Analysis of fabric movement and dust removal performance due to twist motion in a clothing care system

Abstract

This study aims to explore effective dust removal methods for the improvement of clothing care systems by analyzing the fabric movement caused by the twist motion and examining its influence on dust removal performance. The finite element method simulation was used to model the tension at different vertical and horizontal positions of the fabric as a spring array, to calculate the fabric movements at each position over time when a twisting force was applied and enable comparison with experiments. When observing the fabric movement due to the twist motion with actual fabrics, silk showed the greatest movement, followed by cotton and linen. Cotton experienced decreasing force from the top to the bottom, with increased amplitude at the bottom due to fluttering caused by the bottom not being fixed. When examining the fabric movement according to the velocity, slower velocity did not effectively transmit twist force to the bottom, while faster velocity resulted in more small movements. The analysis revealed that greater force at faster velocity led to better dust removal performance. Therefore, for efficient dust removal, the force transmitted to the fabric should be increased. Most dust is removed within the first 10 min, so exerting a strong force for a short duration is important.