Fibre persistence on static textiles under outdoor conditions

The persistence of fibres under outdoor conditions is seldom investigated. This research aimed to study simultaneously the influence of several factors (and their cross-interactions) on the persistence of fibres on static textile surfaces. In order to achieve this aim, a design of experiments was successfully implemented under laboratory conditions. Four factors were considered: time, inclination of the recipient textile, wind speed, and rainfall. The model obtained by this supervised method was compared with the results collected under actual outdoor conditions near a weather station. The resulting model appears to be reliable as long as the values of the factors are kept within the range used in the study. The results of the laboratory tests showed that wind speed and rainfall significantly influence the persistence of fibres while time and inclination of the recipient textile have been found to be nonsignificant. In general, the observed persistence was high: between 90.4 and 100%. This might be attributed to the recipient textile surface possessing abundant protruding fibres which "traps" the transferred fibres. Outdoor experiments usually suffer from a higher variability and result in a higher fibre loss. In outdoor conditions, wind and rainfall have shown an extensive influence on the fibre persistence. Finally, the trend of fibre persistence on static textiles in outdoor conditions is generally linear with time, but extreme meteorological condition will induce exponential losses.