REDUCING THE ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE GENERATED FROM THE CONTACT AND SEPARATION AS WELL AS SLIDING OF POLYMERIC TEXTILES ON COTTON

Abstract

The quality of clothes depends on the comfort of textiles. The measure of the comfort is the friction displayed by the sliding of the textiles on skin or other textiles as well as the generation of electrostatic charge (ESC). As the friction increased, the comfort of the clothes decreased. The present work discusses the friction and ESC generated from the contact and separation as well as sliding of polymeric textiles on cotton. Test specimens of composites containing polyester (PET) and polyamide (PA) textile fibers were prepared and tested by contact and separation as well as sliding under different loads against cotton textiles. Ultra surface DC Voltmeter was used to measure ESC of the tested textile composites. It was found that friction coefficient displayed by the sliding of the PET/PA blend strings on cotton textile drastically decreased with increasing PA. At contact and separation with cotton, ESC generated on the surface of the tested blend showed the highest negative values at 100 % PET, then decreased with increasing PA content. While, the positive ESC generated on the surface of the cotton recorded zero value at 80 % PA, then decreased with increasing PA content to record negative values. Sliding displayed relatively higher ESC at 100 % PA than that observed in contact and separation. The zero values of ESC were observed at 93 % PA. ESC generated on the cotton counterface recorded higher values at 100 % PET. As PA content increased, ESC drastically decreased to negative charge at 100 % PA.