Daniel Akuoko Adjei, Linda Armah, Evelyn Kuupole
et al.
Purpose: Kente designers in the Ashanti region of Ghana have introduced innovative designs which use embroidery machines and appliqué techniques to create motifs on the Kente. The study, therefore, uses an integrated aesthetic-identity module to assess the adoption of these innovative Kente fabrics by the Akan people of Ghana.
Methodology/Design: The Quantitative research employed regression analysis to examine the relationship between aesthetic appeal, emotional attachment, and cultural identity variables. The convenient sampling method was employed to select 408 Akan respondents for the study, using a Google Forms web-based survey.
Findings: The acceptance of the innovative Kente is significantly influenced by aesthetic appeal, emotional attachment, and age. Cultural identity and gender were not significant predictors of Kente acceptance. That is, Akans, especially younger individuals, will accept Kente that is visually appealing and resonates with their emotions, including motifs, colour choice, and arrangement.
Practical and Social Implications: This study presents an integrated psychological and cultural perspective on the study of indigenous textile consumption. The framework provided is a conceptual model for examining modernised indigenous textile products. Practically, it offers recommendations backed by evidence for indigenous textile producers and marketers to enhance the appeal of their products while maintaining cultural integrity.
Originality: The paper explores aesthetic response theory, social identity theory, and emotional attachment to understand the factors that influence the acceptance of innovative Kente which lead to purchase intentions among consumers. This study provides a theoretical framework for understanding the purchase intentions of consumers that has not been previously applied to this context.
Mustapha Arslane, Mohamed Slamani, Abdelmalek Elhadi
et al.
Drilling natural fiber composite materials is challenging due to their anisotropic and heterogeneous structure, which often leads to delamination, thermal damage, and poor surface finish. The key objective of this study is to optimize drilling parameters such as spindle speed, feed rate, and drill type to improve machining performance and reduce common defects. To achieve this, 48 drilling experiments were conducted using three types of drills under varying cutting conditions. The methodology involved evaluating performance based on cutting force (CF), surface roughness (Ra), temperature (Te), and delamination (Fd). A multi-criteria decision-making approach, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), was applied to identify the most effective parameter combination. Results showed that Drill 2, a solid carbide drill, operating at 1000 rpm and 50 mm/min, produced the most favorable outcomes, minimizing defects and enhancing surface quality. The findings demonstrate that the TOPSIS-based framework effectively supports data-driven decision-making in drilling natural fiber composites.
Science, Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Springs are widely used in industries such as aerospace and automotive. As the demand for emission reduction grows, the research on lightweight spring performance is becoming increasingly important. This study analyses the mechanical performance of triple-layer braided composite helical springs (TCHS) under various loads and compression angles. Firstly, the optimal high-temperature curing condition of the epoxy resin was determined through tensile and three-point bending analysis. Then, TCHS were fabricated based on optimal epoxy curing conditions, and multi-angle compression tests under different loads were carried out. Simultaneously, strain gauges were installed at various positions and orientations on the inner and outer sides of the spring wire to reveal strain patterns during the compression. The test results indicate that stiffness decreases with increasing compression angle. Additionally, the strain in the inner and outer positions in different directions of the same region increased with the rise in compression force and angle, and strains in the helical direction were the largest. Subsequently, strain in the helical direction across different regions further showed that maximum strain occurred in the centre coil (region 2), with inner and outer helical direction strains reaching −5116.89 με and 5700.15 με, respectively, which are 71.3% and 90.4% higher than those in region 1 and 73.2% and 92.9% higher than those in region 3. As the compression load increased, cracks appeared on the outer side of the centre coil. In addition, the crack was perpendicular to the helical direction, further confirming that the highest strain occurred in the helical direction. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of angle-specific loads on TCHS, offering valuable insights for the design and optimisation of composite helical springs and laying a theoretical foundation for their future development.
Chemicals: Manufacture, use, etc., Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Inkjet-printed liquid crystal (LC) droplets exhibit an intricate spatially-varying birefringence due to their complex internal director configuration. While such anisotropy is often viewed as a drawback when LC droplets are used as microlenses, here we leverage this remarkable birefringence property to generate complex structured light. Through a selection of the alignment layer, and by varying the chiral pitch, we create three distinct droplet types with tailored intrinsic director configurations, each exhibiting a unique birefringence distribution for structured light beam generation. We show that these printed LC droplets can generate beams that exhibit skyrmionic structures carrying two units of orbital angular momentum, beams that contain azimuthal/radial polarized fields, and beams with polarization singularities. Our method enables new possibilities for using LC droplet technology to engineer sophisticated optical beam patterns.
Ali Anil Demircali, Jinshi Zhao, Ayhan Aktas
et al.
