THE TECHNICAL TEXTILE
The term “technical textile” is often associated with fibers, yarns or fabrics made with fibers of high thermal or mechanical resistance, or with non-woven fabrics. However, the names geotextile and agrotextile only distinguish a textile product for its final use. In civil engineering or in agriculture .; the materials of which it is made, the system of manufacture of the yarn, of the fabric or of the finish, are not substantially different from those of any woven fabric, knitted or non-woven fabric used in clothing or household textiles. If you want to learn more about woven fabric, click here.
From the perspective, and following the different stages of the value chain of the textile / clothing sector, this article summarizes the main applications of the materials, processes or products of the same in the different areas of application of textiles of technical use.
FIBERS
All textile fibers find application in the field of technical textiles; all natural fibers, artificial fibers and synthetic fibers . However, the appearance of new families of fibers with high mechanical, thermal, resistance to chemical agents is one of the factors that has contributed essentially to shape the current sector of textiles for technical use, capable of giving response to solicitations that a few decades ago were unthinkable in a textile
Directly in the form of fiber, without the application of any subsequent processing, the textile fibers have diverse applications, some of them of great consumption
In the construction area, glass, polypropylene or acrylic fibers are used to reinforce concrete construction elements or as insulators of heat, noise, etc.
In the area of personal protection, different types of filler fibers, light weight products and high volume are used for thermal insulation to create an insulating space for immobile air. These are hollow fibers, different cross sections, and micros-fibers of different diameters.
In the composite materials industry, fiberglass or carbon fiber has been used as a reinforcement of the resin matrix.
THREADS
With the exception, of course, of the sewing threads in protective clothing, filters, packaging sacks, slings, etc., the threads have no direct application other than that of building an intermediate product for the manufacture of woven fabrics, held knitted, braided, ropes, etc.
TWISTED, ROPES AND NETS
The term braided designates a mono-axial and two-dimensional textile structure, characterized by the reciprocal cross-linking of a system of threads disposed diagonally. This structure, flat or tubular, is characterized by a variable and deformable geometry (diameter, width, braid angle, etc.)
The evolution has allowed an expansion of the possibilities of the products obtained by the conventional technique, both by the development of new textures options, as well as by the application of new materials.
Its possibilities of application are in the coating of electrical cables, in cords for different uses of clothing or materials for reinforcement or fastening. An area of application of the products with a high added value is that of braids for sutures made with a wide variety of textile fiber strands, or that of high tenacity polyethylene braids, which are used as replacements for broken ligaments of the knee, with a flexural strength greater than 40 million of cycles.
In sports equipment, as in the case of yachts, braids are used for halyards and slings, which combine low weight, high strength, low elongation, high flexibility and durability.
Three-dimensional braids with different shapes, made in new electronically controlled braiders, are used as reinforcement of composite materials for multiple applications.