1.

Fibre for Technical Textile,

2. Technical Textiles and it classification,
3. Technical Textiles and nonwoven`
4. Lecture on recent publication on technical textiles,
5. Introduction of nano technology,
6. Application of nanotechnology in textiles.
7. Nano composites.
8. An assignment on application on technical textiles in various aspects of Bangladesh.
Technical Textiles

Technical textiles are the textile materials and products used primarily for their technical
performance and functional properties. The conventional textiles are used for aesthetic and
furnishing purpose. The main reason for usage of technical textile is their specific functional and
physical properties. The technical textile represents various fields and has numerous applications.

The technical textiles gain considerable attention, the technical fibers, yarns, and abric are being
used for various technical applications apart from clothing. Various kinds of natural fibers such as
flax, cotton, sisal, jute have been used since many years in the applications like tents, tarpaulins,
sacking, ropes, and sailcloth. In roman times the woven fabrics and meshes were used for
stabilizing marshy ground for the road building. Nowadays these are named as Geo textiles and
Geo grids.

[OEM is the business model that is used when a trademark owner is "sourcing", i.e., looking for a factory
to manufacture its products, using its trademark]

The technical textile field is very vast and diverse, hence somehow difficult to define. Generally,
it comprises of the largest segment of conventional and domestic textile industry’s output. Now a
day almost 45% of woven, knitted, and nonwoven fabric are used in technical textile products. The
biggest market of technical textiles is automotive, healthcare and construction, agriculture sector,
and military applications.
Depending upon their endues technical textiles are categorized into 12 broad areas
Fibers for Technical Textiles

Until the twentieth century very limited number of textile fibers were available for functions and
industrial use such as cotton, flax, Sisal, and Jute. These fibers were utilized for manufacturing
canvas, ropes, twines, and heavy products. These products were characterized by a heavy weight,
attacked by micro-organism, fungal and very low resistance to water and showed very low flame
retardancy (Fig. 1.6).

With the passage of time, new technical textile manufacturing units were established, for example,
Dundee located in Scotland, which is the flax growing area as well as a whaling port. At that time
bast fiber such as jute was used widely for sacking and packing, carpet, furniture, roofing felts,
twine and other applications purpose.

Around 1900, jute industry was at a peak, but it starts to decline due to competition from other
materials and cheaper, cost effective, economical import. The industries like Dundee and other
industries became a central industry for the development of UK Polypropylene industry in 1960.
After 1960 new polymer were developed which were superior than the conventional fibers and
proved to be most suitable for technical and functional applications. Sisal was utilized and
converted into the ropes, net twine. Wool and silk are versatile fibers having different industrial
applications. Conventional silk is used mostly in Asia and Japan for technical and functional
applications. Wool provides outstanding insulating property hence used for protective clothing and
higher temperatures.

Fig. 1.6 World fiber’s consumption in Technical textiles

Conventional Fibers
The conventional fibers are modified and used for technical applications. Among various
conventional fibers Viscose, PET, PP, and Polyamide can be classified as conventional fibers for
technical textile application.
High-performance Fibers

The glass fiber, mineral-based fiber, and metal fibers need to be converted and modified for high-
tech applications by changing, tenacity, length of fiber. This includes surface modification,
applying finishes or combining both types of fiber and converting into hybrid and biocomponent
products.

• Aramid
• Carbon
• Glass
• Ceramic
• HMPE(need to elaborate all abbreviations) is ultra-strong high modulus
polyethylenemainly used for ballistic protection and rope manufacturing.
• PTFE polytetrafluoroethylene is one of chemically stable, high-performance polymer fiber.
• PPS polyphenylene sulphide and
• PEEK polyethyl ether ketone are used in filtration application due to high mechanical
stability and preferred for aggressive environments.
• Dyneema Fiber
Dyneema is also known as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene is strongest
known fiber today with a tensile modulus of 70 GNm2. This fiber is almost 15 time
stronger as compared to steel and two times stronger than aromatic polyamides like
Kevlar. Major properties include chemical inertness, low density, and high abrasion
resistant. It is mostly used in low temperature application due to the low melting
temperature of 150 °C and it degrades thermally at 350 °C.

Some common tests for Technical Textiles

Classification of the Technical Textiles
Techtextil, one of the largest trade exhibition of technical textiles, classify technical textile
products into 12 main areas of application which are depicted in above figure.

Mobiltech
The textile products which are used in the transportation (automobiles, railways, ships, aircrafts,
and spacecrafts) are known as mobiltech. Some of the examples of mobiltech products are
parachutes, inflatable boats, air balloons, automobile covers, etc. Some of the textile products are
used as a component in an automobile. These components can be classified into two, i.e., visible
components and concealed components. Some of the examples of visible components are:
• Seat covers.
• Seat belts.
• Carpet.
• Foot mats.
The concealed components may include:
• Airbags.
• Tyre cords.
• Insulation felts.
The mobiltech products are used in interior, engine, and body of the automobiles. The average
weight of the mobiltech products used in the interior of an automobile is around 20 kg. The
mobiltech products are used for several functions which include transportation, filtration,
insulation, protection, etc.

