The design of experiments in the field of technical textiles as an educational module

Abstract

Mastering software knowledge for the design of textile fabrics is especially important for students of higher education and offers substantial competitive advantages within the world of work. The Erasmus+ project OptimTex has prepared up-to-date educational materials as a response to the digitization requirements of Industry 4.0 in the textile field. This paper presents the content of an e-learning module conceived by the coordinator of the Erasmus+ OptimTex project. The module addresses the design of experiments in the field of technical textiles for electromagnetic shielding, with the following technical aspects: two input parameters, the weft fabric density (number of yarns per 10 cm) and the thickness of the plasma-coated metallic (copper) layer on both sides of the fabric (nanometre) and one result variable, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the fabrics (dB) at 100 MHz. A Box-Wilson central composite design was applied to optimize shielding effectiveness related to both input parameters. Software such as Excel, MATLAB and MODDE was applied to compute and cross-check the response surface modelling.