Innovation in Textile: Submitted By: Shraddha Modi, TD - 6

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Innovation In Textile

Submitted By : Shraddha Modi, TD - 6


What are conductive Yarns?

Conductive yarns refer to yarns which are able to carry electrical charge. To impart conductivity in the textile material metallic wires, conductive
polymers, or other conductive compounds are integrated into the textile structure at different stages, such as fiber construction, yarn spinning, or fabric
creation stages.
Fibers or wires of metals like silver, stainless steel, nickel, aluminum and copper are incorporated into the textile structure, although metal offer high
conductivity but have some disadvantages like increase in weight, affects flexibility, cost, also some metals are prone to corrosion.
Apart from using metal wires metal-based conductive textiles can also be produced by coating metal ink on the surface of textile materials, but these
inks have limitation of wash stability.
As of 2020 the conductive materials for textile materials can be classified as conductive inks, carbon-based conductive polymers, inherently conductive
polymers and conductive polymer composites.
Conductive Inks :
The conductive inks are developed from metals, metal oxides,
conductive polymers, organometallic inks, graphene, carbon
nanotubes and a mixture of the different inks. Some examples of
the conductive inks employed for the development of conductive
textile are reactive silver, graphene ink, and carbon nanotube,
etc. Cotton yarn Cotton yarn coated with graphene oxide
For example, Liang et al. used a silver nanoparticle-based
conductive ink that was configured with poly(styrene-block-
ethylene-ran-butylene-blockstyrene) to develop a skin-inspired
ultra-sensitive pressure sensor.

Carbon-Based Conductive Materials :


With the increase in the need of conductive textile material,
carbon-based materials such as graphene, carbon nanotube
(CNT), carbon black, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene
oxides have been explored to develop conductive textiles. The
carbon materials are preferable for producing conductive textiles
as they are relatively inexpensive, corrosion-resistant and
flexible.
Inherently Conductive Polymers :

Conductive polymers, develop in 1970, contain a conjugated molecular structure having alternative single and double bonds between carbon atoms.
It is a combination of electrical property of metals or semiconductors with the benefit of polymers such as price, structural diversity, flexibility and
durability, which makes them an ideal choice for textile-based electrodes. Conductive polymers like polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline (PANI) and
polythiophene derivative poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene), poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) are the most successful polymers in the
production of conductive textile.

Conductive Polymer Composites :

Although conductive polymers show a promising conductivity, their mechanical properties need improvements, which  led to conductive polymeric
composites with improved electrical conductivity and mechanical stability. Conductive polymer composites are polymers consisting of single or
hybrid conductive fillers such as carbonaceous, metallic, and conducting polymeric particles dispersed in a polymer matrix. Some of the examples of
conductive polymer composites include PEDOT:PSS-polydimethylsiloxane, PPy-silver nanocomposites, PANI-copper, graphene-PPy and PEDPT:PSS–
CNT-Gr.
Conductive yarns can be integrated into a textile structure by weaving, knitting,
embroidery, and braiding techniques but the electrical and mechanical
properties of the textile substrate could significantly vary from the initial
conductive material.

Weaving : The knitted e-fabric

For developing e-fabric conductive yarn or filament can be integrated as warp


and weft. The conductive threads are inserted along with non-conductive warp
and/or weft yarns to produce an entirely conductive fabric or a fabric with
incorporated conductive threads or wires. It is the simplest way to embed
conductive yarn into fabric.

Knitting :

Knitting allows the inclusion of conductive yarns during the fabrication process,
making them integral to the textile structure, knitted structure is known for its
stretchability. Recent advancements in conductive yarns and fabrication
technologies has opened exciting opportunities to design and knit seamless
garments equipped with sensors.
Fan et al. used knitting technique to produce a machine washable textile-based
triboelectric sensor array which exhibits a fast response time and wide working
frequency bandwidth up to 20 Hz and stays functional for multiple machine
(a) Schematic illustration of the combination of
washings. This textile-based sensor array was incorporated into sweater to triboelectric all-textile sensor array (TATSA): (b)
monitor the arterial pulse waves and respiratory signals simultaneously. The photograph of two TATSAs completely and
knitted triboelectric all-textile sensor array was also used to measure the seamlessly stitched into a sweater; (c) output
cardiovascular pulse of different age groups. characteristics of the TATSA after washing; (d)
pulse waveforms of TATSAs for different ages
Embroidery : Embroidered capacitive sensor

Embroidery is applying conductive yarns on a textile fabric or other


materials using a needle, it gives the flexibility to design and embroider
required shapes on a plane. Compared to knitting or weaving, embroidery
is a convenient alternative for complex and labor-intensive design and
production processes, this technique enables one to integrate additional
conductive threads into a finished fabric or readymade garment.
Martinez-Estrada et al. used the technique to embroider an interdigitated
textile sensor over a cotton substrate with silver-plated nylon yarns, to e-shape antenna fabricated based
develop a wearable application over textiles for moisture detection. on embroidering technique

Braiding :

