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MEDICAL TEXTILE

1.1 OVERVIEW:

Combination of textile technology and medical sciences has resulted into a new field called
medical textiles. Textile materials and products that have been engineered to meet particular
needs are suitable for any medical and surgical applications where a combination of strength,
flexibility and sometimes moisture and air permeability are required. Materials used include
mono-filament and multi-filament yarns, woven, non-woven fabrics and composite structure.

Medical textile plays a significant role with the technical sector in medical field. The increased
awareness of the need to enhance the quality of life of people has significantly contributed to
the high consumption of growth of medical textile in the past few years.

New applications of medical textiles are directly related to the innovations in new textile fibres,
novel materials and ultra-modern manufacturing methods and technologies. Developments in
medical textiles endeavour to improve the comfort for patient and end-users; consequently,
development of all medical textiles is aimed to convert the painful days of patients and
surgeons into the comfortable days. Among the important requirements for biomedical
products, non-toxicity, no allergenic response, strength, mechanical properties, durability,
elasticity and biocompatibility are considered vital prerequisites for successful health
products.

The following page shows the importance of medical textile in some particular areas and also
discusses about their selection and care in the hospital industry.

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 1.2 AREAS WHERE MEDICAL TEXTILE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE:

1.2.1 Antimicrobial biotic band aids with prolonged and controlled action:

Last decade of the twentieth century was marked by an emphasizing on man’s and its
prevention from infections by microorganisms’ action. It is well known that disinfectant
materials offer almost an instantaneous, but short lasting solution for microbes removal. On
the contrary, antimicrobial remedies are produced to offer a long lasting for pathogens
microbes elimination. A Bandage is a standard of biomaterial used on wound to protect from
infections and also to cure the wound. Therefore, a modern means of wound management and
healing which are effective against a wide spectrum of microorganism is antimicrobial biotic
band aids. Ion exchange fibres and non-woven textile material composed of PP/viscose bend
are used as a textile basis for this. Antimicrobial band aids were produced in two routs:

 By chemisorption of gentamicin sulphate by ion exchange fibre.

 By adhesion of gentamicin sulphate on non-woven material with the aid of a polymer
carrier

Adhesive bandage, also known as sticking plaster, is a wound care dressing product that is
utilized as small dressing. Adhesive bandages are applied on the patients who have not
undergone serious accident but have minor abrasion (scratches) and cut on their body describe.
The adhesive bandage protects the cut from friction, bacteria, damage and dirt.

There is one other type of bandage which is orthopaedic cushion bandage. These are used under
plaster casts and compression bandages to provide padding and prevent discomfort. Non-
woven orthopaedic cushion bandages may be produced from wither polyurethane foams,
polyester, or polypropylene fibres and contain blends of natural or other synthetic fibres. Non-
woven bandages are lightly needle-punched to remain bulk and loft. A development in cushion
bandage material is a fully needle punched structure which possesses superior cushion
properties compared with existing materials.

Fig 1: Antimicrobial band aids used in hospitals Fig 2: Antimicrobial band aid rolls
available in the market

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1.2.2 Surgical masks:
Surgical masks protect transmission of body fluids from and to the wearer. They can be used
as dust mask too. Surgical masks with decorative designs are popular in some countries in
which they are worn in public to protect ordinary people from infection and allergies.
The extensive research by the fibre scientists, the dawn of the 21st century has witnessed the
introduction of many new fibre processing improved functional characteristics. Bamboo is one
such new generation fibre with cellulose base, regenerated from bamboo stems. It possesses
certain improved characteristics such as better moisture absorption, quick drying, excellent
anti-microbial, anti-odour, ultraviolet proof, cool sensation on the skin etc. bamboo fibre
derives its antibacterial strength from a unique anti-bacterial and bacteriostatic bio-agent called
bamboo kun.
The anti-bacterial assessment of surgical wears made from 100% bamboo fibres was carried
out and compared with commonly used surgical wears made from 100% cotton fibres after
using them in actual hospital condition during a surgery. Their effectiveness towards inhibiting
bacterial growth were evaluated by blood agar plate method qualitatively and quantitatively as
well as by turbidity method. The results reveal that the use of 100% bamboo fibre in surgical
wear inhibits the growth of bacteria.
Surgical masks are made from nonwovens. Usually, they consist of multiple layers, a filter is
placed between nonwoven layers to stop bacteria from entering or exiting the mask. Most
surgical masks feature pleats and folds allowing the user to expand the mask and cover the
lower part of the face.

