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Analysis of the heat setting process

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2016 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 141 012018

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

Analysis of the heat setting process

N Besler1, Y S Gloy1 and T Gries1

1
Lehrstuhl für Textilmaschinenbau und Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) der RWTH
Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Str. 1, Aachen, Germany

E-mail: nora.besler@ita-rwth-aachen.de

Abstract. Heat setting is an expensive and energy elaborative textile process. Heat setting is
necessary to guarantee size accuracy and dimensional stability for textile materials. Depending
on the material different heat setting methods such as saturated steam or hot air are used for the
fixation. The research aim is to define the influence of heat setting on mechanical
characteristics and to analyse the correlation of heat setting parameters for polyester. With the
help of a “one factor at a time” experimental design heat setting parameters are varied.
Mechanical characteristics and the material quality of heat set and not heat set material are
evaluated to analyse the heat setting influence. In the described experimental design up to a
temperature of 195 °C and a dwell time of 30 seconds the material shrinkage of polyester is
increasing with increasing temperature and dwell time. Shrinkage in wales direction is higher
than in course direction. The tensile strength in course direction stays constant whereas the
tensile strength in wales direction can be increased by heat setting.

1. Introduction
The Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) der RWTH Aachen University is researching in the area of textile
mechanical engineering, in textile simulation [1] as well as in quality control, automation [2] and
energy efficiency [3]. The research fields in the area of knitting are improvements in pattern and
process engineering [4]. ITA started researching on heat setting since July 2015 to analyse the process
correlations. The heat setting process can be adjusted in a more efficient, innovative and user-friendly
way based on fundamental process knowledge.
Heat setting is a thermal and mechanical process to guarantee size accuracy and dimensional
stability for textile materials. Textile construction causes constraints on the textile. Constraints occur
due to the arrangement of dipole links and hydrogen bonds, as well as crystallisation and chain
stiffness. During the heat setting process these inner constraints are rearranged. Thus the dimension of
the textile is changing. Depending on the material different heat setting methods such as saturated
steam or hot air are used for the fixation. The standard method for the heat setting of synthetic material
is the continuously used stenter frame. The stenter frame heat sets by using hot air. Important process
parameters are temperature, dwell time, width and overfeed. For natural fibres relaxation dryers,
crimping and steaming units are used [5-9].
Heat setting is an expensive and energy elaborative textile process. The correlation of heat setting
parameters is analysed to determine the potential for process optimization. Models for optimum
dimensional stability have been obtained for knitted cotton/elastane fabrics [10]. In this work further
textile characteristics of polyester knitted samples are analysed with a “one factor at a time”
experimental design. It is analysed how the textile characteristics (average weight, mesh density,

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

thickness and tensile strength) change depending on the heat setting parameters. The relationship
between temperature and time is always depending on the polymer and the textile characteristics such
as fabric weight and construction [5].

2. Experimental setup
For the experimental design circular knitted polyester tube samples are used. The tubes are knitted on
the machine BSM 3.0 from Beck GmbH, Albstadt. The machine has a diameter of 30” and a gauge of
E24. The used polyester yarns have a specification of 167/ 48-1 CS. The tube samples have a size of
120 cm width and 60 cm height and have a single jersey structure. The average weight of the tube
samples is 85 g/m² and the thickness is 0.5 mm. The mesh density in course direction is 12/cm and the
mesh density in wales direction is 11/cm. The maximum tensile strength in course direction is 145 N
and 214 N in wales direction.
A “one factor at a time” experimental design is carried out on the fixation press CC600 from
Herbert Kannegiesser GmbH, Vlotho. The fixation press is working discontinuously. The polyester
tube samples are placed on a belt. The samples are transported and heat set in course direction. The
material is heated with heating panels from above and below. In addition the polyester samples can be
pressed with the help of two pressure rolls. The pressure rolls are located behind the heating zone.
After that the samples are falling onto a second belt, where the samples cool down. In the “one factor
at a time” experimental design temperature and dwell time are varied on four levels, pressure is varied
on two levels. The definition of the different levels is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Level for heat setting parameters.
Level Temperature [°C] Dwell time [sec] Speed [m/min] Pressure [bar]

1 180 6.5 5.5 0

2 185 9 4 1
3 190 14.4 2.5 -
4 195 36 1 -

Textile characteristics are analyzed in order to see how heat setting parameters are correlating. The
influence of heat setting on textile characteristics has to be identified to evaluate the correlation of heat
setting parameters. Shrinkage is the most important quality factor for heat setting. Shrinkage is the
dimensional change of textile occurring during heat setting. Analyzed textile characteristics are the
average weight (DIN EN 12127), the mesh density (DIN EN 14971), and the thickness
(DIN EN ISO 5048) to define the shrinkage. In addition the behavior of the tensile strength
(DIN EN ISO 13834-2) is measured.

