Development of a pre-knitting friction test method and study of friction and bending of yarns with high stiffness.

Abstract: Knitting is a class of techniques for production of textile fabrics by inter-looping yarns withthe use of hooked needles. The new loops are created when the yarns drawn through thepreviously formed loops. An apparatus for two needles with adjustable geometry resemblingthe knitting process in weft knitting machines has been constructed and mounted in anordinary tensile testing machine in order to study stress build-up, fibre damage, needle wearetc. The merits of the knittability test-rig set-up are the possibilities to test the performance ofthe yarns with the geometry of the machine and to simulate and identify some of the problemsthat can occur between needles and yarn in the knitting process. Well-defined mechanicalconditions with the static pre-load weight and the possibilities to identify the location of theevents of damage on the fibres during the testing of the specimens and to do furtherexamination before knitting are some obvious merits. The knittability of some extreme yarns,PET-monofilaments, carbon fibre roving and aramid yarn has been studied with respect tofriction and bending stiffness. Friction and bending characteristics exhibit viscoellasticfeatures. The needles have diameters of the same order of magnitude as the diameters ofmonofilaments for example for use in knitted spacer fabrics and the results of this workillustrate strong influence of the fibre diameter on the knittability.