Effect of treatment temperature on mechanical properties of silk textiles made with silk/polyurethane core-spun yarn

Abstract

Silk has been used extensively in textile applications because of its good luster and feel. However, the low elongation and elastic recovery of silk has limited its use in a wider variety of textile applications. In this study, silk textile samples were made with a highly twisted silk/polyurethane core-spun yarn. They were immersed in water and dried at different temperatures, and the effect of treatment temperature on the mechanical properties of the silk textile was examined. It was found that the water temperature strongly affected the morphology and mechanical properties of the silk textile, whereas the drying temperature did not. As the water temperature was increased, the weft silk yarn became tangled and the interval between warp yarns decreased, resulting in shrinkage of the silk textile. When the silk textile was immersed in water at high temperature (i.e., 100°C), the elongation of the textile increased eight-fold as compared to an untreated silk textile. The maximum elastic recovery ratio of the silk textile was 96.7%.

Effect of degumming on structure and mechanical properties of silk textile made with silk/polyurethane core-spun yarn

“…Therefore, in the previous study, the elastic recovery ratio of the hot-watertreated silk textile was tested. The value was unsatisfactory (96.7%), considering 20% elongation was used once in the measurement (Bae and Um, 2016). However, in the present study, the elastic recovery ratio of the degummed silk textile 4(C), when the silk textile made with silk/polyurethane corespun yarn was degummed, the tensile strength decreased from 30.6 to 6.5 MPa and the strain increased by 16 fold (24% to 383%).…”

“…As observed in Fig. 4(B) and and Um, 2016). That is, the weft yarn was tangled by water treatment at high temperature (100°C), leading to shrinkage of the silk textile.…”

“…The test method used for the elastic recovery of the silk textiles was introduced in a previous report (Bae and Um, 2016).…”

“…The shrinkage of the silk textile after degumming treatment was calculated using eq. 1 (Bae and Um, 2016): Stress-strain curves were obtained using a universal test machine (UTM; OTT-03, Oriental TM, South Korea) to evaluate the mechanical properties of the silk textiles. The tensile tests were performed using a 200-kgf load cell at an extension rate of 100 mm/min for the silk textile.…”

“…However, the limited elongation and elasticity of silk textile have restricted its use in other textile and non-textile applications. In a previous study, as a preliminary work, silk textile was made with silk/ polyurethane core-spun yarn and treated with hot water to improve its elongation and elasticity (Bae and Um, 2016).…”