Braided conductive fabrics can be made by interlacing conductive yarns or


strips of fabric. An entirely conductive braided fabric or partly conductive Braided conductive yarns (BCYs)
can be made, this technique produces a wide range of structures. with single copper core
Coating of conductive yarns for electro-textile applications

Conductive are used for integrating sensors and other electronic devices with textile
fabrics through weaving, knitting, braiding or embroidery. In the lifetime of the
textile several washing cycles might occur which involves rubbing which may lead to
displacement of conductive fibers, causing short circuit between the neighboring
conductive fibers, also the textile products made with conductive fibers may have to
work in the presence of water, where the exposed conductive fibers can get short
circuited.
To protect the conductive yarns PP staple fibers are wrapped around the conductive
yarns through friction, spinning and melting the PP sheath fibers in an oven. The PP
coated yarns with plied conductive yarn in the core provide better flexibility but
need higher amount of coating to provide complete electrical insulation in the
presence of water as compared to those yarns with single conductive yarn in the
core.

Examples of conductive yarns :


SwicoSilver - 100% silver coated PET filament yarn, good for knitting, weaving, twisting,
embroidering and braiding and are resistant to washing. 
SwicoGold - 100% 24K gold coated PET filament yarn
Plasma Metal Coated Yarn
Fine inox wire - Fine Inox wire in a mixture with polyvinyl alcohol PVA in a count of 560
dtex.
Silver Coated Polyamide - Multifilament yarn which is coated with silver by the chemical
process
Carbon containing yarns -  High performance carbon fiber, mixed with Polyester Conductive Yarns
multifilament for easy weaving
Shieldex
Applications of conductive yarns and fibers:

Smart Clothing
Static Dissipation
Electro Magnetic Shielding
Signal and Power Transfer
Heating Elements
In medical equipment like electrodes
In products ranging like metal mesh, aerospace textiles, Taser- proof or stun gun vests Smart Clothing

One major conductive fabric product is ARACON, a brand metal clad fiber by Micro-Coax,
ARACON fibers are built on a modified KEVLAR® base and provide good thermal and
dimensional stability with very high yarn strength and used for shielding cabling in air- and
spacecraft and other specialty purposes where light weight, high strength, and high-
frequency shielding is imperative.

ARACON conductive yarn


Google’s Project Jacquard :

Project Jacquard of Google’s ATAP Lab is a collection of conductive


threads for weaving touch-responsive textiles like clothing, tablecloths,
rugs, or anything else made of fabric.
Project Jacquard threads are a combination of metal alloys and the
natural or synthetic fibers found in the threads, like cotton or polyester.
They’re engineered to have the same look, flexibility, feel and color as
traditional thread, so they’ll blend into any existing fabric design and,
crucially, they work perfectly with sewing machines and industrial looms.
In addition to the thread, the project team has developed a variety of
small, thin electronic components as well as connectors for attaching
them to the threads, these can be used for capturing and interpreting
touch inputs and providing haptic, visual, auditory or other feedback to
the user.
The Project shows how technology can add simple gesture sensitivity to
things like clothing or furniture.
For instance with a grid of Jacquard thread woven into a patch on the
sleeve of a jacket, discrete taps or swipes could be used to make quick
phone calls or advance slides in a presentation or when added to the arm
of a couch, touch-sensitive fabric might let users change the channel on a
smart television or advance songs in a music playlist.
Google aims at Jacquard as a raw material an integral part of the
language which apparel designers and textile designers and
fashionistas.
Jacquard is collaborating with world-renowned travel, sports, and
fashion brands. Levi’s signed to be the first production partner for
Google-powered fabric textiles. Later other brands like Saint
Laurent, Adidas, Samsonite Konnect-i also collaborated with the
project. Levi’s® Commuter™ Levi’s® Trucker Jacket Cit-e Backpack, Saint Laurent
Trucker Jacket
Some of the products of Project Jacquard are :
Levi’s® Commuter™ Trucker Jacket,
https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/levi-commuter/
Levi’s® Trucker Jacket,
https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/levi-trucker/
Cit-e Backpack, Saint Laurent,
https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/ysl/
Adidas GMR, https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/gmr/
Konnect-i Backpack Samsonite®,
https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/samsonite-konnect-i/

Konnect-i
Adidas GMR Backpack
Samsonite®
As a textile designer conductive wires can be used for -

LED Embroidery :

LED embroidery is a combination of traditional techniques with


few electronic components.
- Conductive thread is the magic ingredient which bridges the
gap between rigid metal and soft floss.
References :

https://www.technicaltextile.net/articles/conductive-yarns-and-their-use-in-technical-textiles-3739
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/23/6910/htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conductive_textile
https://www.herculite.com/blog/how-are-conductive-fabrics-used
https://www.servicethread.com/blog/conductive-and-non-conductive-yarns
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00405000.2012.719295
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrically_conducting_yarn
https://www.swicofil.com/consult/innovations/conductivity
https://www.postscapes.com/googles-project-jacquard-brings-touch-to-textiles/
https://atap.google.com/jacquard/products/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/conductive-yarn#:~:text=Conductive%20yarns%20can%20be%20either,be%20twisted%20around
%20each%20other
.

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