ATME-I: Subdued but satisfying

Reports on the American Textile Machinery Exhibition - International (ATME-I) held in Greenville, USA in October 2000, which although experienced lower attendance than the past, had attracted many decision makers. Trends included few rotor spinning machines on display: a push for compact spinning; automated materials handling technology; ..

CITME - 2000 marks upturn in China's textile, fiber markets

The China Textile Machinery Exhibition held in Beijing in October 2000 was the largest yet, confirming that China's textile market is emerging from the doldrums. Nearly half the exhibitions come from outside mainland China, principally Italy, Germany and Hong Kong. Chinese visitors to the stands were most interested in technical modificat..

ATME-I vistors decline turnout of decision-makers rises

Visitor numbers for the American Textile Machinery Exhibition International were down by 8% compared to 1997, but the proportion of top-level decision makers among the visitors was high 34%. The author discussed possible future changes to the ATME exhibitions with organisers and exhibitors, including the consolidation of ATME - I one ATME..

Growth fiber: polypropylene

The article first reviews statistics on polypropylene production and demand. It then gives details of marketing and product strategies planned or in execution by two major players in polypropylene distribution. Synthetic Industries has produced two new types of carpet backing while Coville Inc is using antimicrobial polypropylene in a lin..

Behavior of polyolefin blends with acetylated sisal fibers

The influence of acetylation on the mechanical, thermal and thermodegradative behavior of sisal fiber-reinforced PP, PP/HDPE and PP/HDPE with functionalized and non-functionalized EPR composites was studied. Acetylation of the fiber improves adhesion of the fiber to the polyolefin matrix. In general, acetylation of the sisal fiber was fou..

Characterization of a braided strip drain with coir and jute yarns

A simple machine has been developed at the Textile Technology Department of IIT Delhi that uses coir and jute yarns to manufacture 100% natural fibre strip drains. The machine employing braiding technology braids jute yarns to form the filter sheath and coir yarn as core. Typically the drains are about 7.5-12.5 mm thick in dry state and h..

Specific refractive index increments of oplyurethane/polydimethylsiloxane segmented copolymers

New polydimethylsiloxane-containing segmented block copolyurethanes were obtained from aromatic or aliphatic diisocyanates, 1,4-butanediol and poly(ethylene glycol)adipate using a multistep polyaddition process. Specific refractive index increments of these segmented copolymers in N,N-dimethyl-formamide have been determened by the Lorenz-..

Study of multi-monomer melt-grafting onto polypropylene in an extruder

Free-radical melt-grafting of the dual-monomer systems glycidyl methacrylate-styrene (GMA-St0 and hydroxyethyl methacrylate-styrene (HEMA-St) onto polypropylene (PP) has been studied using a single-screw extruder. For single monomer grafting systems, degradation of PP was unavoidable and deterioration of the mechanical properties of the g..

Heat-shrinkable polymer blends based on grafted low-density polyethylene and polyurethane elastomer. Part I

Blends prepared by melt-mixing of thermoplastic material-elastomer have gained considerable attention in recent years. Heat-shrinkability of polymer, which is dependent on elastic memory, can be introduced into the system in the form of an elastomeric phase. The present study deals with the measurement of the heat-shrinkability of the ble..

Reinforcement of the aromatic polyamide poly(trimethylhexamethylene terephthalamide): Comparisons among blended ex situ silica with and without a bonding agent and in situ generated silica

Samples of poly(trimethylhexamethylene terephthalamide) were first blended with separately prepared fumed silica in the absence of a coupling agent, and their mechanical properties were measured in continuous extension. The reinforcement obtained in this ex situ approach was qualitatively similar to that obtained by the in situ generation..