High-aspect-ratio polymer materials are widely utilized in applications ranging from everyday materials such as clothing to specialized equipment in industrial and medical fields. Traditional fabrication methods, such as extrusion and molding, face challenges in integrating diverse materials and achieving complex geometries. Additionally, these methods are limited in their ability to provide low-cost and rapid prototyping, which are critical for research and development processes. In this work, we investigated the use of commercially available 3D printers to fabricate fiber preforms, which were subsequently thermally drawn into fibers. By optimizing 3D printing parameters, we achieved the fabrication of fibers with diameters as small as 200 um having complex shapes, with features down to a few microns. We demonstrated the versatility of this method by fabricating fibers from diverse set of materials, such as fibers with different stiffnesses and fibers with magnetic characteristics, which are beneficial for developing tendon-driven and magnetically actuated robotic fibers. In addition, by designing novel preform geometries, we produced tapered fibers and fibers with interlocking mechanisms, also tailored for use in medical steerable catheter applications. These advancements highlight the scalability and versatility of this approach, offering a robust platform for producing high-precision polymer fibers for diverse applications.
Vertebrate animals benefit from a combination of rigidity for structural support and softness for adaptation. Similarly, integrating rigidity and softness can enhance the versatility of soft robotics. However, the challenges associated with creating durable bonding interfaces between soft and rigid materials have limited the development of hybrid robots. Existing solutions require specialized machinery, such as polyjet 3D printers, which are not commonly available. In response to these challenges, we have developed a 3D printing technique that can be used with almost all commercially available FDM printers. This technique leverages the common issue of underextrusion to create a strong bond between soft and rigid materials. Underextrusion generates a porous structure, similar to fibrous connective tissues, that provides a robust interface with the rigid part through layer fusion, while the porosity enables interlocking with the soft material. Our experiments demonstrated that this method outperforms conventional adhesives commonly used in soft robotics, achieving nearly 200\% of the bonding strength in both lap shear and peeling tests. Additionally, we investigated how different porosity levels affect bonding strength. We tested the technique under pressure scenarios critical to soft and hybrid robots and achieved three times more pressure than the current adhesion solution. Finally, we fabricated various hybrid robots using this technique to demonstrate the wide range of capabilities this approach and hybridity can bring to soft robotics. has context menu
Sean P. Bommer, Christopher Panuski, Benoit Guilhabert
et al.
Photonic crystal cavities (PhCCs) can confine optical fields in ultra-small volumes, enabling efficient light-matter interactions for quantum and non-linear optics, sensing and all-optical signal processing. The inherent nanometric tolerances of micro-fabrication platforms can induce cavity resonant wavelength shifts two-orders of magnitude larger than cavity linewidths, prohibiting fabrication of arrays of nominally identical devices. We address this device variability by fabricating PhCCs as releasable pixels that can be transferred from their native substrate to a receiver where ordered micro-assembly can overcome the inherent fabrication variance. We demonstrate the measurement, binning and transfer of 119 PhCCs in a single session, producing spatially ordered arrays of PhCCs, sorted by resonant wavelength. Furthermore, the rapid in-situ measurement of the devices enables measurements of the PhCCs dynamic response to the print process for the first time, showing plastic and elastic effects in the seconds to hours range.
Alena Dannehl, Amelie Buhr, Angela Sanchez Leyton
et al.
Self-regenerating, polymer-based textiles emulate living organisms’ ability to heal broken skin and other lesser injuries. To achieve this effect, either intrinsic or extrinsic methods of having polymeric compounds mend these damages can be employed. Depending on the method used, the handling and results of the self-regenerating effect differ. This allows for different areas of application. The focus of this paper is to discuss some of these potential textile applications as well as related research and developments in the area of self-healing materials.
Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc., Engineering machinery, tools, and implements
Slavenka Petrak, Ivona Rastovac, Maja Mahnić Naglić
Dynamic anthropometry is a research field that refers to the physical characteristics and considers the measuring of a human body in dynamic positions. In dynamic positions, specific body measurements and surface dimensions change significantly compared to the measurements in a resting state. In that sense, this paper presents a research on dimensional changes conducted on a group of male test subjects in three dynamic positions with a defined set of body measurements relevant for the analysis of body measurement changes compared to the upright standing position. Using a Vitus Smart 3D body scanner and the Anthroscan program, the test subjects were scanned and measured in the upright standing position according to ISO 20685 and in three dynamic positions. Depending on the defined measurements for the analysis in each dynamic position, scanning markers were attached to test subjects’ bodies to ensure the precise determination of anthropometric measuring points. Based on the obtained measurement results, dimensional changes and correlations of the three dynamic positions relative to the measurements in the upright standing position were analysed. The analysis showed significant differences in dynamic positions measurements compared to the upright standing position and indicated the assumption that the dimensional changes of body in motion within a specific body constitution group depend on the initial body part dimensions. The determined results can be used in the design and construction process of functional clothing, since the target values of the garment ease allowances can be determined based on the measurement changes.
