Effect of the Calcium Nitrate Solution Treatment on the Tensile, Bending, and Shear Properties of Silk Fabric

Interests in creating three-dimensionally designed fabric materials are growing rapidly in the sectors of the fashionable textiles with the creativity, new functions, and aesthetics. A number of finishing methods have been developed and proposed to add or create new functions and designs for silk fabrics. Due to the strong hydrogen bonds between the molecules of silk fibroins, the thermal treatment methods used in thermoplastic fiber processing, which can easily deform the synthetic filament fabrics to endow three-dimensional appearance to the fabrics, are not applicable to the silk fabric treatment. In order to modify the fine structure of silk fiber, neutral salt solution treatment methods have been suggested. In this study, the effect of the calcium nitrate solution on the physical and mechanical properties of silk fabrics was investigated by using the KES(Kawabata Evaluation System) equipment. Based on these findings, relationships between parameters, for example, the thickness and the compressional energy, the thickness and the compressional linearity, and the air permeability and the pore area statistical analysis were investigated. The relationships between the process parameters such as treatment temperature/time and the resulting fabric property parameters were also analyzed by using several SAS procedures.