Glossary of technical terms
Abrasion resistance: the ability of the textile surface to resist wear by friction.
Absorbency: the ability of a textile material to absorb and retain liquids within its structure.
Anisotropic: a material which has different physical properties in different directions.
Anti-bacterial, antimicrobial, anti-fungal: properties given to textile materials using additives to eliminate or prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi.
Anti-static: a textile material property which does not support generation or accumulation of static charges.
Breaking extension: the percentage extension at maximum load
Breaking strength: the ultimate tensile strength of a textile per unit width.
Breathability: the ability of a fabric, coating or laminate to transfer water vapour from oneof its surfaces through the material to the other surface.
Capillary action: a process in which liquids move along interstices between fibres.
Carbon fibre: a man-made fibre containing at least 90% of carbon obtained by controlled pyrolysis of appropriate fibres (known as precursors).
Chemical stability: the ability of a material to resist degradation from the action of chemicals
Composite: a product formed combining two or more discrete physical phases.
Conduction: the process of transferring heat or an electrical charge between two materials by direct contact.
Count: a measure of linear density
Cover factor: a number that indicates the extent to which the area of a fabric is covered by one set of threads.
Creep: a slow change in the physical dimensions of a material under prolonged stress.
Crimp: the waviness of a fibre or filament.
Cross-linking: a chemical process in which small molecules combine three-dimensionally to form a polymer. Also known as curing.
Decitex: A measure of linear density; the weight in grams of 10,000 metres of yarn.
Denier: a measure of linear density; the weight in grams of 9,000 metres of yarn.
DWR (fabrics): durable water repellent. DWR fabrics retain their ability to repel water after washing, dry cleaning or heavy wear.
Elongation: the increase in length of a specimen during a tensile test, expressed in units of length.
End: (in weaving) an individual warp yarn.
Filament: a single long thread-like fibre of extruded material; a fibre of indefinite length.
Filament yarn: a yarn consisting normally of a bundle of continuous filaments.
Folded yarn: a yarn made by twisting two or more single yarns together in one operation.
FR (flame retardant): fibres, yarns or fabrics which resist burning or inhibit or resist the spread of fire. Fire resistance: the ability of fabric to fulfil for astated time period of time the required stability and/or integrity and /or thermal insulation and/or other expected duty specified in a standard fire resistance test.
Free shrinkage: spontaneous shrinkage in the absence of outside influences such as heat or a liquid.
Fretting: the wearing away of filaments through friction.
Grab tensile strength: the strength at a specific width of fabric together with the additional strength contributed by adjacent areas.
Hydrophilic : textile which tend to attract and are wetted by water.
Hydrophobic : textile which tend to repel and are not wetted by water.
Industrial textiles: a category of technical textiles used as part of an industrial process, or ncorporated into final products.
ISO 9000: a series of quality management and quality assurance standards published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a means of rationalising various national approaches to the subject of product quality. Variant ISO 9001 is used by a supplier who wishes to indicate conformance with specific requirements during design and development, production, testing, inspection and servicing. Variant ISO 9002 indicates a facility’s conformance to quality standards in operations management, especially as it relates to quality control and customer
KPa (kiloPascal): Used in textile testing as a measure of bursting pressure; 1 kPa = 6.89 lbf/inch2.)
Linear density: the weight per unit length of a yarn or fibre. Units of linear density include decitex, denier and tex.
LOI (limiting oxygen index): a measure of flammability; the level of oxygen in the oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere (expressed as a percentage) that must be present before a fabric will ignite and burn when exposed to flame.
Man-made fibres: fibres produced synthetically or manufactured from natural sources.
Modulus: a measure of the ability of a fibre to resist extension at low loads.
Moisture regain: the percentage of moisture in a textile material brought into equilibrium with standard atmosphere after partial drying, calculated as a percentage of the moisture-free weight.
Nanometre: one billionth of a metre (10-9metres).
Nanotechnology: technology development at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels (in the 1-100 nanometre range) aimed at creating and using materials which have novel properties and functions.
Ne: a unit denoting English cotton count, and an indirect (length per unit weight) measure of linear density. The Ne value is the number of 840 yd lengths of yarn weighing 1 lb.