3. Results
During the knitting and the heat setting process many disturbance values occur. Disturbance values are
for example variation in the knitting process, an imprecise temperature regulation in the fixation press,
no possibility of material guidance during the heat setting process and thus occurring rolling of the
edges. Due to these disturbance values high variation can be seen in the results and no assured
statements can be made. Nevertheless tendencies of material behavior can be indicated.
The average weight is determined according to DIN EN 12127. The development of the average
weight for the single jersey samples are shown in Figure 1. Five measurements are performed for each
setting. The average weight of the reference material is 85 g/m². The average weight for heat set
material is higher than for the reference material. Measurements are fluctuating around 87 g/m².
During heat setting the material shrinks. Shrinkage means that the density of yarn increases. Thus the
average weight is increasing as well. The average weight is increasing with temperature and time. The
highest average weight of 90 g/m² is obtained at 195 °C and a dwell time of 36 seconds. Regarding
additional pressure no assured influence on the average weight can be seen.

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

Dwell time: 6,5 sec Dwell time: 9 sec

Average weight [g/m²]

Average weight [g/m²]

93 93
91 91
89 89
87 87
85 85
83 83
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C]
Temperature [ C]

Dwell time: 14,4 sec Dwell time: 36 sec

Average weight [g/m²]

Average weight [g/m²]

93 93
91 91
89 89
87 87
85 85
83 83
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Figure 1. Average weight depending on temperature for different dwell times.

The thickness of the samples is determined according to DIN EN ISO 5048. Five measurements are
performed for each setting. Figure 2 shows a decreasing thickness with increasing temperature. The
same effect can be seen with increasing dwell time. Assuming that yarn is shrinking evenly, the size of
the textile has to be reduced in all dimensions. Regarding the influence of pressure on the thickness no
assured statements can be made. The standard deviation of the samples heat set with additional
pressure is high. The course of the different curves indicates that pressure does not have an influence
on the thickness of the material. A possible reason is the short time the material is exposed to the
pressure rolls.

3
48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

Dwell time: 6,5 sec Dwell time: 9 sec

.
0,53 0,53
.

Thickness [mm]
Thickness [mm]

.
0,50 0,50
.
0,47
. 0,47
.
0,44
. .
0,44
0,41
. 0,41
.
.
0,38 0,38
.
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Dwell time: 14,4 sec Dwell time: 36 sec

Thickness [mm] .
0,53
Thickness [mm]

.
0,53
0,50
. .
0,50
.
0,47 0,47
.
.
0,44 0,44
.
0,41
. 0,41
.
.
0,38 0,38
.
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Figure 2. Thickness depending on temperature for different dwell times.

The mesh density is determined according to DIN EN 14971. Five measurements are performed for
each setting. Figure 3 shows the mesh density in dependence of the temperature. The mesh density in
course direction is constant (12/cm) for all temperature and dwell time levels. An influence of pressure
is not visible. The mesh density in wales direction is increasing with increasing temperature and dwell
time. The highest increase from 10.6/cm to 12/cm occurs at the highest temperature (195 °C) and the
highest dwell time (36 sec) level. This means that the tested structures show a higher shrinkage in
wales direction than in course direction. This can be explained by the unsymmetrical knitted mesh
structure. The mesh structure is shown in Figure 4. The distance between two crossing points in wales
direction is larger than in course direction thus the material in wales direction has more space to relax
and shrink than the material in course direction. Another factor that needs to be considered is the
reference mesh density. The mesh density in course direction is higher than in wales direction. On the
one hand this means that there is more material having the possibility to shrink. On the other hand
there is the possibility that the density is already so dense, that there is no possibility of further
shrinkage due to a lack of space.

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

Dwell time: 6,5 sec Dwell time: 9 sec

.
13,0 .
13,0
Mesh density [#/cm]

Mesh density [#/cm]

12,5
. 12,5
.
12,0
. 12,0
.
11,5
. 11,5
.
11,0
. 11,0
.
10,5
. 10,5
.
10,0
. 10,0
.
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Dwell time: 14,4 sec Dwell time: 36 sec

.
13,0 13,0
.

Mesh density [#/cm]

Mesh density [#/cm]

12,5
. 12,5
.
12,0
. 12,0
.
11,5
. 11,5
.
11,0
. 11,0
.
.
10,5 10,5
.
.
10,0 10,0
.
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Figure 3. Mesh density depending on temperature for different dwell times.

Length of
parallel yarn
wales direction

parts in wales
direction

crossing point

length of parallel
yarn parts in
course direction
course direction

Figure 4. Knitted structure

Tensile strength is determined according to DIN EN ISO 13834-2. The results for the single jersey
samples are shown in Figure 5. Five measurements are performed for each setting. For the single
jersey samples anisotropic behavior of the tensile strength can be identified. The material behavior in
course direction is different than in wales direction.

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

In course direction heat setting has a marginal influence on the tensile strength. The reference
sample has a tensile strength of 145 N. The highest value reached for a heat set sample is 159 N,
which is equivalent to a strength increase of about 10 %. The tensile strength is approximated to be
constant for all heat setting level. An influence of pressure cannot be indicated. The tensile strength in
wales direction is increasing with increasing temperature and dwell time compared to the reference
sample. The maximum value for tensile strength in wales direction is 317 N, which is an increase of
48 % to the not heat set reference sample (214 N).

