Functionality and testing of coated fabrics for tents

Tents may be the earliest textiles used as building materials. They are simple and lightweight. They are also windproof, rainproof, snowproof, coldproof, dustproof, and mosquitoproof. The development of tourism today has promoted the development of tourism textiles. It directly drives the substantial growth of tent sales in my country.

The main domestic testing standards related to tent fabrics include: international standard ISO10966:2005 “Textiles – Canopies and Camping Tent Fabrics – Specification” (Sports and Recreational Equipment – Fabrics for Awnings and Camping Tents – Specification), national standard GB/T24139-2009 “PVC coated fabric waterproof cloth” Specification”, national standard GB/T20463.1-2006 “Rubber or plastic-coated fabric for waterproofing Part 1: Polyvinyl chloride-coated fabric”, Ministry of Civil Affairs industry standard MZ/T011-2001 “12m2 Single Tent for Disaster Relief”. However, there is currently no national standard for coated fabrics for tents in China [2].

There are large differences in the items and indicator levels assessed by various standards at home and abroad, each with its own focus and limited scope of application. This makes tent manufacturing companies confused and restricts the healthy and orderly development of the industry to a certain extent. According to the actual use of tent fabrics in my country, 10 tent coated fabric samples of different styles were selected according to the classification of light tents and heavy tents, and the fabric characteristics and testing were analyzed. Materials and Methods 1.1 Test Materials The samples used in this test are mainly tourism Tent fabric, disaster relief tent fabric and military tent tarpaulin. According to the mass per unit area of the fabric, it is divided into: heavy tent fabrics (mass per unit area greater than 150g/m2), light tent fabrics (mass per unit area less than 150g/m2). The test weight is shown in 1. 1.2 Test method Tent is an outdoor product and needs to meet Requirements for complex outdoor environments such as sunlight and rain. Therefore, in addition to regular performance, functionality also needs to be assessed.

On the basis of referring to relevant domestic and foreign standards, this article extracts the assessment indicators of coated fabrics for tents from both conventional and functional aspects, including breaking strength, tearing strength, light color fastness, water color fastness, and hydrostatic pressure , surface moisture resistance, flame retardancy, and anti-aging properties, a total of 8 indicators. The test method used is shown in Method 2. 2 Results and discussion 2.1 Conventional performance The conventional performance of coated fabrics for tents mainly considers four indicators: breaking strength, tearing strength, light color fastness, and water color fastness. 2.1.1 Breaking strength and tearing strength. Since the coated fabric for tents is in a covering or hanging state during use, it has to withstand various tensions from metal brackets, ropes, etc., so the fabric must have greater strength, mainly considering breakage. Two indicators: strength and tearing strength.

Breaking strength refers to the strength when the yarn is completely broken when directional stretching is applied to the warp or weft direction of the fabric. Tear strength refers to the large external force required for the yarns to break sequentially when the fabric has tears. The greater the breaking strength and tearing strength, the stronger and more durable the fabric will be, and the better its wind and pressure resistance will be. The breaking strength and the test data of 1 can be seen that the breaking strength of lightweight tent fabrics (1#~5#): the warp direction is in the range of 512N to 704N, and the weft direction is in the range of 421N to 561N; heavy tent fabrics (6#~10 #) Breaking strength: The warp direction is in the range of 1150N to 1280N, and the weft direction is in the range of 1050N to 1250N; the breaking strength of the test sample is much greater than the requirement of general fabrics ≥ 150N. It can be seen from the test data of 2 that the tearing strength of lightweight tent fabrics (1#~5#): the warp direction is in the range of 5N to 8N, and the weft direction is in the range of 4N to 8N; heavy-duty tent fabrics (6#~10#) Tear strength: The warp direction is between 43N and 83N, and the weft direction is between 42N and 78N. The tearing strength of lightweight tent fabrics is poor, and the tearing strength of heavy-duty tent fabrics is much higher than the requirement of ≥10N for general fabrics.

2.1.2 Color fastness to light and color fastness to water No matter what type of product it is made from, the coated fabric for tents will be washed by light and rain during use, and the coated fabric for tents does not come into direct contact with the human body, so It mainly assesses two indicators: color fastness to light and color fastness to water. The specific test methods are GB/T8427 method 3 and GB/T5713 respectively. See 3 for the test results. From the test data, it can be seen that the color fastness of the coated fabrics for tents is relatively good. The light color fastness of the 10 samples tested is not lower than level 4~5, and the water fastness is not lower than level 3~4. The light fastness and water fastness test samples of lightweight tent fabrics (1#~5#) and heavy tent fabrics (6#~10#) are all at a high level, with no obvious difference, and are both higher than ordinary textile products. Standard first-class product requirements. 2.2 Functionality 2.2.1 Waterproofness The coated fabric for tents is exposed to the outside and is often affected by rainwater, so it is required to have good waterproofness. There are many test methods for measuring the waterproofness of textiles at home and abroad, but the main ones are It is divided into two aspects, one is to measure the resistance of the textile surface to being wetted by water – surface moisture resistance, and the other is to measure the resistance of the textile to water penetration – hydrostatic pressure.

