The Abrasion Resistance Of Textile Materials

Abrasion resistance is the ability of a fabric to resist surface wear caused by flat rubbing contact with another material.The resistance of textile materials to abrasion as measured on a testing machine in the laboratory is generally only one of several factors contributing to wear performance or durability as experienced in the actual use of the material. While “abrasion resistance” (often stated in terms of the number of cycles on a specified machine, using a specified technique to produce a specified degree or amount of abrasion) and “durability” (defined as the ability to withstand deterioration or wearing out in use, including the effects of abrasion) frequently are related, the relationship varies with different end uses, and different factors may be necessary in any calculation of predicted durability from specific abrasion data. This test method is not considered satisfactory for acceptance testing of commercial shipments of fabric. The between-laboratory precision of this test method is poor and, because of the nature of abrasion testing itself, technicians frequently fail to obtain results in agreement on the same type of testing instrument, both within and between laboratories. Although this test method is not recommended for acceptance testing, it is useful because it is used widely, especially outside the United States. Abrasion tests are all subject to variation due to changes in the abradant during specific tests. The abradant must be changed accordingly at frequent intervals or checked periodically against a standard. With disposable abradants, the abradant is used only once or changed after limited use. With permanent abradants that use hardened metal or equivalent surfaces, it is assumed that the abradant will not change appreciably in a specific series of tests, but obviously similar abradants used in different laboratories will not likely change at the same rate due to differences in usage.