Bacterial cellulose is a raw material that is used in many industrial areas such as textile due to its properties and an alternative to plant cellulose whose usage is increasing day by day. In this research, dissolved bacterial cellulose was used as a coating material. After the coating process, samples were immersed in three different coagulation baths to provide regeneration of the coated material. TGA, FTIR, SEM-EDX, air permeability, tensile test, thermal comfort (alambeta), and water vapor transmission (permetest) analyses were carried out to compare the mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties between raw fabric and treated fabrics. Because of chemical analysis, it was observed that the structures are similar to each other. In terms of thermal stability, it has been determined that the samples that have been coated are more durable than the raw fabric. The tensile test revealed that there was a decrease between 15.05% and 41,62% in the strength of coated materials. According to the results of air permeability, alambeta, and permetest, a decrease in air permeability values, an increase in relative water vapor permeability, and thermal conductivity values were observed with the increase of the remaining coating material in the fabric.
Science, Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
C. G. Flores-Hernandez, C. Velasco-Santos, A. L. Hernandez-Zea
et al.
Polymer composites of polylactic acid (PLA) reinforced with rachis obtained from chicken feathers (0.5–1.0 wt %, 5–10 wt%) were developed by extrusion and additive manufacturing. Rachis was incorporated into the polymer after milling, and it was also milled and modified with sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Thermomechanical properties evaluated by dynamical mechanical analysis revealed significant increments with treated ground rachis at 1 wt%, which produced the greatest increase in E´ with respect to PLA (195%). The scanning electron microscopy images show a clear difference between the fracture surface of the compounds obtained by 3D printing according to the type and concentration of reinforcement used. In addition, the 3D printing composites show different thermal conductivities than PLA with the addition of keratin. Thus, natural composites obtained by 3D printing technology with very low concentrations of keratin show significant changes in thermal and thermomechanical properties of PLA matrix.
Science, Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
The fused collar components used in shirt manufacturing requires a specific fall and drape that depends on the type of used interlining. The interlining selection is primarily based on the subjective evaluation of fused composites. There is a need to predict the behaviour of fused shirt collars objectively. The drape of fused composites can be indicative of the shape and fall of the shirt collar. The aim of this paper was to propose a set of polynomial equations using DOE that can predict the drape behaviour of fused shirt collars before and after the washing. The Plackett-Burman design was used to screen the influential factors and the full factorial design was used to derive the polynomial equation explaining the effect of factors on the drape behaviour of fused shirting samples. The prediction was attempted with easily measurable parameters of component materials and the fusing process. The study found that the fabric weave, cover factor, raw material, interlining weight and pressure applied during the fusing process have a significant effect on the drape of fused collars. This information can be used in the 3D sampling of fused shirt components.
Surface modification of a jute fibrous reinforcement is preferred to improve its compatibility with thermosetting resin for the development of biocomposite. A plain weave jute fabric was chemically modified with different concentrations of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) i.e. 1 to 6% (weight/volume). The chemically modified jute fabrics were assessed for their physical, mechanical, and morphological properties. The modified jute reinforcements were used for the preparation of biocomposite by hand laying method cum compression molding method, and the respective biocomposites were evaluated for their physical and mechanical properties. Results inferred that NaOH modified the fine structure and morphological properties of treatment on jute reinforcement and the reinforcing ability of the modified jute fabric is increased with increasing in the concentration of NaOH up to 5% (w/v) and then stabilized. It is concluded that the suitable concentration for improved reinforcement is found at 5% (w/v) at 30°C for 60 min in 1:15 material-to-liquor ratio.
Science, Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Stefan Singer, Yilin Xu, Sebastian Tobias Skacel
et al.
We demonstrate an optical phased-array (OPA) equipped with a 3D-printed facet-attached element for shaping and deflection of the emitted beam. The beam shaper combines freeform refractive surfaces with total-internal-reflection (TIR) mirrors and is in-situ printed to edge-emitting waveguide facets using high-resolution multi-photon lithography, thereby ensuring precise alignment with respect to on-chip waveguide structures. In a proof-of-concept experiment, we achieve a grating-lobe free steering range of $\pm 30°$ and a full-width-halfmaximum (FWHM) beam divergence of approximately $2°$. The concept opens an attractive alternative to currently used grating structures and is applicable to a wide range of integration platforms.
We present the design and fabrication of 3D printed holographic beamforming antennas. The antennas utilize additively manufactured hollow rectangular waveguides that feed radiating rectilinear slots inserted into the upper conducting wall. The lengths of the individual slots are altered to implement a holographic beamforming solution designed using a coupled dipole formalism. For rapid verification, the designed antennas are fabricated using a desktop dual-extrusion fused filament 3D printer. The body of each antenna and its inner conducting surface are respectively printed using polylactic acid and biodegradable conductive polyester composite material (i.e., Electrifi), which is later deposited with a layer of copper on its surface to improve surface conductivity and reduce surface roughness. The beamforming performance of the fabricated antennas is confirmed via experiments. The 3D printed metasurface antennas using the proposed fabrication technique illustrate emerging capabilities in the rapid prototyping of complex electromagnetic structures.
