1.

0 Friction Spinning

1.1 Introduction:

The need to rotate the package at the twist insertion rate coupled with rapid
increase in spinning tension with spinning speed sets a limit to the spindle speeds
achievable in ring spinning. Open end spinning methods where open-end of the yarn
alone needs to be rotated for imparting twist was therefore, developed to achieve high
delivery rates. Rotor spinning which is one of first methods developed on this principle
has well established itself as an alternate to ring spinning in course count range for
certain end uses. Friction spinning represents an alternate open-end spinning method to
rotor spinning which holds promise of still higher delivery rates

1.1.1 The development and potential:

There has been a tremendous revolution in short staple spinning technologies in
the form of rotor, air-jet and friction spinning systems. Rotor spinning is successful in in
the courser to medium count ranges up to 40s. Air-jet though established but it’s restricted
to synthetic and their blends only in the count range of 15-60s. Friction spinning is slowly
taking its market share in course count ranges up to 20s. In the year of 1977, commercial
Dref-2 friction spinning machines were put into production. Presently 1,400 machines are
operative in about 50 countries producing about 3,00,000 tones of course count yarns
annually (Gastu.M, Textile Horizon, 1997). Later in 1981 Dref-3 machines were
introduced to the world market. Besides alternative to conventional yarns, friction-
spinning technology is particularly suitable for the production of multi-component and
multi-layered yarns, core yarns and some specialty yarns. The principal advantage of this
technology is its very high production speeds (Brockmanns, K.J,Textile Month,1984)
(Fig. 1.1 &1.2.) along with this ability of forming big packages . Yarn production cost is
also low (Fig.1.3). The excellent possibilities of automation, low-end breakage rates, high
efficiency and flexibility in the use of raw material are few essential merits of this
spinning process.

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 Fig. 1.1 Fig.1.2

(Delivery speeds in different spinning (Production rates in different spinning

technology) technologies)
A-Ring spinning
B-Friction spinning (B1: Masterspinner, B2: Dref-2 & B3: Dref-3)
C-Rotor spinning, D-Air-jet spinning (Murata)
E-Wrap spinning

A-Ring Spinning
B-Friction Spinning
C-Rotor Spinning
D-Air-jet Spinning
Fig. 1.3 Percentage difference in production costs in comparison with ring
spinning (assuming 100%)

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2.0 Working Principle:
Frictions spinning technologies works on the principle of open-end or wrap
(Fasciated)/core spinning. The general principle of working of friction spinning in its
simplest form can be described as below.

Fig. 2.1 The principle of friction spinning

As in the diagram (Fig.2.1) separating them from slivers generates a stream of fibres,
which is transported through a duct. The fibres are then directed towards the nip of two
rotating drums called friction drums .The fibres are collected close to the nip of these
drums. The friction drums have perforations on it and suction from inside holds the fibres
on the surface. There is a long slot inside the friction drums located close to the nip point
along the length of friction drums and the rest of the area inside the perforated drum has a
shield. So, the yarn at the nip of the friction drum is subjected to a radial force generated
as a result of airflow over yarn.

Fig.2.2 Forces acting on the yarn tail and the vector diagram.
This is shown in figure 2.2 , This radial force serves as a normal load and frictional force
is generated between the yarn and the surface of friction drum. It can be observed from
the same figure that at the closest proximity of the friction drums they rotate in opposite
direction and the frictional force thus developed, produces a torque on the yarn tail.
Continuous rotation of the drum produces twist in the yarn leading to gradual integration

3
of fibres in the yarn tail. The yarn is withdrawn in the direction of the axis of the friction
drums and is wound on a bobbin.
3.0 Different types of friction Spinning Machines:
The principle of various types of commercially available friction spinning machines is
described below.
3.1 Dref-2 System:

Fig.3.1 Schematic diagram of Dref-2 system

A schematic diagram of Dref-2 system is shown in figure 3.1. There is a drafting
system through which one or more slivers are directed to an opening roller clothed with
saw teeth. The opening roller individualizes the fibres in the strand and they are stripped
from the roller surface by an air -current from blower. The stream or cloud of fibres thus
generated is guided through a duct and finally gets collected at the nip of two perforated
friction drums. There is a suction from inside the two perforated drums that causes the
fibres to be adhered just above the nip point. The fibres are thus gradually added to the
open –end and get twisted thereafter because of the rotation of the drums. The yarn thus
formed is wound on a bobbin. Dref-2 is mainly useful for course counts and requires
medium to long staple fibres as input materials.

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3.2 Masterspinner (PLS) System:

Fig.3.2 Masterspinner (PLS) System:

As figure 3.2 shows, the machine also works on the principle of open-end
spinning like Dref-2 machine but there is a difference particularly with respect to fibre
feed and flow direction and construction of friction drums A single draw frame sliver is
fed to opening roller which opens the fibre in the same way as it does in rotor spinning.
The stream of fibres is guided through the suction duct making an acute angle to the yarn
withdrawal direction. It is claimed that feeding the fibre in this particular style improves
the fibre extent and orientation of the fibres in the final yarn. Similarly, the fibres are
collected on friction drums. Hence one friction drum is perforated and it acts as suction
drum and the other one is blind solid drum with a special surface to ensure effective
friction transfer.
The yarn is twisted by the drums and then packaged in a bobbin. This machine is
able to produce yarns in the range of 10s-30s using cotton and synthetic fibres up to 40mm
length and their blends

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 3.3Dref-3 system:

Fig.3.3 Dref-3 system:

This is an extension of Dref-2 spinning system that adds a drafting system at one
side of the friction drums to attenuate the sliver that finally forms the core of the yarn. It
is not an open –end spinning method like Dref-2 or PLS Master spinner. It works on
friction fibre wrapping i.e. the parallelly delivered fibres or filaments are false twisted
and simultaneously wrapped with sheath fibres in the spinning zone. As a result it
produces a core sheath structure of yarn.
The Dref-3 spinning system is shown in figure 3.3. This machine runs at a
maximum speed of 300 m/min and the finest count that can be spun is around 20s.Each
spinning head in this system is composed of following five sections

1) Drafting unit 1
The drafting unit 1 is meant for supplying the staple fibre core component. There
are two models of this unit. One is suited for short staple fibres up to 40 mm and
processing cotton with filament core.
2) Drafting Unit 2
This unit consists of a 1-over –1 and a 1-over –2 roller combinations as guide
rollers for slivers, two oppositely rotating opening rollers and a transport duct for feeding
the fibres onto a pair of perforated friction drums .The shape of transport duct is such that

6
it is conducive for acceleration of the air-current passing through it and thus intended
orientation of fibres in air stream is maintained.
3) Spinning zone
It consists of a pair of perforated drums known as friction drums .The
friction drums have air suction from inside. The stream of fibres after being transported
through the duct are collected above the nip point of drums .The surface of the friction
drums have a special coating to attain a better twisting effect.

