Strain-Recovery Properties of of Wash-Wear— Treated Cotton Fabrics

Abstract

Scoured and slack-mercerized fabrics were treated with dimethylol ethylene urea, methylated methylol melamine, and formaldehyde. Fabries with differences in resin add-on and differences in stretch during the cure were examined. Changes in tensile modulus caused by addition of resin were smaller than those caused by stretching during treatment. The elongation at break was greater for the slack-mercerized than for the scoured fabries. Also, the recovery from strain during the testing was greater for the slack- mercerized than the scoured fabric. Recovery increased with add-on for both the basket and the plain-weave fabrics. Stretch during treatment had-only minor effects on strain recovery during the testing. The correlation coefficients of fiber strain recovery to fabric strain recovery are lower than those of fabric strain recovery to wrinkle recovery. The correlation coefficient of the latter is increased if recovery is a function of both strain and stress rather than of either used separately.