Investigation of tensile strength and elongation properties of chenille upholstery fabrics including recycling polyester yarns

Abstract

Every day, millions of plastic and polyethylene terephthalate bottles are being thrown away by people. This leads not only to the reduction of landfills and increase in environmental problems but also to pollution of marine and oceans that affect the lives of many living things. Therefore, recycling of waste polyethylene terephthalate bottles with recycling technologies has great environmental importance. In this study, recycled polyester yarns obtained by recycling waste polyethylene terephthalate bottles and standard polyester yarns were used in staple forms, as well as binder and pile yarns of the chenille yarn structure. In this context, 16 different chenille yarns were produced and the production parameters such as rotor speed, spindle speed, and pile density are kept constant by selecting the appropriate values. Then, these chenille yarns were used as weft to produce upholstery fabrics. Tensile strength and elongation tests were applied to the upholstery fabrics, and the results were evaluated statistically. As a result of the tensile strength tests and statistical analyses, it is concluded that the weft breaking strength of all types of woven fabrics, which have 100% recycled polyester in the structures of chenille yarns as weft, is slightly decreased compared to other types, but this decrease is not statistically significant. The use of recycled polyester yarns in the structures of chenille yarns, which are widely used in the upholstery sector, will be beneficial in producing more sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics.