TECHNICAL TEXTILES & ITS IMPORTANCE TECHNICAL TEXTILES AND ITS IMPORTANCE The awareness towards the technical textiles is projecting the importance of this segment of textile very high.The consumption of the technical textile is also increasing day by day.Developing countries have high potential for this type of textile, provided they could meet the requirements, as the production cost compared to the developed countries will be much cheaper. TYPES OF TECHNICAL TEXTILEAgrotech: Agriculture, aquaculture and forestry.Buildtech: Building and construction.Clothtech:Technical components of footwear and clothing.Geotech:eotextiles and civil engineering.Hometech: Technical components of furniture, household textilesandfloor coverings.Indutech: !iltration, conveying, cleaning and other industrial. Medtech:"ygiene and medical.Mobiltech:Automobiles, shipping, railways and aerospace.Oeotech:#nvironmental protection.P!ctech: $ac%aging.Protech: $ersonal and property protection.S"orttech: &port and leisure. Diferent fbers which are used in making technical tetiles are as !"ll"ws#N!tur!l #iber$% &i$co$e r!'on.Pol'!mide !nd Pol'e$ter% Pol'ole(in$.High "er(orm!nce (iber$% Natural Fibers Cotton)(l!*)+ute!nd$i$!lhavebeenused,buttheir characteristic properties such as relatively heavy weight, limited resistance to water and microbial'fungal attac% as wellaspoorflameretardency,ma%esthemnotvery attractive fibre.,oolprovesfarlessversatileandeconomicalformost industrialapplications,althoughitisstillvaluedforits insulating and flame retardency properties.Sil is mainly used for surgical suture threads. Viscous rayo! &i$cou$ r!'on was used as re(enforcement material for tyres, drive belts, conveyers, and hoses etc. Because of itshighuniformity,tenacity,modulusandgood temperatureresistanceandabsorbency,thismaterialis widelyusedfordisposablecleaningandhygiene products. Polya"i#e a# Polyester Pol'!mide !nd Pol'e$ter fiber has high strength, good abrasionresistance,goodelasticity,uniformity,good moistureresistanceproperties.Theseareverysuitable for ma%ing climbing ropes, parachute fabric and sails. Polyole$s Pol'"ro"'lenefibersbecauseofitslowcost,low density, good abrasion and moisture resistant properties hasgainedabigmar%etspeciallyforsac%s,bags, pac%aging,carpetpac%ing,furniturelinings,ropesand netting.Pol'"ro"'lenehasbenefitedfromagrowing appreciationoftheimportantrolethatmoisture wic%eningcanplayinhygieneapplicationssuchas coverstoc% for diapers. Hi%& 'er(or"ace $bers Apartfromtheabovementionedconventionalfibers,arangeof speciallityfibersarealsoavailablesuchascarbonfiber,Aramids )meta and para*, $henolic fibre, $B+ polyben,imida,ole, "-$# high moduluspolyethylen,$T!#$olytetraflouroethylen,$$& polyphenylenesulphide,$##.polyethylether%etone.lassand ceramic fibers. Im$"rtant Technical Tetile can be s$ecifed as !"ll"w Heat a# )a"e 'rotecte# (abrics#+n the highly industriali,ed countries, the safety of human beings has become an important issue.A number of new fibers, fabrics and protective clothing have been developed in the recent years.-ain uses of this clothing are for fire fighters, foundry wor%ers, defense personnel, etc. +n protective clothing it is desirable to have low propensity for ignition from a flaming source, or if the item ignites a slow fire spread with low heat output, thermoplastic fibers qualifies these requirements but they fails to meet the additional properties such as protection from heat by providing insulation, high dimensional stability of the fabric so that fabric neither shrin% nor melt, and if they then decompose, form char. These properties can only be met by special fibers such as aramid. ( The flame retardant fibers, such as aramid, modacrylic, polyben,imid,ole $B+, $anox)oxidi,ed acrylic*, semicarbon, phenolic, asbestos, ceramic, etc.( /hemically modified fibers and fabrics i.e. flame retardant cotton, wool, viscose and synthetic fiber. Te*tile+rei(orce# co"'osite "aterials!