from the weft. These materials are treated with a chemical substance namely emulsion copolymer of perflouro –heptyl acrylate-co-methylol acrylamide.The fabrics testing for the quality of fabrics and their capacity to resist dust was tested by the dust permeability instrument of National Centre for Research in Cairo, Egypt. Standard tests were used to determine the rate of change in mechanical and physical properties of the fabrics before and after treatment with the chemical substances to assess their air permeability and weight following their exposure to dust before and after treatment. The study concludes that the quality of fabrics depends on their liability to retain dust on their surface or pores and on other qualities as well. Evidently, the study proofs the weight of the 100% cotton sample increased after exposition to dust and the air permeability decreased slightly in the 100% polyester sample. The highest increase in weight after exposure to dust was in the plain sample and the greatest air permeability after exposure to dust before and after treatment was in the Sateen Sample. After chemical treatment of the fabrics with anti-dust substance their quality improved by 97%.