Dwell time: 6,5 sec Dwell time: 9 sec

Max. tensile strength [N]

Max. tensile strength [N]

320 320
280 280
240 240
200 200
160 160
120 120
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Dwell time: 14,4 sec Dwell time: 36 sec

Max. tensile strength [N]
Max. tensile strength [N]

320 320
280 280
240 240
200 200
160 160
120 120
R 180 185 190 195 R 180 185 190 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]

Figure 5. Tensile strength depending on temperature for different dwell times.

The tensile strength in course direction (145 N) is low compared to the tensile strength in wales
direction (317 N). This result is equivalent to the results of the mesh density. With increasing mesh
density in wales direction, there is more material taking up the forces of the tensile load. The tensile
force can be distributed evenly. Furthermore filaments are taking the most loads in filament direction.
Most parts of the filaments are oriented in wales direction thus more forces can be taken up in this
direction (see Figure 4). Another cause for the increase of the tensile strength in wales direction is the
transformation from amorphous into crystalline structures, which have a positive effect on the tensile
strength. Higher temperatures and longer dwell times lead to a higher degree of crystallinity. Crystal
growth in wales direction is encouraged by the knitted structure. The high amount of parallel yarn in
wales direction develops more crystal structures than the short parallel yarn parts in course direction.
The maximum tensile strength in wales direction grows [5].

6
48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

Average weight [g/m²]

88,5
. 0,50
.

Thickness [mm]
.
87,5 R² = 0,9766
0,48
.
R² = 0,7845 R² = 0,9928
.
86,5 .
0,46

.
85,5 0,44
.
R² = 0,96
.
84,5 0,42
.
175 185 195 175 185 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]
DT (6.5 sec) DT (9 sec)
AW [g/m²] =-0,0958*(T[°C]) + 105,03 T [mm] =-0,0022*(T[°C]) + 0,8666
DT (9 sec) DT (36 sec)
AW [g/m²] =-0,0472*(T[°C]) + 96,058 T [mm] =-0,0017*(T[°C]) + 0,7623

.
12,0
310
Mesh density in wales

R² = 0,8835
Tensile strength in
wales direction [N]

R² = 0,9878
..
11,6 290
direction[#/cm]

270
11,2
. R² = 0,8954
250
R² = 0,9918
10,8
. 230

10,4
. 210
175 185 195 175 185 195
Temperature [ C] Temperature [ C]
DT (14.4 sec) DT (9 sec)
MDwales [#/cm] =-0,0027*(T[°C]) + 6,275 TS [N] =1,7852*(T[°C]) - 56,312
DT (36 sec) DT (14.4 sec)
MDwales [#/cm] =-0,044*(T[°C]) + 3,2 TS [N] =1,8942*(T[°C]) - 63,594
Dwell time [sec]:
6,5 14.4

9 36

Figure 6. Correlation of dwell time and temperature for different characteristics.

A correlation between dwell time and temperature for each textile characteristic is shown in
Figure 6. For the average weight linear regression for the dwell times of 6.5 sec and 9 sec and for the
thickness for the dwell times of 9 sec and 36 sec can be approximated. For the mesh density (wales
direction) the dwell times of 14.4 sec and 36 sec and for the tensile strength (wales direction) the dwell
times of 9 sec and 14.4 sec can be approximated with linear regression. The linear regression models
show that one desired textile characteristic (e.g. average weight) can be reached with different
parameter combinations. Not all correlations can be approximated in linear regression models. More
data have to be collected in order to define an appropriated model to describe the correlation between

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48th Conference of the International Federation of Knitting Technologists (IFKT) IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 141 (2016) 012018 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/141/1/012018

temperature and dwell time for each textile characteristic. The high standard deviations (see Figure 1-
Figure 6) put the linear regression model into perspective.

4. Summary and Conclusion

In this paper the influence of heat setting on the textile characteristics of a polyester single jersey
structure are analysed. The shrinkage is slightly increasing with increasing temperature (max. 195 °C)
and increasing dwell time (max. 36 sec.). The mesh density and tensile strength in wales direction are
increasing, whereas in course direction the increase is marginal and assumed to be constant. Pressure
does not show any influence on the textile characteristics. To reach a desired textile characteristic
different combinations of temperature and dwell time are possible.
For modelling the heat setting process further data has to be collected to improve and verify
obtained models. For the engineering of technical textiles further analyses have to be done regarding
the different behaviour of shrinkage and tensile strength in course direction and wales direction for
different mesh densities. That way it can be analysed whether there is a mesh density limit for knitted
structures. Another possibility is to analyse the crystalline structures to obtain more information about
the increase of tensile strength. Furthermore results have to be transferred to the classical stenter frame
heat setting and include washing tests to define the stable state.
Economic effects of the different heat setting parameters have to be analysed. Thus a data base
with included economic effects can determine heat setting parameters for special textile
characteristics. The data base can serve for the optimization of the heat setting process. The correlation
of economic factors as well as quality factors can lead to conserving resources by energy reduction.

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Acknowledgments
We thank the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) and the Bundesministerium für
Wirtschaft und Energie (BMWi) for funding this research project (funding no. 01MT15002C).