/ompositematerialsarecharacteri,edbybeingmultiphase materialswithinwhichthephasedistributionandgeometryhas been deliberately tailored to optimi,e one or more properties.Thereisonephasecalledmatrix,reinforcedbyfibrousmaterialin the form of textile. Textile reinforcement is also more viable option for pre pegging or autoclave manufacture, because of its low cost and enhanced processibility, with more than adequate or in some cases more improved mechanical properties. The reinforcement textile can be produced by woven, %nitted, braided or stitched. ,ater+'roo( breat&able (abrics!0aterproof breathable fabrics are used in garments that provide protection from weather, i.e. wind, rain and loss of body heat.0aterproof fabric completely prevents the penetration and absorption of liquid. 0hile water repellant only delays the penetration of water.The term breathable fabrics passively allow water vapour to diffuse through them yet still prevent the penetration of liquid water. 0aterproof breathable fabrics prevent the penetration of liquid water from outside to inside the clothing yet permit the penetration of water vapour from inside the clothing to the outside atmosphere. T%$es "! water$r""! breathable !abrics#a* Densely woven fabricsb* -embranesc* /oatings a- Desely .o/e (abrics!+n1234afabriccalled5entilewasdevelopedfortheforces which will allow the personnel to be comfortable while performing theirdutiesandpreventthepenetrationofwateriftheywere immersedinthewater.!orthattypeoffabric,longstaple combed cotton yarn was selected andthen plied. This improves regularityand ensures thatthefibersareasparallel as possible totheyarnaxisandtherearenolargeporeswherewatercan penetrate. 0hen the fabric surface is wetted by water, the cotton fibersswelltransverselyreducingthesi,eoftheporesinthe fabric and requiring very high pressure to cause penetration. The fabricbecomeswaterproofwithoutanywaterrepellantfinishing chemicals.6owsyntheticmicrofilamentsfibersarealsousedforsuch fabrics. b- Me"braes!-embranesareextremelythinfilmsmadefrom polymericmaterialsandengineeredinsuchawaythat theyhaveaveryhighresistancetoliquidwater penetration,yetallowthepassageofwatervapour.A typical membrane is only about 14 micrometer thic% and thereforeislaminatedtoaconventionaltextilefabricto provide the necessary mechanical strength.They are of two types, micro porous and hydrophilic. c- Coati%s!These consist of a layer of polymeric material applied to onesurfaceofthefabric.6ormallypolyurethanesare used for such purpose, acrylic coatings are also used.They are also micro porous and hydrophilic.-icroporouscoatingsareproducedbyfollowing methods71(0et coagulation8(Thermo coagulation9(!oam coating Hy#ro'&ilic Coati%s:sethesamebasicwatervapourpermeability mechanism as the hydrophilic membrane. The difference betweenmicroporousmaterialsandhydrophilic materialsisthatwiththeformer,watervapourpasses throughthepermanentairpermeablestructurewhereas thelattertransmitvapourbyamolecularmechanism involvingabsorption(diffusionanddesorption.These coatings are all based on polyurethane, which has been chemicallymodifiedbyincorporatingpolyvinylalcohols and polyethylene oxides. Me#ical Te*tiles!-edicaltextilesarerelatedtomedical,relatedhealthcareand hygienesector.-edicaltextilesarecombinationofstrength, flexibility and sometimes moisture and air permeability; they can be of monofilament, multifilament, woven, %nitted and non woven fabrics.Thesematerialscanbecategori,edintofourareasof application such as7Nonim"l!nt!ble m!teri!l$- wound dressing, bandages, plasters etc.E*tr!cor"ore!l de.ice$- Artificial %idney, liver and lungs.Im"l!nt!blem!teri!l$(sutures,vasculargrafts,artificial ligaments, artificial joints, etc.He!lthc!reh'giene"roduct$(bedding,clothing,surgical gowns, cloth wipes etc. Te*tiles i De(ese!Defenseforcesonland,seaorairthroughouttheworld are heavily reliant on technical textiles of all types wether woven,%nitted,nonwoven,coated,laminatedorother compositeform.-ostofthespeciali,edtextilesare consumed for army purposes. and they require.