flexibility in producing small lots of material. When the The automatic data acquisition system has been prepared and preparation system is understood more clearly, the testing of vital machine parameters will start soon. A new simulation will be expanded to include the yam formation design for the air tube/retainer pieces to reduce their size and step, with the goal of optimizing these processes as a system a new arrangement for the rotation gears has been completed. for maximum flexibility in producing small lots of fabric. Estimates for the reconstruction of the retainer boxes (ten) has been obtained and an order to the machine shop will be made shortly. Research on the amount of air consumption Fabric Engineering needed for filling insertion and the potential energy savings Research in design development, manufacture and compared to conventional air-jet looms is in progress. measurement offibrous structures including textiles, nonwovens, carpets, papers, etc. Plans for the development of 190cm machine have been dis- cussed and are the subject of a proposal submitted earlier to Development of Multiphase Warp-Wave TRP. Air-Jet Loom S93N3 Design of a Braiding Machine to Produce Principal investigator: Mansour Mohamed (NC State) Wide, Flat Woven Structure at Significantly Increased Production Rate A92C3 Objectives: Principal Investigators: A breakthrough in weaving machine development to over- Sabit Adanur, Robert P. Walker, Royal M. Broughton (Tex- come the 2000m/min filling insertion barrier which seems to tile Engineering Auburn); David G. Beale (Mechanical Engi- be the limit for single phase weaving machines is needed. It neering Auburn); Robert M. Nelms (Electrical Engineering is the objective of this research to provide this breakthrough (Auburn) which can be accomplished by the combination of a high speed shedding mechanism, warp-wave multiphase system Objectives: and air-jet tilling insertion. 1. To develop machine design parameters for a braiding machine that will produce traditional wide, woven Summary: fabrics. After the prototype machine was installed the electronic con- trol box was found to need some repairs. These repairs have 2. To determine the behavioral properties of a flat woven been completed and the machine was operated at slow speed fabric produced from the bias slitting of a tubular . to study the various motions. A variable speed drive was pur- chased and installed. This drive will allow a wide range of 3. To examine the impact of the proposed new weaving operating speed up to 600 ppm. process on fabric manufacturing costs. Specific objectives for the ensuing year are: The following measurements were made: Shed crossina oosition 1511 1. Develop a fully dimensioned design of the new process. Full shed opening range 170-210 2. Complete a computer simulation of the machine Shed dwell 40 design. 120 Retainers enter shed 3. Test the behavioral properties of a slitted, tubular Retainers rotation start 190 braid. II Retainers rotation end (complete) I 26311 II Tube travel start I 26311 Summary: II Tube travel ends I 1,063ll Team Selection Dr. Sabit Adanur, a member of the Textile Engineering Fac- II Time available for fillina insertion I 80011 ulty who joined the research team earlier, is being listed as II Retainers rotation in oooosite direction I 34311 one of the Principal Investigators of the project. Dr. Adanm Rotation comoleted I 5011 will assist in all aspects of the project with emphasis on fabric property evaluations and examination of the impact of the proposed new weaving process on woven fabric manufactur- ing costs.

Mr. Richard Hunt, a Masters degree student in Electrical En- gineering, has joined the research team. He will be working Beat-up ends 160

10 National Textile Center Quarter4 Report: April - June 1993 with Dr. Mark Nelms addressing electrical design considera- onstrates the idea of having a sweeping warp yam pass over tions for the proposed machine designs. or under (controlled by a deflector) We are developing two designs that weft pa&ages which are en_ Related Activity use a rotating braided fabric tube to cased in “slip” devices that allow Dr. Broughton and Prof. Walker visited achieve angular displacement of a passage of the warp yarn without Tapistron International, Inc. in Ringgoldc non-rotating Yarn system. controlling (moving) the weft yam GA and made a presentation to manage- package. In the figure is a modi- ment of that company about the braiding, weaving machine fied drawing of a small machine equipped with the Vickers concept and the technology surrounding it. Tapistron indi- “slip” device where the rotating warp yarn is shown slipping cated interest in the technology and promised to follow up over the stationary slip device containing and feeding the with further discussions at a later date. At the present time weft yarn. there are no future dates set for continuing this dialogue with Tapistron. Currently the team has settled on two major machine design concepts for further study. These two concepts are labeled a) A description of our research was provided to the Director of the “slip” design concept and b) the “slot” design concept. the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Section of Sandia Both design concepts use a rotating braided fabric tube to ac- National Lab in New Mexico. Dr. Beale plans to follow up complish angular displacement of a stationary (non rotating) on this contact later this summer. yarn system. They differ as follows:

The decision has been made to issue a pre-draft of the annual l The Slip Concept, built around Mr. Vickers’ idea, uses the report for this project to our Industry Review Committee for fact that a sweeping yarn can contact but slip past an ensu- feedback on the proposed direction of research objectives. It ing package of yarn without using any mechanism to move is felt that this will be better than having these Committee the ensuing package out of the path of the sweeping yam; Members travel to Auburn for a presentation, since anything while The Slot Concept, put forth by Dr. Broughton, uses a we might have shown them can be illustrated in figures pro- “slotted” weft carrier track that provides “slots” (either out- vided with the annual report. side or inside the path of moving weft carriers) for warp to hide while the carriers pass. Literature Review Several reviews, each related to a specific student thesis or 4 The Slip Concept employs a rotating warp system with a senior project, are being pursued by graduate or undergradu- stationary weft system while The Slot Concept uses a sta- ate students. Some of these reviews involve: tionary warp system and a rotating weft carrier system. - Woven and braided fabric properties

l Yarn interlacing concepts The interlacing control part of the system resides with the

l Kinematics of weaving and braiding stationary yarn system in each design concept, the weft sys-

l Electronic control systems tem in The Slir, Concept and the warp system in The Slot Concept. Equipment No new equipment has been acquired except materials or- Evaluations are being made on both these machine design dered earlier to be used in system design testing. Other concepts to compare advantages and disadvantages with re- needed materials for design idea testing have been ordered. spect to anticipated production rates, yarn stresses and ma- chine costs. Design Ideas Fabric Properties A small model has been constructed to assist in visualizing Yarn spools have been purchased and filled with several and demonstrating a “slip device” design concept developed types of yarn in preparation for production of braided samples by Mr. Vickers. This inexpensive model (under $100) dem- on a large braiding machine at NC State. These samples will be used to study the behavioral properties of flat fabrics pro- Rotating Spool duced by bias slitting a tubular braided structure.

Technical Papers and Other Communications Our first draft of the initial publication about the concepts of /Stationary Spool this project was rejected by the Textile Research Journal. We are currently modifying the article with plans to submit the second draft to a different journal. Work on the second planned publication has been delayed until this second sub- mission of the initial article. New work is underway to de- velop a publication centered around the kinematics of The Vickers “Slip” device for interlacing two yarns weaving and braiding. Qiang Zhang, our PhD candidate, is

National Ttdle Center Quartedy Report: April - June 1993 11 doing this work under the direction of Dr. Beale and Prof. geometry available in the published literature. In addition, Walker. blended staple yarns will be produced in both open-end and air jet spinning systems for developing structure property re- lationships in yarn (Blends of cotton and micro polyester fi- Material and Machine Interactions During bers.) The experimental yarns will be sized and processed on Weaving an air-jet loom in order to establish a relationship between c92c2 the theoretical prediction of warp yarn performance and the Principal investigators: experimentally determined failure during fatiguing. B.C. Goswami, R.D. Anandjiwala, Subramanya Yellambalse, Tony Chao Shan and Smita Bais (Clemson) Structure Property Relations in Yarns Objectives: Summary: 1. To develop a theoretical model of the staple fiber yarn During this quarter, the Murata Air-jet Spinning machine spinning dynamics in open-end was commissioned and the yarns are be- and air jet spinning systems. We are studying the effects of rotor ing spun currently. Controlled yarns of and air-jet nozzle pressure on fine 20 tex, 50:50 cotton/polyester have been 2. To study the effect of such fiber spun using uplands cotton and 915 W properties as torsional and bend- yarn properties and subsequent air polyester fibers. The blending of fibers ing rigidity on the twist transla- was carried out at the drawframe and an tion efficiency in an open-end additional passage (3rd passage) of and air jet spinning system; and drawing was introduced to get a finer sliver; and also to feed 3. To develop a theoretical model that realistically pre- the sliver with trailing hooks to the air jet spinning frame. dicts the performance of yarns during weaving. To study the effect of second nozzle pressure on wrapping ef- ficiency (twist), yarns were spun at three different nozzle 4. To study experimentally the failure behavior of yarns pressures, namely, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0 pounds per square inch. subjected to cyclic tensile fatigue and abrasion- The table below shows the evenness results for air jet spun simulating the cyclic stresses and abrasion during yarns. Tensile testing of these yams at different strain rates weaving in the laboratory. is under progress. 5. To validate the predictive model in assessing the weav- ability from the results of the experimental study and the actual performance of yarns during weaving on a high speed loom. 4 13.4 6. To correlate the fiber properties with the yarn structure 4.5 13.98 and yarn fabric properties (primarily mechanical and 5 13.61 low load deformation behavior of yarns and fabrics.) However, the short term goals of the project are to experi- To study the effect of fiber distribution on structure and prop- mentally produce model yarns, incorporating the yarn erties of yarns a number of yarn cross-sections have been pre- pared for both ring and open end spun yarns. The fiber Nber Distribution for SO:50 CottonfPoluester /919WI

Ring Spun Yarn Open - End Spun Yarn Nafimal Texhle &tier Qmrlerly Report: April - June 1993