Fabric Identification The Burn Test

Those who are related to textile in any way, need to know the process of Fabric Identification. A
Textile manufacturer, wholesaler or a retailer will have to know what fabric their prospective
customers are going to buy and how they will test the end product- the finishedfabric. This will
equip them to make a fabric having quality that will pass the designated test for it. On the other
hand, the customers who can be anyone- a fashion designer, textile designers, tailor, garment
manufacturer, manufacturer of other textile products or simply a homemaker who wants to sew a
dress at home, they all will need a particular type of fabric to make their ultimate desired product.
It is better for them to test the fabric before putting it to use which will save both time and efforts
in the long run.

Burn Test- Precautions and the Method

Burn test is the most accepted method for identifying the true nature of any fabric. This test is
carried out to know whether a fabric is made up of a natural fiber, man made fiber, or a blend of
natural and man made fibers.
Precautions

The burn test has to be carried out with great precaution. Arrangement of water near the site of
test should be made. The test should be done in a metal bucket, an old tuna tin or a glass ashtray.
Plastic containers should always be avoided. If the dish contains soda or even water at its bottom,
its great.
The Method

To identify the fibers in an unknown piece of fabric, a snippet should be cut off from it. This
specimen should be about 1" long and a triangle at most 1/4" wide. The snippet of fabric should be
held in a pair of tweezers over the dish (which has already been made fireproof). With either a
match or cigarette lighter, the snippet should be put directly into the flame long enough for it to
catch on fire.
Most of the fabrics burn and they have to be extinguished. There are other fabrics that burn until
there is nothing to burn, or they burn and go out on their own after a few seconds leaving
remaining unburned fiber and are therefore self-extinguishing. There are certain other fabrics that
does not burn even with a flame held directly to it.
Fibers can also be identified through the smell of the smoke it gives off in burning, and the ash or
melted bead that remains after it has burned. Some of the fabrics are blends, and the blend of
fibers may make the burn test rather unreliable test for fiber content. Moreover, some fabrics have
chemical finishes and sizings applied to them that will change the way they burn, making the burn
test further unreliable.
The fiber burn chart given below helps in identifying the nature of the fibers on the basis of their
burning characteristics and the smell and other properties of the remains such as smoke, ash etc.

Reaction of Fibers to the Burn Test

Cotton

Is a cellulose fiber. It burns and may flare up when lit. No melted bead is left by it. After burning, it
continues to glow. It gives out smell like that of a burning paper. The smoke is gray or white. The
ash is fine, soft that can be easily crumbled.
Hemp

A cellulose fiber, burns quickly with bright flame. It leaves no melted bead and after burning no
sign of flame is seen but it does not melts. It smells like burning leaves or wood. The ash is gray and
smoke has no fume hazard.
Jute

Also a cellulose fiber, doesnt shrink from flame. Other characteristics are similar to those of hemp
fabric.
Linen (Flax)

A cellulose fiber, it takes longer to ignite. It is easily extinguished by blowing on it. Other properties
are similar to hemp and jute.
Rayon

Is a manufactured cellulose fiber. It burns without flame or melting and may flare up. Unless there
is a fabric finish, it doesn't leave any bead. After the flame is removed, it may glow a bit longer
than cotton. It smells like burning paper and leaves soft, gray ash. It's smoke is a little hazardous.
Silk

Is a protein fiber which burns slowly and curls away from the flame. It leaves dark bead which can
be easily crushed. It is self-extinguishing and leaves ash that is dark, gritty, fine powder. It smells
like burned hair or charred meat. It gives out a little or no smoke and the fume has no hazard.
Wool

Is a protein fiber which burns slowly. It sizzles and curls away from flame and may curl back onto
fingernail. It leaves beads that are brittle, dark, and easily crushed. It is self-extinguishing and
leaves harsh ash from crushed bead. It gives out a strong odor of burning hair or feathers. It gives
out dark smoke and moderate fume.
Acetate, Triacetate

Is a protein fiber which burns quickly and can flare even after flame is removed. The bead is hard,
brittle, and can't be crushed. It melts into very hot bead and drips very dangerously. No ash is left
by it and the smell is like hot vinegar or burning pepper. It gives out black smoke and the fume is
hazardous.
Nylon, Polymide

Are made from petroleum. Due to their fabric finish, they quickly burn and shrink to flame. The
beads are hard, grayish and uncrushable. After flame, they burn slowly and melt. They are selfextinguishing but drip dangerously. Their odor is like celery and they leave no ash but the fume is
very hazardous.
Polyester

Is a polymer produced from coal, air, water, and petroleum products. It burns quickly and shrinks
away from flame, may also flare up. It leaves hard, dark, and round beads. After the flame, it
burns slowly and is not always self-extinguishing. It has a slightly sweet chemical odor. It leaves no
ash but its black smoke and fume are hazardous.
Acrylic, Modacrylic, Polyacrylic

Made from natural gas and petroleum, they flare up at match-touch, shrink from flame, burn
rapidly with hot sputtering flame and drip dangerously. Beads are hard, dark, and with irregular
shapes. They continue melting after flame is removed and are self-extinguishing. When burning,
they give out strong acrid, fishy odor. Although no ash is left but their black smoke and fume are
hazardous.