Fig 3: Surgeons wearing surgical mask in the hospital

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1.2.3 Non-woven Surgical drapes:
Non-woven surgical drapes are typically made from compressed synthetic fibres, such as nylon
or polyester bonded with cellulose. Aluminium-coated materials are preferred during the laser
procedures for their flame-retardant properties. Non-woven drapes are light, yet strong and
they need not to be washed, folded, repaired or sterilized.
In the recent tests done by researches it was found that surgical drape fabric was found to kill
the bacteria commonly associated with the surgical wound infections and takes an active role
in maintaining aseptic field at the wound site. The antimicrobial surface serves to isolate the
wound from the bacterial transfer from the drape surface. The antimicrobial component of this
fabric was chemically bonded safe for use surgery and did not lose its effectiveness when
sterilized, stored or handled during the manufacturing procedure or in a surgery.
Properties of surgical drape:
 Fluid resistant to prevent strike-through contamination
 Tear and puncture resistant
 Free of toxic residue
 Prevents airborne particles from entering the surgical wound
 Finished with a colour that do not reflect the operating lights
 Porous enough that body heat is not retained
 Antistatic to prevent sparking that could ignite the drape or flammable gases

Fig 4: Blue colour non-woven surgical drape

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 1.2.4 Healthcare and hygiene products:
The healthcare and hygiene sector is important for medical textile products. Vasts numbers of
healthcare and hygiene products typically used in hospital wards for the hygiene, care, and
safety of staff and patients. They can be washable or disposable.
Healthcare and hygiene products are used in surgical gowns, caps, cover cloth of various sizes,
bedding, blankets etc. Incontinence products for patients are available in both diaper and flat-
sheet forms, with the latter being used for bedding. Cloths and wipes are made from tissue
paper or nonwoven-bounded fabrics, which may be soaked with an antiseptic finish.
Superabsorbant fibres are widely used in healthcare and hygiene products. These fibres can
absorb up to 50 times their mass in water, whereas conventional wood-pulp and cotton linter
absorbents absorbs aproximateky six times their mass in water.
Product Fibre type Fabric type
Bedding, blanket, sheets, Cotton, polyester Woven, Knitted
pillow covers
Uniforms or protective Cotton, polyester, Woven, non-woven
clothing polypropylene
Incontinence diaper sheets Polyester, polypropylene, Nonwoven
with cover stock, absorbent wood fluff, superabsorbent
layer, and outer layer
Wipes Viscose rayon Nonwoven
Surgical hosiery Polyamide, polyester, cotton, Nonwoven, knitted
elastomeric yarns
Table 1: Healthcare and hygiene product table