4) Winding – up mechanism
After passing through the spinning zone, the yarn is drawn off via three outlet
rollers and finally delivered to the winding device. Between the outlet rollers and the
winding device, there are two deflection rollers that evens out yarn tension and actuates
stop motion.
4.0 Operations involved in friction spinning:
The basic operation involved in friction spinning process are as follows
1) Opening of slivers
2) Transporting the stream of slivers through a duct to the yarn formation zone
3) Collecting and reassembling the fibres
4) Consolidation and twisting of fibres into a yarn
5) Withdrawal of the resulted yarn for package formation

4.1 Opening of fibres:

A high degree of opening of the slivers almost to the extent of individual fobres is
required and this is performed with the help of opening rollers. High drafting of slivers is
also an essential operation where staple fibres are used .The degree of longitudinal
orientation and the straightness of the fibres extent a considerable influence on yarn
properties.
4.2 Fibre transportation through duct:
The fibres from the opening rollers are directed through the transport duct into the
nip of the friction drums .The fibres are in free flight under the influence of air –current

7
through the duct. During this free flight the fibres lose most of its orientation that not
only affects the yarn characteristics but also the spinning limit.
Lord et al.(Lord.P.R., J.Text .Inst, 1987 ) have reported that there is a
practical problem of assembling fibres in the yarn with good degree of fibre orientation
because of varying amount of turbulence in the fibre transport duct .The fibres in the duct
move at a very high speed but on arrival at the rotating mass of fibres close to the nip of
friction drum, they suffer a huge deceleration . This not only disrupts the fibre orientation
but also the mass density of the fibre stream. As a result, fibres are buckled, hooked and
looped. As for example, it is shown in (Lord.P.R., J.Text .Inst, 1987 ) that the fibre in the
air -stream are carried at a speed of 1000 m/ min. Thus the fibres are decelerated from
1000 m/ min to only 200 m/min over a distance of 2 mm or so. Though it is intended by
the machine designer to collect the fibres in straight condition, in practice it does not
happen. Moreover, the buckled fibres land from different conditions on the collecting
surface. The design of the duct can exercise a great influence on this phenomenon

4.3 Fibre collections or Accumulation:

Fig. 4.1 Fibre collection systems a) on the ingoing perforated friction drum b)on the
rotating mass of fibres

The fibers from the transportation duct are deposited on the surface of ingoing
perforated drum and subsequently carried to the nip or directly on the rotating mass at the
nip. Here the fibres encounter a surface that moves at a much slower speed at which they

8
were moving through the duct. As a result fibre buckling is inevitable and fibres in the
yarn body are looped.

Fig. 4.2 Effect of counter air flow and surface velocity on the lying of fibres on
the perforated friction drum

There are basically two types fibre collection systems presently available in friction
spinning machine (Lord.P.R., and Rust .J.P., J.Text.Inst. 1991).
1.Fibres are made to land on the surface of the ingoing perforated friction drum and
subsequently transported to the nip of the friction drums.
2.Fibres are collected directly on the rotating mass The two methods have been shown
in figure ( 4.1 )
In the first case where the fibres are deposited on the ingoing drum, suction is
used to hold them on the surface and finally carried to the rotating mass of fibre. It has
been stated that the fibres will land end first onto the drum surface and this end of fibre
being firmly held, the remainder of the fibre sweeps past because of the effect of inertia
and drag from counter flow of air. This is shown in fig (4.2 ) Others have the opinion
that “ Fibres may be trapped at any point along its length because it has a three
dimensional shape as it travels through the feed duct and only portions of it are

9
straightened . It is not certain that the leading end will land first on the perforated
surface, this tends to produce hooks “
4.4 Twisting of fibres:
The torque generated by the friction drum imparts twist in the yarn tail. The twist
integrates the loose fibres at the tail of yarn. The amount of torque generated is
dependent on fibre to meal friction and the radial reaction pressure at the contact point
of the yarn tail and friction drums. Both of these quantities appear to be uncontrolled in
nature leading to variable slippage of yarn tail. As a result there is an irregularity in
twist in friction yarns.

Figure. 4.3 Forces acting on the yarn tail and the vector diagram
In figure ( 4.3 ) it has been shown that R1 and R2 are the normal radial reaction forces
acting on the growing yarn . The corresponding tangential frictional forces are μR1 and
μR2 trying to rotate the yarn in opposite direction and thereby producing a torque.
Torque = (μR1 + μR2) (d/2)
Where, d = diameter of the yarn

4.5 Yarn withdrawal:

The yarn delivery speed in friction spinning can be as high as 300m/ min .The
spinning tension is very low in this process and hence the end breakage rate is also less.
Therefore, tension has practically no influence on the spinning limit .The yarn is wound
on a big package directly and so rewinding is eliminated

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4.6 Twist insertion in open-end friction spinning:
Figure (4.4) represents a fibre being applied to the open- end of a yarn in the
friction spinning process. Fibres such as those shown by positions a, b, c, d and e rotate
about the conical end of the yarn x, y, z. The fibre may be anchored at d while position b
rotates relative to the cone xy .The resultant structure will consist of fibre abcde may or
may not end up as a perfect spiral. Also, the geometry of the cone xy may changes as a
function of time and spinning conditions

Fig. 4.4 Fibre rotation about the conical yarn tail

The fibres arriving in the spinning zone are carried in to the mesh with the yarn tail by
one of the spinning drums. These envelopes of fibres at the open end rotate and twist the
arriving fibres. The fibres near the tip are loosely wrapped around the yarn tail, where as
those away from the tip are progressively more tightly wrapped.
Lord et al (Lord.P.R., Joo.C.W., and Ashizaki.T., J.Text .Inst, 1987) explained how the
swirling mass of fibres tightened up on to the tapered non –rotating and departing yarn
(Fig 4.5) .There was a sort of balloon with a continuous surface shaped like an artist’s
paintbrush. Simulation studies have shown that the envelop of this brush was indented
where it came in into contact with the friction drums. As fibres tighten on to the tapered
yarn tail, their rotational speed is diminished. When they are completely tightened on the
structure, there us little or no further rotation with respect to the yarn axis unless there us
considerable instability in the system.

11
 Fig.4.5 Twisting of fibres as they assemble on the yarn
The yarn does not emerge in conical form but it is surrounded by rotating sleeve
of fibres of approximately cylindrical form .The rotating sleeve is formed by the fibres
arriving from the feed unit. The fibre sleeve rotates on the perforated drum surface,
particularly slippage free without any movement in the direction of sleeve axis and the
actual yarn tail is formed within this sleeve, during this period of tail formation, the fibre
sleeve does not rotate. Subsequently the fibres are transferred from the rotating sleeve on
to the non-rotating core, which is axially withdrawn. The twist is imparted to the yarn by
the rotation of the fibre sleeve while fibres are being peeled from it. The fibres from
within the sleeve are peeled off through the rotation of the fibre sleeve and wound up in
the Z direction of the yarn tail. The fibre sleeve and the mode of yarn formation are
shown in Fig (4.6)

Fig. 4.6 Fibre sleeve and mode of yarn formation

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 5.0 Formation of friction –spun yarn:

a)

b)
Fig.5.1 Dref-2 yarn formation structure
As the figure (5.1) depicts, the friction drums are longer than the width of the fibre feed
.The yarn formation therefore occurs along two parts of the friction drums, first in zone1,
the fibre supply zone and second in zone 2, where the forming yarn receives no more
fibres .Lawrence et al (Lawrence.C.A, Fundamentals of Spun Yarn Technology, CRC
Press, 2002 ) has observed that the fibres landing on to the friction drums in zone 1 form
a conical yarn end or tail between the drums.

13
 a)

b)
Fig. 5.2 Transportation, deposition and twisting of fibre in Dref-2 spinning
Figure ( 5.2 a ) shows that the fibres traveling from the opening roller to the
friction drums and figure ( 5.2 b) shows the fibres landing and being twisted to form the
yarn. The fibres are individually twisted onto the conical yarn tail during their deposition.
The formation of Dref-2 yarn structure is therefore a buildup of fibre layers from the
sliver feed.
As the forming yarn length moves in the direction of take-up, the separated fibres from
each consecutive sliver are deposited onto the previous layer. Thereby, the fibres present
in particular sliver become integrated into the corresponding concentric layer of the yarn;
the fibres from the first sliver farthest from the delivery rollers forming the center of the
yarn. It is therefore possible to produce the yarns with each concentric layer being
composed of different fibre type. It is evident that any migration between layers is very
small and that the yarn is much more compact in the region of the core. Since spinning

14
tension is low, it is unlikely that this compaction is caused by any applied axial tension on
the fibres (as is the case of ring spinning) and is therefore more likely to be the result of a
higher twist level at the yarn core. In zone1, the twist level is low, and centrifugal forces
cause the yarn tail to swell. The twist in zone2 is much greater, and the yarn diameter
decreases .As the yarn leaves the friction drums the amount of twist in each radial
position will depend on the length of time fibres in that position stayed within the two
zones. This is because the twist gained is cumulative between the point where a fibre
lands and the end of friction drums. This means that fibres forming the yarn core are the
most highly twisted.
In Dre-2 spinning, the individual fibres are blown off the opening roller and
during transport to the friction drums or rollers, they become buckled. On landing and
during twisting (fig 5.2) , fibres have hooked,folded,entangled and looped configurations.

Fig. 5.3 (a) Yarn formation in fine-count friction spinning

Stalder, Lord and others (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989 )

have established that ,when fibres are delivered (usually from a single sliver feed ) in an
air-flow down a channel inclined acutely to the yarn length between the friction drums,
the fibres are deposited to form a sleeve ,lofty in structure ,around the conical end of yarn
(Fig.5.3). The sleeve is usually squashed within the nip of friction drums. Importantly it
is the fibre sleeve that rotates by frictional contact with the drums. The yarn tail is found
within the sleeve, but it does not rotate, the forming yarn length is only pulled away with
the velocity of the delivery rollers.

15
 The fibres are individually twisted on to the sleeve during their deposition. The
fibers may be deposited, preferably, at the interface of the sleeve and drum surface
(fig.5.3 b.) or directly on to the fibre sleeve (fig.5.3 c).

b) C)

)
d)
Fig .5.3) Yarn formation in fine-count friction spinning
The hypothesis is that the leading end of a fibre makes first contact with the
friction drum surface and the momentum of the trailing end causes the fibre length to
fillip over its leading end as the fibre is being twisted into the rotating sleeve. This fillip-
over action tends to give some degree of fiber straitening and results in the sleeve fibers
having an S –twist helix. The preferred state of fibre deposition at the sleeve drum
interface is obtained by employing only one perforated drum with applied suction, the

16
other drum (friction drum) being a solid surface and by poisoning the exit of fibre of the
fibre transport channel close to the interface (fig.5.4).

Fig. 5.4 Fibre deposition at the sleeve-friction drum interface

Fibre ends projecting from the rotating sleeve provides the means of capturing the
leading ends of the depositing fibres for the later to be twisted on to the sleeve. Fibres
may also be captured as illustrated in fig.(5.5)

. Fig.5.5 Fibre capture by rotating sleeve

At (a), the fibre approaches and is pulled into the interface of the sleeve and the first
drum surface. The sleeve rotates at the surface velocity VY < VR1. It is, however, lightly
that the torsions resistance of the sleeve is sufficiently small that slippage between itself
and drum is negligible in comparison with the Dref-2 system. At (b), the fibre contacts
the second drum surface, or is entangled in the sleeve, and moves towards the second
interface. In positions (c) and (d), the fibre becomes twisted on to the sleeve.

17
Fig.(5.6) depicts how fibres forming the sleeve are subsequently twisted on to the conical
tail of the yarn. The leading ends of the fibres in the rotating sleeve become attached to
the yarn tail (figure a) and, as the yarn length is pulled away by the delivery rollers, the
attached fibres are Z-twisted on to the tail (fig b). The fig. Shows a fibre with S-helix
angle γ being twisted with Z-helix angle β on to the yarn tail at a point where, locally, the
diameter is indicated as “d” (fig.c ) from the geometrical parameters given in the
diagram, (fig c and d)the fallowing equation can be derived for the yarn twist
(Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989)

Fig.5.6 Twisting of fibres onto yarn tail

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 1  ( DRTAV / Y )
Yarn Twist   cos   (sin  / Y )
[1  (2 dGTAV / 3) 2 ]

Where, DR = Fiber Sleeve Diameter

TAV = Average yarn twist

Y =Ratio of Drum Surface Speed to Yarn Speed
dG = Average Yarn Diameter
5.1 Mechanism of Yarn Formation:

Fig.5.7 Sketches of yarn tails during OE-friction spinning

The process of yarn formation can be visualized as follows:

The fibre mass in the vicinity of the nip of the friction drums is a rotating cloud of
fibres around a core. There are two views on the nature and the structure of “rotating
mass” of fibres the first one is that “rotating mass” is nothing but an agglomeration of
discrete fibres around a core. The other is the “rotating mass” is an annular ring of fibre
sleeve onto which the fibres are gradually added externally and from which fibres are
transferred to the core internally (Krause, H.W., Soliman, H.A., and Stalder.H., The
Textile Institute 1998 Annual World Conference, The Textile Institute,
Manchester,1998.)The former view is supported by Johnson and Lord (Johnson, N.A.G.,
and Lord. P.R., , J. Text. Inst. 1988) Lord and Rust (Lord.P.R.,and Radhakrishnianh.P.,
J.Text.Inst, 1987 ) have supported the first view and have shown with help of
photography that the fibres are being loosely wrapped around the yarn tail. They have

19
prepared few sketches from the original photograph of the yarn tail and those sketches
have been depicted for better understanding in fig (5.7). It can be observed that the fibres
away from the yarn tip are more tightly wrapped.
But according to Stalder and Soliman (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand
Textilber, 1989 ) the separated fibres after landing on friction drums surface proceeds
towards the nip where it experiences a torque generated by the friction drums. This
causes the fibres to form a rotating sleeve continuously pass onto the non- rotating yarn
end that rests co-axially within the sleeve. a seed yarn has to be fed initially around the
stationery yarn end once one of its end gets entangled by the yarn. The yarn is
withdrawn and the process continuous.

5.2 Formation of sleeves:

Fig. 5.8 Fig. 5.9

(Formation of cylindrical sleeve of fibres (Fibres transfer from feed channel to

yarn) tail via fibrous sleeve)

Stalder and Soliman (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber,1989) have

established with ultra high speed photography that there is a stationery conical yarn tail
and it is surrounded by a more or less cylindrical sleeve of fibres as shown in (fig 5.8
and 5.9) . It us reported that fibre sleeve rotates on the perforated drum particularly
slippage free, without any movement in the direction of the axis. The actual yarn tail is

20
formed within this sleeve. It is difficult to perceive the idea that the sleeve, which is not
positively gripped between the drums, can rotate in slippage free state. Lord and Rust
(Lord.P.R, and Rust. J.P., J.Text.Inst, 1990) has suggested the existence of torpedo
shaped fibre sleeve that contains the tapered yarn tail.

6.0 Fibre consolidation and twisting:

Fig.6.0 Theoretical torque distribution along rthe length of fibre assembly

The two friction drums rotate in the same direction but at the close vicinity they
move in opposite directions. The vector diagram of forces has been shown in fig (6.0)
.The amount of torque can be calculated as under
 R1 R2 
Torque  ( y / 2)    F
 F F 
Where, y = local yarn diameter and other notations are as stated earlier and
F= the force produced due to air flow over the yarn
The geometry of the system has a great influence in deciding the ratios R1/F and R2/F
and so the separation between the torque rollers (g) and the local yarn diameter (y).
In open –end friction spinning the yarn tail is tapered and fibres are added continuously
to it. Thus yarn formation takes place. There is a mass equilibrium between the arriving
fibres and the outgoing yarn, but the linear density of the forming yarn is not constant.

21
Depending upon the local force gradient, the yarn dimension changes along the length of
the formation zone .The theoretical torque distribution is shown in figure (6.0). But in
practice, the effective yarn diameter in the formation zone, the coefficient of friction and
the reaction forces along the length of the friction drums are not constant and sometimes
unpredictable. This causes a deviation in the torque distribution from the ideal theoretical
one. Consequently, the twist distribution along the length of yarn varies .The twist
distribution also gets affected by the changing stiffness of the fibrous material and
various annular layers of fibres in the yarn are likely to have different twist level.” The
behavior of the tip of the tail was interesting. Torque built in the tip of the tail but was
released by intermittent slippage, which caused the tip to rotate relative to the rest of the
tail for short period of time. There was a sort of slip/stick phenomenon and when the slip
part was operative, the tail was quite unstable “ It has been reported by Lord & Rust
(Lord.P.R.,and Rust .J.P., J.Text.Inst. ,1990).
6.1 Fibre integration at yarn tail:

22
 Fig. 6.1 Fibre transfer process from rotating sheath to non-rotating core

It is important to know how the fibres from sleeve get transferred to the yarn tail
continuously. Wrapping of fibres around the open end of the yarn would need a relative
speed to be generated between the sleeve and the yarn tail and establishment of a
connection between them by fibre to be wrapped. There could be three options:

1) A rotating sleeve holding stationery tapered tail within it.

2) A non-rotating sleeve holding a rotating tapered tail.
3) A rotation of both sleeve and tail in the same direction but at different speeds.

Though the possibilities of first two have been stated, the third alternative has not been
suggested. Krause et al.( Krause, H.W., Soliman, H.A., and Stalder.H., J.Text . Inst.

23
1991) suggested that fibres are added to the yarn tail through a transient location in the
form of a rotating fibre sheath or sleeve .It is termed as epicycle theory and describes
how fibre is withdrawn from a rotating sheath and transferred to a non rotating yarn
end. It is said that the fibres are transferred from the perforated drum to the rotating
sheath in the same way as ink in a rotary printing machine is passed to the papers. But
how the non-rotating tail catches a fibre has not been suggested.
This process of fibre transfer from rotating sheath to non-rotating yarn core, has
been suggested by Lord and Rust (Lord.P.R.,and Rust .J.P., J.Text.Inst, 1990) and
showed in fig (6.1) .It is reported that the rotating sheath has a number of fibres ends
projected from the surface of the sheath .these hair strand out quite rigidly when the
sheath rotates .An approaching fibre easily gets trapped as the hair is folded back and
new fibre continues to be trapped until the centrifugal force straightens out the hair
again .Thus fibres are added to the rotating sheath .The fibres are peeled of the inner
surface of the rotating sheath and are laid on the non-rotating core attached to the
outgoing yarn .The centrifugal force forms a barrier to this transfer .Once the fibre is
anchored in the core ,there is probably no difficulty but when a new fibre attempts to
make the transfer ,it can do so only if it is entangled with one already in transit .If the
fibres are randomly placed on the inside surface of the rotating sheath some of the
entanglement is likely to act so as to prevent a clear peeling action .If there were an
equal number of fibre connections in both the forward and backward directions .,there
would not be any pilling action .There are some disputes as pointed out by Lord and
rust (Lord.P.R.,and Rust .J.P., J.Text.Inst. 1991) .They are confident that there is always
a slippage between the rotating sheath or sleeve and perforated drums the claim of
Krause et al(Krause, H.W., Soliman, H.A., and Stalder.H., The Textile Institute 1998
Annual World Conference, The Textile Institute, Manchester,1998.) that the sheath
surface speed is particularly same as that of friction drum.

The alternative way (Lord.P.R.,and Radhakrishnianh.P., J.Text.Inst, 198) by which

fibres can be captured at the yarn tail , does not require other fibres for gripping .This
mechanism requires that the suction draws the fibre into the nip between the yarn tail
and ingoing roller .

24
 Fig. 6.2 The process of loop formation.

The different stages have been depicted in fig (6.2). As the process of self –entrapment
progresses, the fibre do curl back towards the yarn in the vicinity of nip between the
outgoing drum and yarn tail .It is possible to spin a loosely constructed yarn with just one
roller. But in two-roll case the fibre end may then become entangled with the yarn or it
may pass between the yarn tail and the second roll. A loop is thus formed below the yarn
tail.
“ A loop may be formed by one of the two mechanisms. First, if the yarn tail is assumed
to be cylindrical, a loop can be formed when the fibre tip is caused to curl back towards
the tail and comes into contact with it. The magnitude of that loop is then determined by
the local shear. The relative fibre velocities f1 and f2 (the fibre velocities at the point of
contact with the ingoing and outgoing rollers respectively) are related to the shear
between the perforated roller and the yarn tail. If f2 > f1 the loop diminishes, if f2 < f1, the
loop grows and, if f2 = f1, the loop remains constant in size. The second mechanism is
related to the first .In this case, we take into account the shape of the tail, which is usually
tapered at the tip and again upstream of the fibre accumulation zone .If a cone is placed
between two cylinders rotating in the friction spinning process and a fibre is allowed to
wrap around the cone by the action of rotating cylinders, a loose wrapping occurs at
positions at which the cone diameter is less than that of the drive zone. There will be
loops above and below the point of contact of the cone and the cylinders. This occurs

25
owing to the required slippage between the cone and cylinder in the regions not in the
drive zone”
6.2 Structure of friction spun yarns:
The structure of friction yarn is different from that of other yarns, is characterized
by poor fibre orientation, buckled and folded fibre configurations and loose packing of
fibres in yarns. The structure is determined by the way the fibres are assembled into yarn
.The structure has a significant effect on properties .The appearance of OE-friction spun
yarn is closer to ring yarn though there is a varying degree of twist present in different
layers of the yarn. But Dref-3 yarns have a distinct core sheath structure where the core is
false twisted (Lord.P.R., Joo.C.W., and Ashizaki.T. J.Text .Inst, 1987) and the sheath has
wrapped fibres at various helix angles around the core .Alagha et al.( Alagha,
M.J.Oxenhan, Text. Res. J, 1994) have reported that percentages of fibres near the yarn
center is greater for yarns produced at higher speeds (i.e., high core packing density)
whereas higher packing density towards the outer sections is observed for the yarns
produced at lower speeds .The packing density at middle layers remains unaffected by
production speeds. They also added that in general the fibre angle increases from center
to surface of yarn. According to them the yarn consists of highly twisted core, but core
twist exhibits a sharp reduction as production speed is increased beyond 200-m/ min.
Sett et al (Sett.S.K.,Mukherjee.A., and Sur.D., Melliand
Textilber, 1995) have reported that Dref-2 yarn consists of entangled fibres with a very
irregular helical structure .The mean fibre helix is stated to be more widely distributed
as compared to ring and rotor
The fibre extent in friction yarns is found to be of the order of 50%
(Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W., Wilding.M.,Howard.A and Kudo.R, J.Text.Inst, 1988.)
whereas the same for ring and rotor yarns are 90- 95% and 70-80% respectively .The
low average fibre extent can be ascribed to folded and buckled fibre configuration in the
yarn which also account for its poor strength .
6.3 Stacked cone model of OE- friction yarns:
It has been described by different researchers (Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W.,
Wilding.M.,Howard.A and Kudo.R.,6thInternational IZMIR TEXTILE
SYMPOSIUM,1992.) that the friction yarns resemble a series of cones inside the other

26
 as shown in fig (6.3) . A fibre follows a helical path originating somewhere at the
surface and gradually moving towards the apex of the conical surface as in fig (6.3) .
The same fibre is confined to a particular conical surface only. Rust and Lord
(Realff.M.L., Seo. M., Boyce.M.C., Schwartz.P., and Backer.S., Text .Res.J. ….. ) have
shown that the amount of position deviations from the conical surface is very small. In
absence of such positional deviations, there will be no intermingling; crossing or
bonding of fibres to give a well interlocked structure because of the shear strength
between layers the structure will collapse even at lower stresses.

Fig. 6.3 A simplified model of friction yarn

6.4 Migration in Friction Yarns:

In ideal migration for conventional ring yarns, a fibre would have been a confined
in particular cylindrical layer. In such a case, discrete cylindrical layers of the yarn could
have been easily separated. But Morton and Yen (Morton.W.E., and Yen.K.C.,
J.Text.Inst, 1952) have found that in reality the fibre in reality the fibres in ring yarns
actually migrate among the different cylindrical zones .This causes a good bonding or
locking among the different cylindrical zones and the yarn exhibits a high load bearing
capacity. But this is just not true for friction yarns because of the prevalent concept
conical deposition of fibres in these yarns. This can be attributed to the fundamental

27
difference in the twisting process. The tension variation in the fibres results in migration
.In friction spinning the level of spinning tension is relatively low .So, migration, as
expected in ring yarns can not be achieved in friction yarns. Hence, the parameters
described by Hearle et al (Gupta.B.S., Text Hearle.J.W.S., and. Res. J., 1995) to measure
migration in ring yarns are not suitable to estimate migration in friction yarns.

But Alagha et al.( Alagha, M.J.Oxenhan, Text. Res. J, 1994) have a different
opinion .They have reported that mean fibre position of friction yarns are quite similar to
yarns produced on ring and rotor system except when friction yarns are produced at
speeds higher than 200 m / min .However amplitude of migration (rms) was found to
highest for friction yarns .

Stalder and Soliman (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989) have

established with photography that the sleeve rotates on the perforated friction drum
without any slippage .The twist per meter is higher inside a friction yarn than at its
surface ,though it is dependent on the spinning system .But Lawrence et al.(
Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W., Wilding.M.,Howard.A and Kudo.R, 6th International IZMIR
TEXTILE SYMPOSIUM, 28th Oct-1st Nov. Proceedings, S43-S60,1992.) have concluded
that there is a high level of twist on the surface of yarn and it gradually reduces towards
the core . It is just reverse to what is claimed by Stalder and Soliman (Stalder.H.,and
Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989).

6.5 Tensile Strength of friction Yarns:

The strength of friction yarns is 50-60% of ring and 70-80% of rotor yarns () The
low strength of these yarns can be ascribed to a) low spinning tension b) folded or
buckled configuration of the fibres c) ineffective twisting or wrapping of sheath fibres
.The parameters that can influence the yarn strength are

1) Machine parameters
2) Process parameters and

28
3) Material parameters
7.0 Influence of Machine parameters:
7.1 Design of Opening Roller:
The opening roller in friction spinning machine have a strong influence on yarn
properties .The design of opening roller particularly clothing characteristics such as type
of teeth, wire point density and surface finish of teeth is of paramount importance.
Simpson and Murrey (Simpson.J., and Murray.M.F., Text.Res.J, 1979) have found that
for rotor spinning a combing roller with forward rake angle 15º yielded better results in
respect of fibre parallelization and yarn strength .Dyson (Dyson.E., J.Text.Inst, 1974)
have reported that fibre breakage can be minimized with low wire point density of the
clothing and running the opening roller at low speed .He pointed out that that optimum
wire design should have a front angle of 89˚.He also added that pinned type roller has a
gentle effect on fibre which reduces fibre breakage.

There may be one or two opening roller running at different speeds depending on the
type of machine. In Dref-3 friction spinning machine there are two opening rollers
running at a speed of 12,000 rpm (Dr. Ernst Fehrer-AG). Ulku-et-al. (Ulku.S., Ozipek.B.,
Acar.M., Text. Res.J., 1995)has reported that the fibre breakage increases with opening
roller speed on a open-end friction spinning machine of PSL (Masterspinner). They have
found a clear correlation between fibre length characteristics and opening roller speed for
cotton, polyester and viscose fibres but for acrylic fibres the degree of association
between these two factors is small. This means that the extent of fibre breakage or
damage is dependent on the type of fibrous material. So, the selection of opening roller
types and speed significantly influences the yarn properties such as strength and
elongation
Rust and Lord (Rust .J.P., and Lord .P.R., Text.Res.J, 1991) have
reported an increase in yarn tenacity when the opening roller assembly in Dref –3
machine is replaced with suction roll and an opening roller from a Platt 881 rotor
spinning system. The change in opening roller also led to improvement in fibre
orientation before being assembled onto the yarn tail and finally increased the fibre extent
in the yarn.

29
7.2 Design of transportation duct:
The design of transport channel and its angle of inclination with respect to the
yarn withdrawal direction also influence the yarn quality .In case of rotor spinning
Lawrence and Chen (Lawrence.C.A, and Chen.K.Z., J.Text.Inst. 1988) have shown that a
narrow rectangular cross-section of the transport channel will improve the straightness of
fibres in duct as well as in yarn and thus the yarn strength .This behavior is also expected
in case of friction spinning but the extent of fibre straightness is far more poor because of
the much less speed of the friction drums .This matter is further complicated because of
the fact that the fibres from the feed duct can land on the ingoing drum or directly on the
rotating mass of fibre called “sleeve” .By feeding fibres directly on sleeve helps to obtain
higher yarn strength .
The strength of the yarn is also affected by the angle of the feed duct to the yarn
withdrawal direction. Rust and Lord (Rust .J.P., and Lord .P.R., Text.Res.J, 1991) have
observed that with 30˚ feed angle the yarn was strongest. With 45˚, 60˚ and 75˚ there
were a gradual drop in yarn strength but they were close to each other. But all them have
a significant different in yarn strength compared to that the twisting or wrapping of fibres
are more effective and tight though the fibre extent is somewhat less.

7.3 Design of friction drum:

The twisting mechanisms of friction spinning system are of various types, which
exercise a strong influence on yarn properties especially on strength. These devices
(Lunenschloss.J., and Brockmanns.K.J., , Int.Text.Bul. 1989) can consist of a) two
perforated suction drums b) one perforated suction drum and one solid blind drum cc)
one perforated suction drum one perforated but without suction and d) one perforated
suction drum with a supporting disk etc. The system with one perforated friction drum
and one solid roller exhibit lowest yarn tension (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Textile Asia,
1987).So , the kind of twisting device has a strong influence on yarn tension and
consequently on yarn strength.

30
7.4 Position of the suction slot and duct exit point:

The increasing air force on the yarn ((Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Textile Asia, 1987) tail
causes the yarn tension to increase . Higher setting of the feed channel relative to the
blind friction drum also increases yarn tension as the air thrust on the yarn tail increases
yarn tension as the air thrust on the yarn tail increases. This is shown in fig (7.0 a). The
position of suction slots inside the perforated drum affects the air force and consequently
the yarn tension. This is shown in figure (7.0 b) .If the lower edge of the suction slot is
above the normal position (e> 1.5), the air stream has a tendency to bypass the yarn tail
and thus reducing the yarn tension. On the other hand, if the suction slot is positioned
below the level of yarn end, the air pressure increases and thus the tension on yarn tail.
The increase on yarn tension leads to higher strength of the yarn produced.

8.0 Influence of process parameters:

8.1 Friction ratio:
Stalder and Soliman (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989) have
reported that friction ratio ( f) is an important parameter in friction spinning .It is defined
as the ratio of friction drum surface speed to tarn withdrawal speed .The twist in yarn
increases with increasing (f) values i.e. when friction drum speed is increased for a
constant yarn delivery speed. They have claimed that f values cannot be reduced beyond
1.5 for all practical purposes. Brokmmans and Lunescholoss (Brockmanns, K.J, and
Lunenschloss,J., Int. Text Bul, 1984) have also mentioned that yarn strength its very
much dependent on friction ratio. They added that for coarser cont yarns twist could be
influenced significantly by friction ratio due to better friction transfer.
8.2 Yarn delivery speed:
Lawrence et al (Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W., Wilding.M.,Howard.A and Kudo.R., 6th
International IZMIR TEXTILE SYMPOSIUM, 28th Oct-1st Nov. Proceedings, S43-
S60,1992. ) have reported that for a constant optimum twist, the yarn tenacity for viscose
fibre gradually decreased with higher production i,e delivery speed . Alagha et al

31
(Alagha, M.J.Oxenhan, Text. Res. J, 1994) have found reasonable co relation between
change in yarn tenacity with production speed and emigrational characteristics. They
have pointed out that increase in production speed are related to change in yarn structure
and so to strength. Fibre helix angle reduces whereas yarn diameter increases as the
production speed is increased. From the same study it has been pointed out that a higher
production speed leads to higher core packing density. Also, at low delivery speed, the
packing density at the outer surface is relatively high. The yarn consists of high twisted
core but this abruptly reduces as the production speed is beyond 200 m/min.
8.3 Friction drum speed:
The friction drum(s) are the elements in the machine that imparts twist in the yarn. It has
been reported by Padmanabhan and Ramakrishna (Padmanabhan.A.R., and
Ramakrishnan.N., Ind.J.F.Text.Res. 1993) that strength of Dref-3 yarns increases with
increase in friction drum speed from 3000 to 5000 rpm. It is understood that the yarn
twist is directly influenced by the speed of friction drum for a constant delivery speed. As
drum speed is increased, the twist in the yarn becomes more.

Fig. 7.0 Setting of a) Transportation duct b) Suction slot

8.4 Suction pressure:

32
Konda et al (Konda.F., Okamura.M, Merati.A.A., Text. Res. J. 1996 ) have reported that
the effect of suction pressure (in the yarn formation zone ) on yarn structure and
mechanical properties .An increase in air pressure leads to a linear rise in yarn tension
and so yarn tenacity. When the air suction pressure increases, the yarn is held more
firmly against the surface of friction roller and the amount of frictional forces increases
and thus the yarn tension. The mean fibre speed along the feed channel increases as the
suction pressure increases. Thus the fibre orientation inside the feed channel and finally
the fibre length utilization in the yarn improves .As a result, increased fibre packing
density and fibre extent produce stronger yarn structure. They have also reported the
breakage behaviour of yarn produce at lower suction pressure is dominated by fibre
slippage. Whereas the yarn produced at high suction pressure breaks sharply indicating
dominance of fibre breakage over slippage.

8.5 Spinning tension:

Spinning tension is one of the most critical parameters and it is highly variable in
friction spinning. The spinning tension in friction spinning is in the range of 5-15 cN,
which is considered too low, compared to ring and rotor spinning. Due to low spinning
tension, yarn strength as well as yarn breakage during spinning is less. Stalder and
Soliman (Stalder.H.,and Soliman.H., Melliand Textilber, 1989 ) have shown
mathematically as well as verified experimentally that the spinning tension is influenced
by the factors viz, air force on the yarn tail, co efficient of friction between metal and
fibre and yarn tail diameter . They have also commented that these variables are not easy
to measure and difficult to vary during spinning operation. As the spinning tension is low,
sufficient friction among the fibres is not developed and consequently yarn strength is
low. Konda et al (Konda.F., Okamura.M, Merati.A.A., and Youki.T., Text.Res .J,1996)
have pointed out that spinning tension is dependent upon suction pressure yarn diameter
,width of the suction slit and yarn to friction roller drag coefficient . They have shown
that yarn increases with increase in air suction pressure because at higher suction pressure
yarn is held more firmly to rotating friction surface and as a result friction between yarn
surface and the surface of friction roller increases.

33
8.6 Yarn diameter:
Spun yarn diameter in general depends on fibre properties, method of twisting,
amount of twist, packing density and processing parameters. In friction spinning, the yarn
tail in the yarn-forming zone is rotated by friction drum. Merati et al ( ) have reported
that as the yarn diameter decreases, the length of yarn subjected to frictional forces is
reduced which reduces torque accumulation and yarn tension resulting in loss of spinning
tension. Thus yarn diameter plays important role in yarn tension during friction spinning.
When the yarn diameter is less then the gap between friction drums, lack of contact
between the yarn and both friction surfaces simultaneously results in lesser magnitude of
frictional force generation. Though the yarn tail is voluminous, the tip of yarn in this zone
is unstable (Lord.P.R.,and Radhakrishnianh.P., J.Text.Inst, 1987) . Moreover, fiber in this
zone do not have sufficient cohesion and the forces experience by the yarn tail is
negligible (Merati.A.A., Konda.F., Okamura.M., and Maarui.E., Text.Res. J, 1997).

Yarn tension increases with yarn diameter but the relationship is not linear. At
smaller diameters, yarn tension increases slowly till to the. Level of the gap between
friction drums and then increases sharply. Lord et al (Lord.P.R., Joo.C.W., and
Ashizaki.T., J.Text .Inst, 1987) have also pointed out that ( y-g) is an important factor so
far torque is concerned, where g is separation or gap between friction drums and y= the
local yarn diameter at yarn formation zone.

9.0 Influence of Material parameters:

9.1 Coefficient of friction:
In case of OE –friction spinning system consisting of one perforated drum and one blind
drum, it has shown that by increasing the coefficient of friction between fibre and
perforated drum on relation to that of fibre and the blind drum (Stalder.H.,and
Soliman.H., Textile Asia, 1987) causes the torque available for twisting to increase .Thus
spinning tension and finally the yarn strength increases.
9.2 Fibre fineness:

34
The study taken by Lawrence et al. (Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W., Wilding.M.,Howard.A and
Kudo.R., 6th International IZMIR TEXTILE SYMPOSIUM, 28th Oct-1st Nov.
Proceedings, S43-S60,1992 ) in which he concluded that the OE –friction yarns
made from finer fibres are stronger and more extensible than that of from coarser fibres
.This high strength and extensibility can be ascribed to the increased number of fibre
cohesion of the yarn .Fibre fineness also influences the twist transmission through
friction drums .For air-jet yarns , finer fibres produce stronger yarns as reported by
Bhortakke et al (Bhortakke, M.K.,Nishimura,T.,Matsuo, T., Inoue, Y., and Morihashi,
Text. Res. J1997).
9.3 Fibre length:
The friction yarns have poor fibre length utilization in the yarn. This causes the yarn
structure to be weak as far as load-bearing capacity is concerned .The folded, hooked and
deformed fibre configurations are due to some unavoidable design problems. The extent
of fibre folding can be influenced to some extent by manipulating few machine and
process parameters such as suction pressure, design of transport channel, design and
speed of opening roller etc. Lawrence et al (Lawrence.C.A, Foster.W.,
Wilding.M.,Howard.A and Kudo.R., 6th International IZMIR TEXTILE SYMPOSIUM,
28th Oct-1st Nov. Proceedings, S43-S60,1992) have reported that for OE-friction spun
yarns maximum tenacity is achieved around 40 mm length of viscose fibres . Fibre
length is an important parameter for fascinated yarns. Santjer (Santjer.H.J., Textile Asia,
1991) has reported that longer fibres in core increases yarn strength for air-jet yarns
9.4 Type of fibre material:
The actual material properties can also influence the process of friction spinning or
the properties of final yarn to a certain extent .The intrinsic fibrous material properties
viz. frictional coefficient, bending and tensional rigidity, resistance to mechanical
process etc can play an important role in friction spinning.

Materials and methods:

35
 This chapter deals with material specifications, sample preparations and test
methods.
Fibres:
Cotton fibres of fibre length of 35mm length (mean length after 16% noil extraction)
and fineness 3.97 micronaire and Polyester fibres of 44mm and fineness 1.2 denier
were used for making the yarns.
Preparation of yarn sample:
Dref-2 friction spun yarns were produced from Dref-3 machine on Dref-2 mode. The
cotton and polyester slivers of 3.38Ktex and 2.87Ktex were used for the above
purpose.
Three sets of 7 yarn samples of 98.4, 59 and 42.2 tex yarn were produced
keeping drum speed 3100rpm and delivery speed of 110 mpm. Yarn samples were
categorized as A, B, C, D, E, F, G. & H.

A Structure B Structure C Structure D Structure

E Structure F Structure G Structure H Structure

36
 Structure A: Composed of 100% polyester
Structure B: Three inside layers of polyester and two outside layers with cotton
Structure C: Three outside layers with cotton and two inside layers of polyester
Structure D: Three outside layers with polyester and two inside layers with cotton
Structure E: Three inside layers of cotton and two outside layers with polyester
Structure F: Three cotton layers sandwiched between two layers of cotton
Structure G: Three polyester layers sandwiched between two layers of polyester
Structure H: Composed of 100% cotton
The delivery speed of drafting unit 2 was calculated as
VA
V 
Nm  n  m
VA = Delivery speed
Nm=Metric count to be spun
n=Number of slivers fed
m=gm/mtr of fed sliver
V=Drafting speed

Sample Arrangement of V2 V2 m/min V2 m/min

sliver in drafting (m/min)
unit II
A PPPPP 0.726 0.442 0.318
B PPPCC 0.679 0.413 0.297
C PPCCC 0.657 0.4 0.288
D CCPPP 0.679 0.413 0.297
E CCCPP 0.657 0.4 0.288
F PCCCP 0.657 0.4 0.288
G CPPPC 0.679 0.413 0.297

Yarn Testing

37
The following tests were carried out to assess the effect of sheath composition on twist

and tensile behaviour of Dref-2 friction spun yarn. All the tests were performed on

sample conditioned in a standard atmosphere of 65  2% RH and 27  2° C

Twist

A mechanical twist tester was used to calculate the twist. The yarn samples 0f 10- inch

length were twisted in the direction of original twist . Twisting was continued till the

break and the number of turns required to break the yarn (N 1) was noted . The test was

repeated but this time twisting in a direction opposite to the direction of original twist and

again the number of turns required to break the yarn (N2) was noted. The test was

repeated 40 times for each sample. The twist was then calculated by using the following

relationship
( N 2  N1 )
TPM   39.37
2

Tensile properties

Zwick universal tensile tester was used to evaluate the tensile properties . Tenacity and

breaking extension of Dref-2 yarns were measured at 150 mm/min cross head speed with

500 mm gauge length. The average of 40 test results were taken for each sample.

