Gray Relational Analysis Approach for the Optimization of Process Setting in Textile Calendering

Abstract

Calenders are mainly applied in fabric surface processing to improve the surface gloss. This paper proposes an advanced quality control strategy for calendering, employing the gray relational analysis based on Taguchi method to plan a series of calendering experiments, setting the robust process parameters for calender. Our study focused on the use of gray relational analysis to deal with a fundamental limitation of the standard Taguchi approach in respect of optimization problems having multiple quality characteristics. The quality characteristics included reflectance, water vapor permeability, and color difference of calendered fabrics. In order to estimate the optimization parameters with multiple quality characteristics, gray relational analysis was also incorporated to set quality characteristics as reference sequences and decide the optimal parameter combinations. The results showed that the calendered qualities were greatly improved and effectively determined the process parameters through this study.