Fig 5: Hospital bedding

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1.2.5 Sanitary Napkins and diapers
An important area of textile is the healthcare and hygiene sector among other medical
applications. The range of products includes both disposable and non- disposable items such
as surgical gown, masks, sanitary napkins and diapers.
Bamboo has excellent properties that make it ideal for processing into textiles. It has been
found that bamboo contains antibacterial and bacteriostatic bio-agent named ‘bamboo kun’. It
is high water absorbent, able to take up three times of its weight of water. The bamboo fibre
has a natural effect of sterilization, moisture vapour transmission property and easy drying.
Therefore, this fibre will not cause skin allergies and its application in sanitary pads, baby and
adult diapers is found to increase.
The points given below shows why bamboo is an ideal textile to be used in diapers and sanitary
pads rather than cotton:
 Liquid strike-through time is lowest for the baby diapers composed of pure cotton,
bamboo/organic cotton blends of both 70/30 and 50/50 proportions, while highest for
the one made of pure bamboo fibres.
 Absorption capacity is highest for the diapers made of bamboo/organic cotton (70/30)
and pure bamboo.
 The diaper pad composed of pure bamboo fibre is lighter as compared to all other
products.
 The rewet under load is lesser for the diaper produced from bamboo/organic cotton
(70/30).
 The baby diapers made of both 70/30 and 50/50 blends of bamboo/organic cotton
perform well with regard to absorption capacity, liquid strike-through, low rewet
value and medium weight. Hence, these baby diapers are found to be the best.

Fig. 6: Bamboo sanitary napkins Fig. 7: Bamboo baby diapers

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1.3 SELECTION AND CARE OF MEDICAL TEXTILE
Healthcare textiles include bed sheets, blankets, towels, personal clothing, patient apparel,
uniforms, gowns, drapes for surgical procedures. Contaminated textiles and fabrics often
contain high numbers of microorganisms from body substances, including blood, skin, stool,
urine, vomitus, and other body tissues and fluids. Although contaminated textiles in healthcare
facilities can be a source of substantial numbers of pathogenic microorganisms, reports of
healthcare associated diseases linked to contaminated fabrics are few, therefore the overall risk
of disease transmission is very low.
Cleaning in general has two main functions: first: non-microbiological, to improve or restore
appearance, and prevent deterioration. Second, microbiological, to reduce the numbers of
microbes present, together with any substances that support their growth or interfere with
disinfection. The purpose of laundering hospital textiles is therefore to ensure clean and safe
textiles for patients and staff and thus enable uninterrupted implementation of healthcare. The
most common found microorganisms on hospital textiles are: Gram negative bacteria,
coagulase negative staphylococci, Bacillus sp. and typical skin flora.
Most people working in hospitals assume that laundry returned to them is in fact clean and
therefore safe. Laundry may certainly have had the dirt removed, but it is far from sterile and
experience encourages infection control teams to take laundering very seriously in outbreaks
that seem to have no obvious cause.
Top few guidelines for purchasing healthcare textiles are given below:
 Stain resistance
 Odour resistance
 Although frequent washing is the best defence against odour, fabrics that actively resist
the build-up of odour-causing bacteria are a must. So we must look for treated fabrics
that resist the build-up of bacteria.
 Durability
 The cost of healthcare textiles is a significant budgetary line item. Therefore, one should
be certain to purchase fabrics that stand up to frequent washing and intense use. Strong
fabrics that resist tearing are especially important to maximize the life of the textiles.
 Antimicrobial
 In a healthcare setting, textiles with antimicrobial properties are critical for preventing
the spread of infection. Therefore, we must look for fabric with a controlled release
antimicrobial agent that should last the working life of the textile.

Fig. 8: A well organised laundry floor at a hospital

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1.3.1 Economy and technology on medical textile:
Medical textile market in India:
 The medical textile market in India was $4.4 billion in 2013 and is growing at an annual
rate of 15%.
 The medical textile market in india is estimated to grow to $29 billion by 2025.
 The medical textile market is categorized into several segments. There is no consistent
methodology for this segmentation.
The Espicom Business Intelligence report (2011) categorized medical textile into:
 Consumables
 Dental Products
 Orthopaedic and prosthetics
The following are the growth factors of medical textile industry:
 Increased Demand:

The number of hospitals in this country is increasing in both the private and public
sectors. The healthcare providers sector increased in value to over $160 million in 2016
at a growth rate of over 15%. Private hospitals grew at close to 27% between 2009-
2012 driven by growth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and towns. The increase in the number
of private players in the country will lead to an increase in demand for medical
equipment.