Indutech
Indutech stands for industrial textiles. These are the textile productswhich are used in the
industrial/manufacturing sector. The most commonly used examples of indutch products are:
• Conveyer belts.
• Ropes.
• Filters.
• Composite materials for industrial use.

These products are usually made by using nonwoven or woven textile structures. The application
areas include filtration, purification, and transportation. Filters are used for air, water, or oil
filtration. Conveyer belts are used for transportation of materials. Ropes are used in shipping, ports,
oil rigs, and defense areas. The most commonly used fibers for indutech products are synthetic,
e.g., polyester, polyamide, polypropylene, and nylon, etc.

Medtech
Medtech is a short form ofmedical textiles. These are the products used for healthcare and hygiene
sectors. This domain has a wide product range. These products can be divided into two categories;
wearables and non-wearables. Some examples of the wearable products are:
• Face mask.
• Diapers.
• Patient gown.
• Doctor’s gown.
• Pressure garments.
• Protective suits.
Non-wearable products may include:
• Wipes.
• Bandages.
• Gauzes.
• Sutures.
• Scaffolds.
• Artificial body parts.
Medtech products are developed by using both natural (cotton, silk, wool, etc.) and synthetic
(polyester, rayon, etc.) fibers. The selection of the fiber is based on the requirement of the final
product. For example, natural fibers may be used for high absorbency and biodegradability
whereas synthetic fibers find their use for strength and elasticity. Almost all types of textile
structures are used in medtech. For instance, yarn (sutures), woven structures (patient gown, doctor
gown, bandages, etc.), nonwoven structures (facemask, diapers, wipes, etc.), and Knitted structure
(pressure garments, etc.) are used in medtech. Some of the functions of medtech products are
cleaning, absorbency, filtration, protection, etc.

Hometech
The technical textile productswhich are used inside buildings are knownas hometech. It consists
of household textiles and upholstery (sleeping bags, cushions, and bedding, etc.). Some examples
of the hometech products are:
• Blinds.
• Floor covering.
• Wall covering.
• Cushions.
• Shower curtains.
• Towels.
• Cooking aprons.
• Oven mittens.
• Table covers.
• Bread baskets/covers.

Both natural and synthetic fibers are used in the development of these products. The end use
dictates the type of fibers to be used. For example, wool may be used for insulation and cotton
may be used for absorbency. Most of the products are made of woven (shower curtain, towel, etc.)
or multilayer composite structures (oven mittens, etc.). Coating fabrics are very commonly used
in these applications (shower curtains, table covers, etc.). These products are usually used for
waterproofing, fireproofing, insulation, absorbency, protection from sun, protection from harsh
weather, and leisure. Most of these products are made fire retardant to minimize the harm in case
of a fire incident.

Clothtech

The textile products used to satisfy the functional requirements of apparels are called Clothtech.
These are basically the components of garments or shoes which are most of the times concealed.
some of the examples of Clothtech are:
• Interlining.
• Underlining.
• Velcro.
• Fasteners.
• Elastics.
• Labels.
• Sewing thread.
• Shoelaces.
• Draw cords.
The typical functions of these products include insulation (interlining), garment stability
(underlining), tactile comfort (underlining), ease in wearing (Velcro, fasteners, elastic, and
shoelaces, etc.), protection (drawcord), and joining sewing thread. Various types of fibers (cotton,
polyester, nylon, elastane, etc.) are used to make these products. The selection of the fiber is
dependent on the end use of the product. Almost all types of textile structures are used in these
products. For example, the applications of yarn (sewing thread), braided (drawcord, shoelaces),
nonwoven (interlining), woven (interlining, underlining, elastics, labels, etc.), and
knitted (interlining) structures can be found in clothtech.

Agrotech

The technical textile products used in agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, and forestry are known
as Agrotech. These products are used for growing and harvesting of crops. This is a very wide
domain of technical textiles. Some of the common examples of the Agrotech products are:

• Shade nets.
• Crop covers.
• Bird protection nets
• Anti-hail nets.
• Fishing nets.

The use of Agrotech products improves the quality of crops, controls the weed, enhances and
accelerates the yield. Both natural and synthetic fibers may be used in aggrotech products
depending upon the requirement of the product. The common functions of these products are
protection from extreme weather, protection from mosquitos, protection from birds, insulation,
packing, etc. The textile structures like knitted (packing materials and nets), woven/nonwoven
(mulch mats, sapling bags, shades, and ground covers), and knotted (fishing and other nets) can be
used to make these products.