Objective evaluation of fabric

Hand
KES - Kawabata Evaluation System
 Fabric Handle

• Professor Kawabata of Japan has carried out a great deal of work with the aim of

replacing the subjective assessment of fabrics by experts with an objective

machine-based system which will give consistent and reproducible results.

• In particular the properties of a fabric that affect its handle are dependent on its

behavior at low load and extension and not at the level of load and extension at

which fabric failure occurs.

 Subjective evaluation of fabric handle

Characterization of fabric
Touch a fabric Overall quality
property by summarized
by hand judgement
handle expressions

Sensory organ Data processing brain

 Limitations of fabric subjective evaluation

• End results are subjective and qualitative

• FSM restricts the scientific understanding of fabric hand

 Objective system for hand evaluation

Measurement of fabric Hand values (HV) Total hand value

mechanical properties of primary hands (THV)

Conversion Conversion
Equation I Equation II
 Primary hands
KOSHI Stiffness A measure of crispness in bending

NUMERI Smoothness A measure of smooth, supple and soft feel

FUKURAMI Fullness A measure of bulk

SHARI Crispness A measure of crisp rigid fabric surface with a cool feel

HARI Antidrape A measure of flare

KISHIMI Scrooping feeling A kind of silk fabric possesses this feeling strongly

SHINAYAKASA Flexibility with Soft, flexible and smooth feeling.

soft feeling

SOFUTOSA Soft touch Soft feeling. A mixed feeling of bulky, flexible and smooth
feeling.
 KES Equipment

KES-FB1: Tensile and Shear properties

KES-FB2: Bending

KES-FB3: Compression

KES-FB4: Surface friction and surface roughness

 Sixteen parameters describing fabric mechanical and
surface properties
Parameters Symbol Definition Unit
Tensile ET Elongation %
LT Linearity None
WT Tensile energy gf.cm/cm2
RT Resilience %

Shearing G Shear rigidity gf/cm.deg.

2HG Hysteresis (0.5°) gf/cm
2HG5 Hysteresis (5.0°) gf/cm

Compression LC Linearity None

WC Compression gf.cm/cm2
energy
RC Resilience %
Parameter Symbol Definition Unit

Surface MIU Coef.of friction None

MMD Mean dev. of MIU None
SMD Geom. Roughness micron

Bending B Bending rigidity gf.cm2/cm

2HB Hysteresis gf.cm /cm

Fabric W Fabric weight/unit area mg/cm2

Construction T0 Fabric thickness mm
Basis of objective evaluation of KES-FB system

Measurement of low stress mechanical properties e.g. Tensile,

Shear, Bending, Compression & Surface properties of fabrics

Translating these low stress properties into 16 basic

parameters

Computing primary hand value (PHV) w.r.t the subjectively

assessed sample using a set of equations and weight factors

Converting PHV to Total hand value (THV) and to total

appearance Value (TA) using a set of equations .
KES Bending Tester
 KES – Bending
• One edge of the sample is held by a fixed chuck, while the other is held by the moving chuck.

• A sensor attached fixed jaw detects bending moment and the curvature.

• The moving chuck follows a fixed orbit turning its head at an angle so that a uniform curvature
is maintained on the sample to find the relationship between curvature and the bending moment.

• Clamp interval = 1 cm ; Rate of bending is 0.5/cm sec.

• Maximum Curvature is + 2.5/cm

• The following quantities are measured from this curve:

• Bending rigidity B = slope of the bending moment - curvature

• Moment of hysteresis 2HB = hysteresis width of the curve

Typical Bending Chart
KES Compression
Tester
 KES Compression
• Fabric sample is placed on the bottom plate of the instrument and a plunger is used to
compress the sample at a constant rate.

• The fabric is compressed till a preset pressure is reached before starting the recovery cycle
at the same constant rate.

• LC –Linearity of compression thickness curve

• WC – Compressional energy (gf.cm/cm2 )

• RC – Compressional Resilience(%)
Typical Compression Chart
Tensile & Shear Tester
 KES Tensile

• The sample is clamped between the 2 jaws with the effective test area of 5 cm X 20 cm and

subjected to a constant tension of 10 gf /cm by a weight attached to the drum on which on of

the jaw is mounted.

