Gahlot, ManishaPant, Swati2017-05-312017-05-312012-08http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810013426Felt is a non-woven material made from wool and wool majority blends. Wool fibres have a unique characteristic of getting interlocked when subjected to compression, heat and moisture, resulting in a structure which is irreversible, resilient and dimensionally stable. Felting is a complex process and the felting capacity depends not only on the inherent properties of wool but also on the conditions of the felting process. Felt finds a wide variety of applications both in residential and industrial contexts due to its customization abilities and its natural biodegradable capabilities. Uttarakhand being located in the north temperate region enjoys the advantage of producing apparel and carpet grade wool. There is no data available defining the felting characteristic of wool fibres available in Uttarakhand. Therefore, the present study proposes an area of development in the wool felt product line of Uttarakhand. Hersilcross wool and Tibetan wool fibres were blended in different proportions and tested for their physical properties and felting ability. The processing conditions of felting viz., concentration of wetting agent (non-ionic detergent), pH and temperature of wetting solution were optimized. Both the pure fibres and their blends were utilized for the manufacturing of machine made felt at three different milling time i.e. 10, 15 and 20 minutes. The prepared machine made felts were tested for various physical properties viz., thickness, density, tensile strength, abrasion resistance, stiffness and thermal insulation. Abrasion resistant finish (Acrylic emulsion) was applied on the felt prepared of 50:50 blend ratio in three different concentrations to get solid add-on of 10 g, 20 g and 30 g per square meter. The finish was applied by two methods i.e. spraying and dipping and finished felt samples were tested for their physical properties viz., thickness, strength, abrasion resistance and stiffness. Different products were developed by dyeing the prepared felts with acid dyes and utilizing quilting technique. It can be concluded from the results of study that the combined effect of different physical properties of Hersilcross wool like coronal reticulate scale pattern, lower fibre diameter, high frictional coefficient (DFE) and low medullation imparted a high felting power to this wool fibre as compared to Tibetan wool fibre. It was found that felts produced from different blends ratios had different structure with respect to fibre arrangement, interlocking etc. which prominently affected the physical and mechanical properties of felt. Alkaline wetting solution of 9 pH with 1 g/l wetting agent at temperature between 50°C to 60°C was considered optimum for the manufacturing of machine made felts. Increase or decrease in milling time significantly influenced the properties of felts. Increase in milling time, increased the density of felt which in turn increased the tensile strength, abrasion resistance, stiffness and thermal insulation of the prepared felts, whereas decreased the thickness and per cent elongation at break irrespective of the blend ratios. The acrylic finish with an add-on of 20 g with spraying and dipping method improved the abrasion resistance of felt upto 50 per cent. Products developed from prepared felts were jacket, flower vase, felt flowers, tea cozy, bottle cover and table runner. Blending of Hersilcross wool with Tibetan wool in different proportions not only compensated the shortcomings of each other but also resulted in felt having best of properties.ennullThesis