As the procedure of fabric identification helps to ascertain the structure of the materials, it is
essentially undertaken by the weavers and other textile companies. The textile industry uses
various machines, such as, inspection machine, burn machine, fabric dyeing machine, fabric
insulation machine and such other machines for carrying out the burn tests of fabrics. The fashion
industry is one of its most important aspect as they make specific demands for special or usual
cloth materials. The enormous reputations of many famous fashion designer brands are regularly
rising all over the world and their clothing lines have special labels declaring to have passed fabric
burn tests.

Synthetic Fiber:
Most synthetic and cellulosic manufactured fibers are created by
extrusion forcing a thick, viscous liquid (about the consistency of
cold honey) through the tiny holes of a device called a spinneret to form continuous
filaments of semi-solid polymer.
In their initial state, the fiber-forming polymers are solids and therefore must be first
converted into a fluid state for extrusion.
This is usually achieved by melting, if the polymers are thermoplastic synthetics (i.e.,
they soften and melt when heated), or by dissolving them in a suitable solvent if they
are non-thermoplastic cellulosics. If they cannot be dissolved or melted directly, they
must be chemically treated to form soluble or thermoplastic derivatives. Recent
technologies have been developed for some specialty fibers made of polymers that
do not melt, dissolve, or form appropriate derivatives. For these materials, the small
fluid molecules are mixed and reacted to form the otherwise intractable polymers
during the extrusion process.

The Spinneret
The spinnerets used in the production of
most manufactured fibers are similar, in
principle, to a bathroom shower head. A
spinneret may have from one to several
hundred holes. The tiny openings are very
sensitive to impurities and corrosion. The
liquid feeding them must be carefully
filtered (not an easy task with very viscous
materials) and, in some cases, the
spinneret must be made from very
expensive, corrosion-resistant metals.
Maintenance is also critical, and
spinnerets must be removed and cleaned
on a regular basis to prevent clogging.

As the filaments emerge from the holes in the

spinneret, the liquid polymer is converted first to a
rubbery state and then solidified. This process of
extrusion and solidification of endless filaments is
called spinning, not to be confused with the textile
operation of the same name, where short pieces of
staple fiber are twisted into yarn. There are four
methods of spinning filaments of manufactured fibers:
wet, dry, melt, and gel spinning.

Wet
Spinning
Wet spinning is the oldest process. It is used for
fiber-forming substances that have been
dissolved in a solvent. The spinnerets are
submerged in a chemical bath and as the
filaments emerge they precipitate from solution
and solidify.
Because the solution is extruded directly into the precipitating liquid, this process for
making fibers is called wet spinning. Acrylic, rayon, aramid, modacrylic and spandex
can be produced by this process.

Dry Spinning
Dry spinning is also used for fiber-forming
substances in solution. However, instead of
precipitating the polymer by dilution or chemical
reaction, solidification is achieved by evaporating the
solvent in a stream of air or inert gas.
The filaments do not come in contact with a precipitating liquid, eliminating the need
for drying and easing solvent recovery. This process may be used for the production
of acetate, triacetate, acrylic, modacrylic, PBI, spandex, and vinyon.

Melt Spinning
In melt spinning, the fiber-forming substance is melted for extrusion through the
spinneret and then directly solidified by cooling. Nylon, olefin, polyester, saran and
sulfar are produced in this manner.

Melt spun fibers can be extruded from the spinneret in different cross-sectional
shapes (round, trilobal, pentagonal, octagonal, and others). Trilobal-shaped fibers
reflect
more
light
and
give
an
attractive
sparkle
to
textiles.
Pentagonal-shaped and hollow fibers, when used in carpet, show less soil and dirt.
Octagonal-shaped fibers offer glitter-free effects. Hollow fibers trap air, creating
insulation and provide loft characteristics equal to, or better than, down.
Detailed production flowcharts:
Acryli Nylon (Polyamid Polyeste
c
e)
r

Gel Spinning
Gel spinning is a special process used to obtain high strength or other special fiber
properties. The polymer is not in a true liquid state during extrusion. Not completely
separated, as they would be in a true solution, the polymer chains are bound
together at various points in liquid crystal form. This produces strong inter-chain
forces in the resulting filaments that can significantly increase the tensile strength of
the fibers. In addition, the liquid crystals are aligned along the fiber axis by the shear
forces during extrusion. The filaments emerge with an unusually high degree of
orientation relative to each other, further enhancing strength. The process can also
be described as dry-wet spinning, since the filaments first pass through air and then
are cooled further in a liquid bath. Some high-strength polyethylene and aramid
fibers are
produced
by
gel
spinning.

Stretching and Orientation

While extruded fibers are solidifying, or in some cases even after they have
hardened, the filaments may be drawn to impart strength. Drawing pulls the
molecular chains together and orients them along the fiber axis, creating a
considerably stronger yarn.
Read more: http://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2011/03/production-process-of-syntheticfiber_9386.html#ixzz3pkOam2bY