• During tensile testing ,engaging the clutch arrests the free drum rotation and a torque

detector connected to the drum is used to detect the tensile force in the fabric.

• Fabric is extended at a constant strain rate by moving the other jaw assembly until a pre-set

load is reached before starting the recovery cycle.

• The tensile properties are measured by plotting the force extension curve between zero and a

maximum force of 500gf/cm (4.9N/cm), the recovery curve as the sample is allowed to

return to its original length is also plotted to give the pair of curves.
Typical Tensile Chart
 Shear test
• In order to measure the shear properties a sample of dimensions 5 cm X 20cm is sheared
parallel to its long axis keeping a constant tension of l0 gf/cm (98.1 mN/cm) on the clamp.

• The following quantities are then measured from the curve.

• Shear stiffness G ~ slope of shear force-shear strain curve

• Force hysteresis at shear angle of 0.5° 2HG = hysteresis width of curve at 0.5°

• Force hysteresis at shear angle of 5° 2HG5 = hysteresis width of curve at 5°

Typical Shear Chart
Surface Tester
 Surface Roughness

• The surface roughness is measured by pulling across the surface a steel wire 0.5mm in

diameter which is bent into a U shape.

• The contact force that the wire makes with the surface is 10gf (98.1 mN).

• The value that is measured is SMD = mean deviation of surface roughness .

Surface Roughness Typical Surface Roughness Plot
 Surface Friction

• The surface friction is measured in a similar way by using a contactor which consists of ten

pieces of the same wire.

• A contact force of 50 gf is used in this case and the force required to pull the fabric past the

contactor is measured.

• MIU = mean value of coefficient of friction

• MMD = mean deviation of coefficient of friction

Surface Friction
FAST – Fabric Assurance by Simple Test
The FAST system comprises four test methods:

• FAST 1 - Compression meter

• FAST 2 - Bending meter

• FAST 3 - Extension meter

• FAST 4 - Dimensional stability test

 FAST Compression
• The fabric thickness is measured on a 10cm 2 area at two different pressures, firstly
at 2gf/cm2 (19.6mN/cm2) and then at 100gf/cm2 (981mN/cm2) using the apparatus.

• This gives a measure of the thickness of the surface layer which is defined as the
difference between these two values.

• The fabric is considered to consist of an incompressible core and a compressible

surface.

• The fabric thickness measurements are repeated after steaming on an open Hoffman
press for 30s in order to determine the stability of the surface layer.
 FAST – Bending Meter
• The bending rigidity, which is related to the perceived stiffness, is calculated from the
bending length and mass/unit area.

• Fabrics with low bending rigidity may exhibit seam pucker and are prone to problems in
cutting out.

• A fabric with a higher bending rigidity may be more manageable during sewing,
resulting in a flat seam but may cause problems during molding.

• Bending rigidity - 9.8 X 10-6MC3 (μNm)

• C is bending length and

• M is mass per unit area.

 FAST - Extensibility
• The extension of the fabric is measured in the warp and weft directions at three fixed forces
of 5, 20 and l00gf/cm (49,196 and 981mN/cm) (sample size tested 100mm X 50mm) using
the apparatus.

• The extension is also measured on the bias in both directions but only at a force of 5gf/cm
(49mN/cm): this enables the shear rigidity to be calculated.

• Low values of extension give problems in molding, produce seam pucker and give
difficulties in producing overfed seams.

• High values of extension give problems in laying up and such fabrics are easily stretched
during cutting with a consequent shrinkage to a smaller size afterwards.
 FAST – Dimensional Stability

• In order to measure dimensional stability the fabric is dried in an oven at 105 0C and
measured in both the warp and weft directions to give the length L1.

• It is then soaked in water and measured wet to give the wet relaxed length L2. It is then
redried in the oven and measured again to give the length L3.

• The following values for dimensional stability are then calculated from these measurements
for both warp and weft:
• High values of shrinkage in a fabric produce problems of garment stitching due to panels

shrinking; seam pucker may form in the final pressing stage.

• A small amount of shrinkage (usually below 1%) is required for fabrics intended to be

pleated. A high value of hygral expansion can lead to loss of appearance in humid conditions

as the fabric increases in dimensions under such conditions.

• The seams can also pucker in these conditions as the sewing thread prevents relative

movement of the fabrics.