Research on Pilling Performance of Cashmere Knitted Fabric Based on Fiber Frictional Properties

Pilling of cashmere knitted fabric has always been and being a tough problem; the scales available on the cashmere fiber surface and the as-resulted special frictional effect were one of the main reasons for pilling. In this research, the frictional coefficients [with-scale static coefficient (mu ws), with-scale dynamic coefficient (mu wd), anti-scale static coefficient (mu as), anti-scale dynamic coefficient (mu ad), mu as - mu ws, mu ad - mu wd, (mu as - mu ws)/(mu as + mu ws) and (mu ad - mu wd)/(mu ad + mu wd)] of cashmere fiber were measured by capstan method, and the conditions for measuring were optimized. On this basis, eight kinds of typical chemical or biological (protease) treatments were selected for anti-pilling treatment of cashmere knitted fabric, and the frictional coefficients of cashmere fiber under these treatments were measured. The surface morphology and the surface hairiness of cashmere were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and ultra-depth of field microscope, respectively. The pilling performance of these treated knitted fabrics was conducted by means of pilling box method. The effect of different chemical/biological treatments on the frictional properties of fibers and the relationship between frictional properties and pilling performance were analyzed based on OLS regression analysis and independent sample t test using Stata 16.0. Experimental results showed that there was a good correlation between the pilling performance of cashmere fabric and the value of mu ad - mu wd. When considering the specific chemical/biologic treatments, different treatments possessed different effects on the specific indicators of fiber frictional performance; so, for different treatment processes, different frictional coefficients could be selected to assist the evaluation of fabric pilling performance.