 Government Incentives:

The government has made several provisions to spur private investments in the
healthcare sector through several incentives. There is strong support from the
government, encouraging the private sector including tax deductions for creating
delivery infrastructure and duty exemptions on medical equipment.

Hospitals(100+ beds) are eligible for 150% deduction for capital expenditure and are
also exempted from paying service tax. New hospitals set up in rural areas are entitled
to 100% tax deduction on profits over 5 years. The custom duty on life-saving
equipment has been reduced to 5% from 25%. Lastly, import duty on medical
equipment has been reduced to 7.5%.

 Increasing Innovation:

There is a trend for increased innovation in the medical technology industry in India.
These innovation in products and services lead to improved accessibility and improved
services for the patients leading to growth in the medical textile market.

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  Impact of Local Manufacturer:

Local manufacturing in the country is increasing, even though the bulk of the products
produced are consumables. There is a small growth in the high tech manufacturing
segments. The growth of local manufacturing is enabling the companies to produce
cheaper medical equipment leading to more consumption and growth in the medical
textile market.

 Medical Tourism:
Medical tourism is growing in India and was worth $3.9 billion of market value by
2014. This is due to the fact that several crucial and important surgeries are
comparatively cheaper in India that in developed and other developing countries.
Medical tourists expect high quality care and service at cheaper costs- something that
Indian hospitals have been able to do successfully. The growth in the medical tourism
will call for an increased need for high end equipment, further spurring the Indian
medical textile market.

Fig. 9: Graph showing the increase in global trade and Indian exports in terms of medical
textile

Rural market situation in India in terms of medical textile:

1. Reliability is an important factor for Indian rural market as services are not easily
accessible.
2. Language is an issue- India is a multi-lingual country, so challenges in terms of the
instruction manual in local languages need to be addressed.
3. Ruggedness of the market system should be considered as the landscape varies from
desert, mountains, with extreme weather conditions of both temperature and moisture.

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1.3.2 Challenges:
Presently, the healthcare infrastructure distribution in India is skewed towards urban areas in
terms of the number of facilities(hospitals, number of beds) and clinical staff(doctors, nurses).
The rural areas which comprises of approximately 70% of the Indian population are largely
underserved. Adequately serving the healthcare needs of the Indian rural population remains a
significant challenge.
The gaps in the current healthcare sector, especially in terms of shortages of hospital beds are
evident as the density per population for each of these is significantly lower than the world
average.
Furthermore, spending per episode of illness in rural areas, especially for the poor population
is a big expense. This category of poor patients end up spending close to 44% of their monthly
household expenditure for OPD treatments. This is even more significant as private facilities
cost close to 217% of their monthly household expenditure. Providing affordable care to these
masses is a big challenge for the industry.
The existing manufacturing setting for medical textiles in India is not as developed and poses
a challenge for manufacturing high tech complex products. Market access is quite difficult and
complex in India.
However, this result in less control over the customer and market dynamics that poses a
challenge to effectively market the product, Also, it is very demanding to meet the specific
requirements for low cost products with high quality that can be used in resource constrained
settings.

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2. AUTOMOBILE TEXTILE
2.1 OVERVIEW
Automobile textile are applied on several surfaces of the car interior. An automotive textile is
a complex and complicated product with a great many demands placed upon it. These fabrics
used are:
 Knitted, wrap-knitted or woven fabric for upholstery and panel applications.
 Tufted or non-woven fabric for carpet applications.
An upholstery textile consist of the textile plus laminate and scrim(backing), which are
normally bonded together by a flame-lamination process, but a process of glue-lamination has
also developed. Unlaminated textiles are specified for panel and insert applications, but for
carpet applications, different laminations and backings are specified.
General demands of automobile textile:
 The interior and the material will excude quality and harmony.
 The interior should look the same as that of a new car even after three years normal
usage in the harshest market in which the car is sold.
 The interior must be easy to clean
 The material should not have an unpleasant smell.
 The material should be rattle- and squeak-free as possible.
 The materials will age in a homogeneous way.
For the most typical automotive requirements, a description is given of both the background of
the test and the testing methods such as Flammability, Light- fastness, Ageing, Fogging,
Soiling and cleanability, Abrasion, Metamerism etc.