Oleophilic: a propensity to absorb oil.
Oleophobic: a resistance to absorb oil.
Padding (finishing): the impregnation of a substrate with a liquor or paste followed by squeezing.
Permeability: the ability of a textile to allow air or water vapour to pass through it.
Pick: a single weft thread in a woven fabric.
Pill, pilling: the entangling of fibres during washing, dry cleaning, testing or in wear to form balls or pills which stand proud of the surface of a fabric.
Ply: the number of layers in a fabric. Also used to denote the number of yarns twisted together to form a single thread or yarn.
Polyamide: another word for nylon.
Folded yarn: a yarn made by twisting two or more single yarns together in one operation (plied yarns)
Precursor: raw materials used in a controlled pyrolysis process to make carbon fibres.
Pyrolysis: a process in which chemical compounds are decomposed at high temperatures.
Reaction to fire: response of textile material under specified test conditions in contributing, by its own decomposition to a fire which it is exposed
Regain: the equilibrium water content of a fibre after exposure to the atmosphere. Regain is dependent on the relative humidity and temperature of the surrounding air.
Sett: a term used to define the weft or warp density of a woven fabric, usually in terms of the number of threads per centimetre.
Stain resistance: the ability of a fabric to withstand permanent discoloration by the action of liquids. This property depends partly upon the chemical nature of the fibre but may be improved by proprietary treatments.
Staple fibres: short length fibres, as distinct from continuous filaments, which are twisted together (spun) to form a coherent yarn.
Strain: the change in length per unit length of a material in any given direction.
Survivability: the ability of a textile to perform its intended function without undergoing degradation.
Synthetic fibres: man-made fibres made from a polymer that has been produced artificially, in contrast to fibres made from naturally occurring polymers such as cellulose.
Tear resistance: a measurement of fabric strength.
Tear strength: the force required to start or continue or propagate a tear in a fabric under specified conditions.
Technical textiles: textile materials and products manufactured primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics. End uses include aerospace, industrial, marine, medical, military, safety and transport textiles, and geotextiles.
Tenacity: the strength of a fibre or yarn. Tenacity is measured by dividing the force required to break the yarn by its linear density. Usually tenacity is quoted as the applied force in centiNewtons divided by the linear density in tex (cN/tex).
Tensile strength: the longitudinal stress which a substance can bear without tearing apart.
Tex: a measure of linear density; the weight in grams of 1,000 metres of yarn.
Thermoplastics: a type of resin or polymer which can be remelted after cross-linking. Examples include polyolefins, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate.
Thermoplastic yarns: yarns which are deformable by applying heat and pressure without any accompanying change. The deformation is reversible.
Thermosets: thermosetting resins or polymers formed by chemical cross-linking which renders them permanently solid. This reaction is irreversible and, unlike thermoplastics, thermosets do not melt when heated. Typical thermosets are polyesters, acrylics, epoxies, phenolics and vinyl esters.
Transmissivity: a measure of the ability of a textile to transmit fluids within its plane.
Twist liveliness: the tendency of a yarn to twist or untwist spontaneously.
Ultraviolet stability: the ability of a textile to retain strength upon exposure to ultraviolet light over a specified period
Warp: yarns or threads which run in the length direction on a weaving machine direction in which the fabric moves during manufacture
Waterproof: the ability of a fabric to prevent water penetration.
Water repellency: the ability of a fabric to shed water to a limited degree.
Water resistance: a measurement which determines the ability of a fabric to withstand sustained contact with water.
Weaving: the process of producing fabric by interlacing warp and weft yarns
Weft: yarns which are incorporated across the width of a woven fabric. The threads usually run at 90° to the warp direction on a weaving machine.
Wicking: the transfer of liquids, along the fibres in a fabric and away from the source by capillary action.
Windproof: the ability of a fabric or membrane to block the passage of external air through it.
Wind-resistant: a limited form of windproofing.
Yarn: a generic term for a continuous strand of textile fibres or filaments in a form suitable for weaving or otherwise intertwining to form a fabric.
