Non-destructive Characterizations of Natural Yarns and Fabrics

Textiles, next to skin, are an integral part of our lives, govern the skin microclimate, and contribute to our comfort and health. Over the years, natural and synthetic textiles have dominated the industry in diverse application areas. However, when it comes to the sustainability of the raw materials or products, processes, and the environment, the natural polymers or fibers will always dominate the preference. One of the many natural fibers, cotton fiber is the most popular and widely used one, leading to many fundamental researches in the fields of polymers, fibers, fabrics, their manufacturing processes and finishing, as well as in product characterizations and performance evaluations. To-date, most textile-characterization techniques involve processes which compromise the morphology of the textiles being tested, and are mostly destructive. In this chapter, a few novel non-destructive characterizations of textiles, made from natural fibers (specifically cotton), will be discussed which involve X-ray micro-computed tomographic (XRM-CT) three-dimensional (3D) image analysis. Tomographic characterizations allow the investigation of both the surface profiles and the inner construction of the textiles without compromising the morphology. The findings discussed in this chapter will assist in non-destructive characterizations and performance evaluations of other diverse material classes as well.