2.2.1.1 Hydrostatic pressure The hydrostatic pressure is measured in accordance with the test standard: GB/T4744-1997 “Hydrostatic Pressure Test for Determination of Water Permeability Resistance of Textile Fabrics”. The water pressure rise rate is 6kPa/min. The coated fabric for tents will often be damaged by wind, sun, rain, etc. during use, and the coating will be damaged or peeled off, affecting its durable use. Therefore, in addition to considering the original hydrostatic pressure, it must also be assessed Humidity resistance after low temperature and aging. testResult 3 is shown. It can be seen from 3 that the hydrostatic pressure test values of the 10 samples are all at a relatively high level. The hydrostatic pressure of the heavy-duty tent coating fabric is significantly higher than that of the lightweight tent coating fabric. The lightweight tent coating fabric (1#~5#) The original hydrostatic pressure is concentrated between 15.6kPa and 19.7kPa, and the original hydrostatic pressure of heavy-duty tent coated fabric (6#~10#) is concentrated between 45.3kPa and 59.3kPa. After the samples were treated at low temperature and aged, the hydrostatic pressure of heavy-duty and lightweight coated fabrics dropped significantly, and the hydrostatic pressure value only reached about half of the original value. 2.2.1.2 Surface moisture resistance The surface moisture resistance was measured in accordance with GB/T4745-1997 “Water Test for Determination of Surface Moisture Resistance of Textile Fabrics”. The test results are shown in 4. According to the test sample results, the moisture resistance of the coated fabric for tents is relatively good. The moisture resistance level of the 10 samples tested is not less than level 3. Light tent fabrics (1#~5#) and heavy tent fabrics The moisture resistance of (6#~10#) surfaces are all at a relatively high level, with no obvious difference. After the above 10 samples were washed, aged, and treated at low temperature, the surface moisture resistance was tested. It was found that the water staining level of the 10 samples was reduced to level 1, that is, they all lost the surface moisture resistance.

2.2.2 Flame retardancy Based on the safety of use, the coated fabric for tents is required to have good flame retardancy. Flame retardancy can be achieved by selecting flame retardant fibers and flame retardant base fabrics, or by adding flame retardants to the coating agent. The Ministry of Civil Affairs’ industry standard “12m2 Special Single Tent for Disaster Relief” stipulates that tent fabrics should meet the requirements of damage length ≤ 150mm, afterburning time ≤ 15s, and smoldering time ≤ 15s. In this article, the coated fabrics for tents are implemented as a reference, and the flame retardant performance is measured in accordance with Test standard: GB/T5455 “Vertical method for testing the combustion performance of textiles” test. As shown in sample test result 5, most samples can meet this indicator. 2.2.3 Aging resistance Due to the usage characteristics of tent-coated fabrics, it should have good aging resistance, but there are no assessment requirements for this in relevant domestic and foreign product standards. The anti-aging performance is measured according to method B in FZ/T01008-2008, aging at 70°C for 168 hours. The determined index is that the sample does not become brittle, sticky, delamination, or cracked after the aging test. After testing and verification, more than 90% of the samples can meet this indicator requirement.

3 Suggestions for the formulation of standards 3.1 The formulation of relevant standards for coated fabrics for tents should include indicators related to the fabric’s general performance and functionality. 3.2 General performance is specified according to the purpose. The recommended range of specific indicators is: the light color fastness of coated fabrics for heavy-duty and light tents is not less than level 4; the water fastness is not less than level 3~4; breaking strength Both are not less than 150N; tearing of coated fabrics for heavy-duty tents is not less than 15N, and coated fabrics for light tents are not assessed. 3.3 Carry out relevant functional testing according to the characteristics of the product. Recommended range: The hydrostatic pressure of coated fabrics for heavy-duty tents is not less than 30kPa, and the hydrostatic pressure of coated fabrics for light-duty tents is not less than 12kPa; the surface moisture resistance of coated fabrics for heavy-duty and light-duty tents is not less than level 3; heavy-duty and light-duty tents have a hydrostatic pressure of not less than 12kPa. All coated fabrics used in tents should meet the requirements of damage length ≤150mm, afterburning time ≤15s, and smoldering time ≤15s. E2cJjaKo

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