Influence of Plasma Gas on the Quality-Related Properties of Wool Fabric

Plasma treatment affected the quality-related properties of wool fabric such as air permeability, pilling, tearing strength, tensile strength, crease-recovery angle, and surface luster which were studied thoroughly in this paper. The plasma gases with different natures were used, and the experimental results showed that the gas nature influenced the properties of air permeability, tearing strength, tensile strength, elongation, and crease recovery to different extent. In the pilling-resistance test, the antipilling property was improved but no definite conclusion was drawn to distinguish which of the plasma gases had the significant effect. The surface luster had no significant changes under the influence of plasma treatment. In addition, the low-stress mechanical properties related to fabric handle were also studied. A fabric objective measurement system, fabric assurance by simple testing, was used for measuring the low-stress mechanical properties such as extensibility, bending rigidity, shear rigidity, surface thickness, and formability. In the evaluation of the low-stress mechanical properties of the plasma-treated fabrics, the plasma treatment showed different effects on the extensibility, bending rigidity, shear rigidity, surface thickness, and formability. However, the overall results confirmed that the plasma treatment could alter the low-stress mechanical properties of the fabric.