Kumar K.V., Sampath V.R. and Prakash C.
Air permeability of knitted fabrics is normally measured for the samples in their unstretched state. But, this air permeability values indicate the ability of these garments to…
Abstract
Purpose
Air permeability of knitted fabrics is normally measured for the samples in their unstretched state. But, this air permeability values indicate the ability of these garments to allow air through them when they are not in use. But, the real-time condition is different and certainly the knitted garments mentioned above will subject to a degree of stretch during their usage. So, the measurement of air permeability under stretch and the fabric properties which would influence the air permeability of weft-knitted fabrics in their stretched state is of paramount importance. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
The aim of this research work is to investigate the change in air permeability values under the incremental extension of cotton tubular weft-knitted fabrics produced from the yarns of different spinning systems.
Findings
From the results, it is evident that the pique fabric samples of compact spun yarn displayed the highest air permeability values during the incremental stretch at all the three relaxation states. It is followed by the pique samples of ring spun yarn. Next to pique samples, the jersey samples made from the compact yarn and ring spun yarn revealed more air permeability, respectively. The core spun pique samples and core spun jersey samples displayed the least air permeability values, respectively. But, the pique and jersey samples made up of ring yarn and compact yarn showed gradual reduction in their air permeability towards the incremental stretch and the core spun pique samples and core spun jersey samples were uniformly seen with gradual increase in their air permeability during the incremental stretch.
Originality/value
Very limited quantity of research has been carried out in this area. So, a novel attempt has been made in this research work to investigate the influence of incremental stretch on air permeability of single knit structures.
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V. Raja Sreedharan and R. Raju
The purpose of this paper is to review Lean Six Sigma (LSS) literature and report different definitions, demographics, methodologies and industries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review Lean Six Sigma (LSS) literature and report different definitions, demographics, methodologies and industries.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper highlights various definitions by different researchers and practitioners. A total of 235 research papers has been reviewed for the LSS theme, research methodology adopted, type of industry, author profile, country of research and year of publication.
Findings
From the review, four significant LSS classifications were identified that deal with the spread of LSS in different industries followed by observation for classification.
Practical implications
LSS is a strategy for success, but it did not examine its presence in various Industries. From this paper, readers can understand the quantum of its spread before implementing LSS. For academicians, it will be a comprehensive list of papers for research.
Originality/value
This paper reviews 235 research papers for their year, author profile, research methodology and type of industry. Various characteristics of LSS definitions and their theme are also reviewed.
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B.T. Sampath Kumar and K.R. Prithvi Raj
The worldwide web is growing at an enormous speed and web citations are becoming very common in scholarly publications. However the major problem of web citation is its…
Abstract
Purpose
The worldwide web is growing at an enormous speed and web citations are becoming very common in scholarly publications. However the major problem of web citation is its persistence since citations disappear over time, causing accessibility problems for readers. In this context the present study aims to investigate the availability of web citations and their persistence in Indian Library and Information Science literature. The study also aims to investigate types of link accessibility errors encountered, domains associated with missing web citations and the correlation between the path depth and missing web citations.
Design/methodology/approach
The web citations (URLs) from 350 articles published in Indian Association of Teachers in Library and Information Science (IATLIS) conference volume (2001‐2008) were extracted and then tested to determine the accessibility. The W3C Link Checker (http://validator.w3.org/checklink) was used to evaluate links associated with a cited web resource. This link checker tests a submitted web page for broken or non‐valid hypertext links and reports the types of HTTP messages encountered.
Findings
Results of the study show that the average citations per article have been increased substantially from 0.25 (in the year 2001) to 3.02 (in the year 2008). It also found that 45.61 per cent of citations are not accessible during the time of testing, and the majority of web citations show HTTP Error Code 404 (63.84 per cent). Web citations from the .org domain are found to have the highest failure rates (30.29 per cent) compared to .edu (21.49 per cent) and .com/.co (14.33 per cent) domains.
Originality/value
The researchers analysed 673 web citations from 350 articles published during 2001 to 2008 in IATLIS conference volumes. The study investigated the percentage of missing web citations and domains associated with missing web citations. The study suggests some possible solutions to improve web citation accessibility. This carries research value for web content providers, web authors and researchers in library and information science.
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Shariful Islam, Shaikh Md. Mominul Alam and Shilpi Akter
The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the production of cotton spandex woven fabric with some user-friendly properties like wearer comfort, super stretch and elasticity. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to facilitate the production of cotton spandex woven fabric with some user-friendly properties like wearer comfort, super stretch and elasticity. The findings could contribute to ease spandex production and to optimize its property of elasticity. Stretch or a super stretch property is generally desirable, as it can increase the comfort level of those who wear it. In this experiment, the difficulties which were identified while manufacturing cotton spandex woven fabric resolved after identification.
