A New Instrument to Measure Textile Fiber Friction by a Yarn-to-Yarn Technique

Abstract

A friction-testing instrument has been designed for attachment to the Instron tensile tester. It provides for dual, synchronized measurements of the friction and contact forces between fibers of yarns sliding over each other. The instrument consists of a micrometer, pressure jaws, and an electrical force transducer to apply, control, and monitor the normal force of contact. The force of sliding friction is monitored with the Instron. With this instrument the fric tional properties of multifilament yarns of polyester, nylon 6, and nylon 6,6 removed from plain weave fabrics were measured by testing rows of parallel yams crosswise against each other. The areas under the recorded traces were integrated to obtain mean correlated values of the sliding friction and normal force. The coefficients obtained from the mean values were considered to represent the average frictional properties of the many similar fibers making up the yams. The results obtained agreed with theoretical concepts of the friction/normal force relationship for polymer fiber friction.