繊維科学および工学ジャーナル

Airbag act as safety device in vehicles, which activates when sensor detects crash or collision. Worldwide majority of airbag fabric is made of Nylon 66 yarn. The problem in airbag are repositioning of airbag, space occupied and cost. In this project attempt has been made to make airbag fabric from Nylon 66/Polyester combination airjet textured yarn to reduce the cost. Also attempt has been made to reduce fabric volume to reduce space occupied using air textured blend yarns. The 6 different type of airbag fabric has been manufactured and compared with commercially available fabric. The some of the parameters has been changed during process like Low tenacity (LT) Polyester has been replaced by High tenacity (HT) Polyester to get better properties of fabric. The fabric has been further coated to improve the air permeability and performance of the fabric. The further it has been observed that fabric properties can be match with commercial fabric. This airbag fabric can efficiently use for secondary airbags.

The application and colour fastness properties of aqueous dye extract from Whitfieldia lateritia leaves were studied. The UV-Vis and FT-IR spectra of the dye extracts showed the presence of polyphenols such as flavonoids and tannins. The extract was used to dye cotton fabrics using different mordants viz- alum/tannic acid, ferrous sulphate and potassium dichromate. Pre-mordanting, simultaneous mordanting and post-mordanting methods were also used to dye the cotton fabrics in the presence of sodium chloride as an electrolyte. The cotton fabrics showed a total or slight change in colours with different mordants and mordanting methods. The dyed fabrics were evaluated for Colour fastness to Washing, perspiration and light. The general assessment of the colour fastness tests showed that the aqueous extract of Whitfieldia lat-eritia dye applied under the influence of mordants irrespective of the method of application used showed good ratings.

Two new processes of waterless textile dyeing known as air-dye and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) assisted dyeing is reviewed and discussed. The conventional textile dyeing industries use freshwater as a solvent and drain them as wastewater. Each year trillions of freshwater and over ten thousand dyes and pigments are used globally. The wastewater from these industries is dumped into the surrounding lakes, agricultural fields, rivers, etc. The impact of textile dyeing is therefore significant because it decreases the freshwater level and polluting the surface water unceasingly. Thus, from decades, researchers have tried to develop a technology that is waterless and pollution-free. Because of researcher’s tremendous efforts, two such waterless dyeing method is in our hand now. These processes have multiple advantages over conventional techniques, such as emission of less waste and less greenhouse gases, shorter operating time, less energy consumption, etc. Moreover, they have good diffusivity, readily available, reusable, non-flammable and non-toxic, making the process economically feasible and environmentally attractive. Several textile converters in Europe, Asia and North America currently use AirDye. scCO₂ method has gained the attention of brands such as Nike, Adidas and IKEA, all of whom have used this process to dye their own products. With versatile advantages, there are some drawbacks. Such as the dyeing is only applicable to synthetic fabrics like polyester and the installation of machines are relatively expensive. In this report, the current status of research and development on resolving several issues like this is also summarized.