Design/methodology/approach
In this experiment, three types of cotton spandex woven fabrics, with different composition and constructions, were used to find out their elastic properties. Temperature ranging from 160°C to 200°C with the machine speed of 20 to 26 MPM (meter per minute) was applied with an adjusted industrial setting with the facilities of a stenter machine to optimize the properties of cotton spandex woven fabric.
Findings
The findings establish that the temperature treatment closely compacted the elastic portions with cotton fibers, giving stability to the spandex yarn, which as a result, influenced cotton spandex woven fabric’s elastic properties, namely, stretch, growth and recovery. The consequences of temperature on cotton spandex yarns were assessed using a microscope, and the results were subsequently analyzed.
Research limitations/implications
Because of the poor facilities in testing laboratory, only few tests with microscopic evaluation were conducted to assess the elastic performances of cotton spandex woven fabric.
Practical implications
It is a practice-based research, and the findings could be beneficial to personnel in the textile industry, who are responsible for the manufacturing of cotton spandex woven fabric.
Social implications
This research could enhance the wearer’s satisfaction, with some comfort elastic properties, which can have a positive influence over spandex clothing industries.
Originality/value
This research establishes that heat setting had a progressive influence on the production of cotton spandex woven fabric and for the optimization of its elastic performances. This research opens a possible way for scholars to further study in this field.
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GLD Wickramasinghe and Asanka Perera
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of total productive maintenance (TPM) practices on manufacturing performance of textile and apparel manufacturing firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of total productive maintenance (TPM) practices on manufacturing performance of textile and apparel manufacturing firms.
Design/methodology/approach
A self-administered survey questionnaire was used for data collection. A total of 236 usable responses resulted in a 78 percent response rate from 30 textile and apparel firms. Correlation and regression analysis was performed using SPSS software to identify the effect of TPM on manufacturing performance.
Findings
The results show that all the TPM practices have positive and significant relationship with manufacturing performance and significantly improve cost effectiveness, product quality, on-time delivery and volume flexibility.
Practical implications
The study presented in this paper offers academics and practitioners a better understanding of the relationship and impact of the TPM practices on the manufacturing performances. Thus practitioners will be able to make better and more effective decisions about the implementation of TPM practices.
Originality/value
The understanding of the effect of TPM practices on manufacturing performance is timely for labor intensive manufacturing industries such as textile and apparel since it has not been researched adequately. Therefore, findings will impact the global textile and apparel industry positively.
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Amanpreet Kaur Kharbanda, Kamal Raj Dasarathan, S.K. Sinha, T. Senthil Kumar and B. Senthil Kumar
Through this study, four different types of woven fabric structures were created by using cotton/banana blends with a 70:30 ratio by varying the weaving specifications. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Through this study, four different types of woven fabric structures were created by using cotton/banana blends with a 70:30 ratio by varying the weaving specifications. This study aims to investigate the comfort and mechanical properties of these woven materials.
Design/methodology/approach
Taguchi L16 experimental design (5 factors and 4 levels) with response surface methodology tool was used to optimize mechanical and comfort characteristics. The yarn samples used in this study are cotton/banana with a blend ratio of 70:30. Fabric type (A), grams per square metre (GSM; B), yarn count (C), fabric thickness (D) and cloth cover factor (E) are the chosen process characteristics.
Findings
The highest tensile strength and tearing strength of the cotton/banana blended fabric samples were obtained as 326.3 N and 90.3 k.gf/cm, respectively. Similarly, the highest thermal conductivity and overall moisture management capacity values were found to be 0.6628 and 3.06 W/mK X10−4, respectively. The optimized process parameters for obtaining maximum mechanical properties were using canvas fabric structure, 182 GSM, 36s Ne yarn count, 0.48 mm fabric thickness and 23.5 cloth cover factor. Similarly, the optimized process parameters for obtaining maximum comfort properties were achieved using a twill fabric structure, 182 GSM, 32s Ne yarn count, 0.4 mm fabric thickness and 23 cloth cover factor.
Originality/value
In contrast to synthetic fabrics, banana fibre and its blended materials are significant ecological solutions for apparel and functional clothing. Products made from banana fibre are a sustainable and green alternative to conventional fabrics. Banana fibre obtained from the pseudostem of the plant has an appearance similar to ramie and bamboo fibres. Numerous studies showed that banana fibre could absorb significant moisture and be spun into yarn through ring and rotor spinning technology. On the other hand, this fibre can be easily combined with cotton, jute, wool and synthetic fibre. The present utilization of pseudostem of banana plant fibre is very minimal. This type of research improves the usability of bananas their blended fabrics as apparel and functional wear.