A highly stable diode-pumped circulation-free liquid dye laser in a vertical external cavity is reported. The design is simple (no fabrication process step required, no fluid circuitry), compact (~ cm sized), and cost-effective. An optical efficiency of 18% with a M${}^2$ of 1 are reported, with an excellent photostability-no efficiency drop was seen after 1.4 million pulses at 50 Hz, a value comparable to flowing systems and much higher than values achievable with organic solid-state lasers. We show that thermal effects are central in the stability and also on the dynamics of this laser. The laser build-up and shutdown dynamics are studied in detail for different pump pulse durations/repetition rates; they reveal a pulse shortening with increasing pump pulse duration and repetition rate that are shown to be due to thermal lensing diffraction losses. This laser structure offers a very convenient and simple platform for testing or harvesting solution-processable gain materials.
Mohammad Munir Hossain, Shafiquzzaman Siddiquee, Vijay Kumar
Bast fiber plants require a post-harvest process to yield useable natural cellulosic fibers, denoted as retting or degumming. It encompasses the degradation of the cell wall’s non-cellulosic gummy substances (NCGs), facilitating fibers separations, setting the fiber’s quality, and determining downstream usages. Due to the inconvenience of traditional retting practices, bacterial inoculum and enzyme applications for retting gained attention. Therefore, concurrent changes of agroclimatic and socioeconomic conditions, the conventional water retting confront multiple difficulties, bast industries become vulnerable, and bacterial agents mediated augmented bio-retting processes trying to adapt to sustainability. However, this process’s success demands a delicate balance among substrates and retting-related biotic and abiotic factors. These critical factors were coupled to degrade bast fibers NCGs in bacterial retting while holistically disregarded in basic research. In this study, a set of factors were defined that critically regulates the process and requires to be comprehended to achieve optimum retting without failure. This review presents the bacterial strain characteristics, enzyme potentials, specific bast plant cell wall’s structure, compositions, solvents, and interactions relating to the maximum NCGs removal. Among plants, associated factors pectin is the primary biding material that determines the process’s dynamics, while its degree of esterification has a proficient effect through bacterial enzymatic degradation. The accomplished bast plant cell wall’s structure, macerating solvents pH, and temperature greatly influence the bacterial retting process. This article also highlights the remediation process of water retting pollution in a biocompatible manner concerning the bast fiber industry’s endurance.
Chemicals: Manufacture, use, etc., Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc.
Abstract A novel algorithm for 3D-printing technology was proposed to generate large-scale objects, especially A-shaped manikins or 3D human body scan data. Most of the conventional 3D printers have a finite printing volume, and it is the users’ work to convert the target object into a printable size. In this study, an automatic three-step segmentation strategy was applied to the raw manikin mesh data until the final pieces had a smaller size than the 3D printer’s maximum printing volume, which is generally called “beam length”. Human body feature point information was adopted for fashion and textile researchers to easily specify the desired cutting positions. A simple bounding box, especially orienting bounding box, and modified Boolean operator were proposed to extract the specified segments with computational stability. The proposed method was applied to graphically synthesized manikin data, and 1/8, 1/4, and 1/2 scale manikins were successfully printed, minimizing the amount of support structure.
Textile bleaching, dyeing, printing, etc., Social Sciences
In this article, we investigate certain basic properties of invariant multilinear CP maps. For instance, we prove Russo-Dye type theorem for invariant multilinear positive maps on both commutative $C^*$-algebras and finite-dimensional $C^*$-algebras. We show that every invariant multilinear CP map is automatically symmetric and completely bounded. Possibly these results are unknown in the literature (see \cite{Heo 00,Heo,HJ 2019}). Motivated from quantum algorithm simulation \cite{BSD} we introduce multilinear version of invariant block CP map $ \varphi=[\varphi_{ij}] : M_{n}(\A)^k \to M_n(\mathcal{B({H})}).$ Then we derive that each $\varphi_{ij}$ can be dilated to a common commutative tuple of$*$-homomorphisms. As a natural appeal, the suitable notion of minimality has been identified within this framework. A special case of our result recovers a finer version of J. Heo's Stinespring type dilation theorem of \cite{Heo}, and A. Kaplan's Stinespring type dilation theorem \cite{AK89}. As an application, we show Russo-Dye type theorem for invariant multilinear completely positive maps. Finally, using minimal Stinespring dilation we obtain Radon Nikodym theorem in this setup.