Development of an Automatic Measuring System for Vertical Wicking

Liquid wicking property of textiles is important since it affects efficiency of finishing and wear comfort of the product. In the proposed project, a sensitive, accurate and reliable vertical wicking tester will be developed. This is based on optoelectronic technique with the ability to trace the liquid wicking under AATCC Test Method 197. The optoelectronic devices are able to identify the light reflects by/transmits through fabric. Therefore, the change in colour between dry and wet fabric will be measured by the proposed tester. Compared with conventional operation of AATCC Test Method 197 vertical wicking test for fabrics, the proposed instrument requires minimum human manipulation, and is simple, versatile and reasonable cost. In conventional manual operation of AATCC Test Method 197, operator is required to monitor fabric wicking for up to 30 minutes. The proposed measuring system is able to automatically monitor the wicking process to increase efficiency of manpower. Depends on the specifications of AATCC TM 197 Option A and B, wicking time and distance will be recorded. With this automatic instrument, fabric can be characterized efficiently which would be beneficial to the textile industry.