Structural integrity

The decay (a measure of structural integrity of the fibre assembly in the yarn) was

evaluated by carrying out the cyclic loading test after 25 cycles of loading and unloading

38
under constant load condition (20% breaking load of the weakest yarn in the group) on a

Zwick universal tensile tester . The decay was calculated using the following relation:
A25  A1
Decay %  100
A1

Where A1- Area of hysteresis curve at first cycle

A25 -Area of hysteresis curve at twenty fifth cycle

Results and discussions (FOR TWIST)

The value of twist in different structures is given in table1and figure( ) is the
graphical representation of the results . From the table it is seen that the

39
 Twist of Yarns

300

250

200
Tw ist(TPM)

98.4 tex
150 59 tex
42 tex
100

50

0
A B C D E F G H
structure

Fig Variation of Twist for different structures

Table :1

40
 Structure Twist (TPM)
98.4 tex 59 tex 42 tex
A 174.5 231.7 267.4
(5.4) (5.9) (8.9)
B 160.2 220.8 259.2
(12.4) (4.9) (4.4)
C 156.9 208.3 236.4
(7.1) (5.0) (8.9)
D 170.4 209.2 241.1
(5.9) (8.9) (8.0)
E 162.7 204.5 241.5
(5.3) (5.5) (8.5)
F 156.2 212.6 248.5
(10.9) (6.4) (6.5)
G 166.8 229.7 266.7
(5.4) (6.7) (7.6)
*Values inside the bracket indicate CV %

From the table it is seen that the twist in the structures range from 156.2 tpm to

267.4. It is clear from the Table 1 and Fig 1, that the twist in structure A is the highest

(174.5) at all count level. The level of twist reduces as the outer polyester layers are

replaced by cotton as in the case of structures B & C. Similar decreasing trend in twist is

also observed in structures D and E, where the inner polyester layers are replaced by

cotton .When the cotton layers are placed in between two innermost and outermost

polyester layers as in the structure F, the twist reduces and when the innermost and

outermost polyester layers are replaced by cotton (Structure G) the twist reduces as

compared to the structure A, though the reduction is not very significant. Similar

observation is valid for other counts as well. The twist is seen to increase from 174.5 to

267 for structure A, from 160 .2 to 259.2 for structure B,156.9 to 236.4 for structure

C,!70 .4 to 241.5 for structure D,162.7 to 241.5 for structure E,156.2 to 248.5 for

structure F and 166.8 to 266.7 for structure G. As the count of yarn become finer, the

amount of twist friction spun yarn also increases.

41
The amount of twist generated in each layer and hence the overall twist in an open-end

friction spun yarn will depend on the following factors:

a) The length of time, the fibres originating from a fed sliver stay in the twisting

zone. Fibres originating from the first sliver will have more residence time than the fibres

originating from the fifth sliver. So, the initial layer of fibres should possess more twist.

Thus it can be postulated that the twist retention by a layer would reduce as one moves

towards the surface of the yarn, where the fibres receive minimum twist owing to least

time of residence at the twisting zone.

b) Friction condition of the incoming fibre with metallic drum surface and with the

fibres surrounding it i.e., at the interface of the layers. The friction condition with

the drum will decide the extent of torque transfer while the friction condition with

surrounding fibres will decide the degree of torque retention by the layer

deposited previously.
c) Amount of suction pressure inside the drum. The suction pressure decides the

pressure with which the fibre assembly will be pressed on the drum surface during

the torque application. The normal pressure acting on fibres as a result of pressure

difference due to suction acting through the perforations of the friction drums

.The relationship of pressure difference  p  an d air flow  F  across a fibre mass

packed into a constant volume is given by (Sinha S.K., and Chattopadhyay.R.,

Ind.J.Fib and Text. Res, June 2006,.]

p k s 2 L2

F   AL  m 

where k is the factor of form ;,  the viscosity of air; s , the mean specific surface of fibres

; m, the total mass of fibres;  , the fibre density; L ,the length of the section of the

chamber in which fibres are packed ; and A , the area of the section .

42
When all other parameters are constant, the pressure difference  p  would be

proportional to total specific surface area of fibres. The specific surface area , in turn is

inversely related to fibre diameter. Finer the fibre , the lesser is the diameter and more

would be the specific surface area. In the present cotton-polyester blended yarn, the

polyester is finer than cotton. Hence, more is the proportion of polyester, more will be the

specific surface area of fibre agglomerates on the friction drum and hence more would be

the pressure difference

d) The diameter of the rotating sleeve in the nip of the two rotating drums.

In case of structure A (100 % polyester), the coefficient of friction (fibre to metal )

for polyester is more than the coefficient of friction (fibre to metal ) of cotton, the fibre to

fibre friction at the interface of each layer will also be more as the fibres are of same

generic nature, so the resistance to untwisting of previously laid layer will be more.

Hence the overall twist in the yarn is more.

In case of structure B the last two layers are of cotton. While the last three layers

are of cotton for structure C. Here the late deposition of cotton layers causes less twist

generation in them. The frictional coefficient between cotton and polyester is also less

and the fibre to fibre friction and fibre to metal friction for cotton is also less. These

cotton layers will not be able to trap the generated twist in the previously laid polyester

layer and the twist in cotton layer will also be less because the normal force which will be

acting on them is less as compared to that on polyester, as they are coarser. The fibre

length of cotton being less may hinder the wrapping of the structure. So , the twist in

structure B reduces as compared to structure A and it reduces further with additional

numbers of cotton layers in structure C for similar reasons. It may also be mentioned

here that last cotton layers generate less twist and there retention is also less the resultant

effect is less realization of twist in the yarn.

In case of structure D and E , the initial layers are of cotton. As these cotton layers arrive

the friction drum first, the generation of twist on them will be more and their untwisting

43
will be resisted by the subsequent polyester layer. So, the structure D posseses

comparable twist as in structure A. However, in case of structure E the amount of twist in

last two polyester layer might be less due to there short residence time. Hence, the overall

twist in structure reduces with further increases in cotton component. The twist in

structure F, were three cotton layers are sandwiched in between two polyester layer is less

than structure A. Though the initial polyester layer can generate more twist in it, but the

last layer of polyester may not be able to generate much twist due to less residence time

which may be insufficient in restricting the untwisting action of the previously laid cotton

layers due to the following reasons:

1) The inner cotton fibre layers will not be able to generate much twist as compared to

polyester layer being placed at that position.

2) The frictional condition of the fibres at the interface of the last two layers may be

insufficient in restricting their untwisting.

3) The last polyester layer itself will posses less twist.

In case of structure G the twist increases in comparison to structure F. Although

the initial and final layers are of cotton but the presence of intermediate three layers of

polyester is probably the reason for the structure showing higher twist as compared to

structure F.

One interesting point to note here that, the twist in structure C and F are same
st nd
when the count is coarse. The presence of two polyester layers at the 1 and 2 layers are
rd
likely to receive more twist owing to their feed position, while three cotton layers at 3 ,
th th
4 and 5 position in the case of structure C might have caused to yield moderate twist

value. In case of structure F contribution from the outermost polyester layer in restricting

the untwisting of the inner cotton layers might have contributed in generating moderate

twist as in structure C.
Twist has been found to increase as the yarn becomes finer.
Table 2 Tenacity of Yarns

44
 Structure Tenacity (g/tex)

98.4 tex 59 tex 42.2 tex

7.3 10.1 9.8
A (12.2) (15) (13.8)
9.2 10.2 9.9
B (9.5) (12) (10.6)
9.1 9.2 8.9
C (8.4) (9.8) (9.2)
8.9 9.4 8.9
D (7.4) (10.4) (10.5)
9.0 9.4 9.8
E (6.1) (8.8) (16.9)
9.6 9.5 9.2
F (7.6) (7.1) (9.8)
7.6 9.1 8.2
G (11.3) (10.4) (11.2)
8.5 9.5 9.4
H (5.8) (7.7) (9)

Tenacity of Yarn

12

10
Tenacity(g/tex)

98.4 tex
6 59 tex
42.2 tex
4

0
A B C D E F G H
Structure

Figure-

45
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51