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Mukesh Kumar Singh and Annika Singh
Protection of medical personnel against pathogenic viruses is a challenging task for the world scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to collect, analyze, critique…
Abstract
Purpose
Protection of medical personnel against pathogenic viruses is a challenging task for the world scientific community. The purpose of this paper is to collect, analyze, critique, rearrange and present the scattered information scientifically to form a base for product development for viral protection.
Design/methodology/approach
A huge range of recently available information has been collected, studied and arranged judiciously.
Findings
After an exhaustive study of this topic, it is possible to present all information in a manner that will be helpful to start product development activity on both sides of the Atlantic. Initially, various coated textiles with zero breathability were used to cover doctors, nurses and staff but thereafter microporous coatings replaced the poreless surface coatings. However, the pore size distribution in microporous films and coatings could not be controlled precisely and manufacturers could not claim the surface offered foolproof protection against viruses. Monolithic films are able to claim guaranteed protection against virus penetration, with sufficient breathability. Monolithic film technology has prime importance in protective clothing that has to be discussed judiciously. Permeability of block copolymers based monolithic films is an important feature for barrier materials, high performance impermeable breathable clothing and membrane separation processes.
Originality/value
This is a first paper in the field of viral barrier fabrics which will remain helpful to the scientific community to start further research work and product development.
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Ying-Jie Guan, Yong-Ping Li and Peng Zeng
To solve the problems of short battery life and low transportation safety of logistics drones, this paper aims to propose a design of logistics unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) wing…
Abstract
Purpose
To solve the problems of short battery life and low transportation safety of logistics drones, this paper aims to propose a design of logistics unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) wing with a composite ducted rotor, which combines fixed wing and rotary-wing.
Design/methodology/approach
This UAV adopts tiltable ducted rotor combined with fixed wing, which has the characteristics of fast flight speed, large carrying capacity and long endurance. At the same time, it has the hovering and vertical take-off and landing capabilities of the rotary-wing UAV. In addition, aerodynamic simulation analysis of the composite model with a fixed wing and a ducted rotor was carried out, and the aerodynamic influence of the composite model on the UAV was analyzed under different speeds, fixed wing angles of attack and ducted rotor speeds.
Findings
The results were as follows: when the speed of the ducted rotor is 2,500 rpm, CL and K both reach maximum values. But when the speed exceeds 3,000 rpm, the lift will decrease; when the angle of attack of the fixed wing is 10° and the rotational speed of the ducted rotor is about 3,000 rpm, the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing are better.
Originality/value
The novelty of this work comes from a composite wing design of a fixed wing combined with a tiltable ducted rotor applied to the logistics UAVs, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the design wing are analyzed.
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Prasad G., Abishek P. and Karthick R.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the special applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the transport of medical goods.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the special applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the transport of medical goods.
Design/methodology/approach
Experimental work has been carried out to predict the performance characteristics of UAVs.
Findings
The results have been obtained to predict the range and endurance of UAVs, which can be optimized based on the payload and source of power.
Originality/value
Real-time applications. As the medical products are necessary in the real time life saving events.
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The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel lean management tool to provide a comprehensive and flexible evaluation model while converting customer voices into technical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel lean management tool to provide a comprehensive and flexible evaluation model while converting customer voices into technical characteristics in lean implementations.
Design/methodology/approach
For this purpose, the proposed model was constructed by belief space-evaluations, quality function deployment (QFD) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in interval type-2 fuzzy (IT2F) environment. This model involves three phases: determining the linguistic weights and belief-based relations with their IT2F-sets, processing information about IT2F-based belief-evaluations and ranking the technical characteristics using the defuzzified belief-based relative importance values.
Findings
The proposed model was applied to automotive after-sales service in Turkey to demonstrate its use in lean service-decisions. This model was compared with its classical and type-1 fuzzy versions. The ranking-results of the proposed model differed from those of the other versions. The reason is that the IT2F-environment offers a sensitive and flexible evaluation of the model’s linguistic scales.
Research limitations/implications
Calculations in the proposed model may be quite involved for practitioners. An Excel-dashboard was created to simplify the computational complexity.
Practical implications
Researchers/practitioners can apply this model to any lean manufacturing/service implementation.
Social implications
Company managers/employees/customers can recognize their perception-mechanisms via belief space-evaluations and experience how uncertainty in the perception-mechanism affects their decisions.
Originality/value
The proposed model provides a new lean tool due to the Bayesian model combined with QFD-AHP in IT2F-environment. This model eliminates the ambiguity in conceptual change-based lean decisions.