A Qualitative Analysis of Different Types ofWater Repellent Agent Used on Cotton Fabric

Abstract

The existence of intermolecular attractive forces of polarity and hydrogen bond is imperative in providing strength, heat resistance and drycleaning resistance to cotton fabric. However, these forces enhance easy wetting of fiber by water offering little resistance to snow and rain for outerwear garments. This problem could be overcome by adding water repellent chemicals to the fabric either chemically or with mechanical coating which prevent penetration of water through the fabric without destroying comfort of the fabric. The aim of the work is to evaluate the effect of different types of water repellent agents used on cotton fabric and analyze different possible factors affecting the performance and quality of treated fabrics. For this purpose, three water repellent chemicals: Lurotex protector RP ECO is a product based on C6 technology, Rucostar EEE6 product consists of a hydrocarbon matrix and hyper-branched, star-shaped polymers(dendrimers) and Nuva TTC is a conventional fluorocarbon based water repellent chemicals were used in three different concentrations to find out an optimum chemical concentration. To judge the quality of the treated fabrics, spray test, air permeability test, strength test and abrasion resistance test were evaluated. The quality of treated fabrics for all three chemicals was very close to each other and if the process parameters is maintained successfully, desired results can be achieved.