Fig. 10: Supply chain of a fabric manufacturer

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2.2 APPLICATION OF TEXTILE IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
Automobile textiles, which are non-apparel textiles, are widely used in vehicles like cars, trains,
buses, aircrafts and marine vehicles. Hence, the term automobile textile means all type of textile
components e.g. fibres, filaments, yarns and the fabric used in automobiles. Nearly two third
of the automobile textiles are for interior trim, i.e. seat cover, carpets and roof and door liners.
The rest is utilized to reinforce tyres, hoses, safety belts, air bags, etc.
Application Fibre used
Seat belts polyester
Airbag and headliners Nylon
Interior carpet Nylon
Package trays PP and nylon
Trunk liners Polyester blends
Tyre PET, glass, aramid fibres, nylon, rayon fibres
Clutch facings Composites of carbon or aramid fibres

Table 2: Textile fibres used in various components in an automobile

Fig. 11: Shows the textiles used in a car

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Some of the general classification and description of automotive textiles are given below:
2.2.1 Upholstery:
One of the most traditional forms of automobile upholstery is plain woven cloth manufactured
from air-jet textured and spun polyester. The textured yarns have good abrasion resistance
because of their tight loop structure. The yarns contrived from ‘core and effect’ components
can produce fabric cover of very good quality. These types of yarns are based on a central yarn
called the ‘core’ which gives strength and stability to yarn.
In case of yarn dye route, the dyeing is carried out prior to weaving and in case of piece dye
route, the dyeing is carried out at a later stage.
Carmakers are increasingly favouring the usage of weft knitted fabrics for upholstery. These
fabrics are generally manufactured on circular knitting machines and process sequence follows
yarn dye route. Flat woven fabric is finished according to the yarn dye route. Finishing
sequence for woven velvet upholstery is heat setting, brushing and then cropping. The ranges
of finishing operations carried out are wide and varied but the objective is to produce fabrics
with functional qualities and good aesthetic appeal. The formation of automotive upholstery
involves the amalgamation of three layers i.e. face fabric, foam and backing material. The
conventional method used for this purpose is ‘Flame laminate on.’ But this process is
environmentally unfriendly and sometimes the laminates lack porosity which affect the sound
absorption and comfort. Hence, new technologies such as hot melt adhesive application are
being introduced.
Hot melt adhesives have some limitations that must be recognized. Hot melts cannot be used
with heat sensitive substrates; the adhesive bonds lose strength at high temperatures; chemical
resistance may be lacking with some types of hot melts; and exposure to high temperature
environments can cause the adhesive to melt. Consequently, hot melt adhesives are
inappropriate in situations where these limitations cannot be avoided. For example, hot melts
should not be used on a substrate that would be near a heat source, such as a kitchen cabinet
that would be placed near an oven. However, innovations in hot melts are removing some of
these limitations: PURs are resistant to heat once they are cured, and could be used on
substrates subsequently exposed to heat.

Fig. 12: Car upholstery

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2.2.2 Carpets:
Carpets are manufactured either by tufting or needle felting. Carpets made by tufting are based
upon a supportive backing which is used as a base to accept the pile yarns which becomes the
uppermost surface.
Carpet backing is usually spun bonded and is made by an integrated process in which polymer
chips are melted and filaments are extracted through a die. Mainly polyester is used in Making
this carpet backing whereas a blend of nylon and polyester is used in some occasions. But
during recent times polypropylene is assuming great importance considering the recyclability.
The process of needling has got the advantages of more productivity at relatively low cost. But
carpets produced by needling cannot be used to cover sharp counters especially foot areas and
transmission tunnels. Superior needled material has a good filling which is determined by the
amount of vertically oriented fibres at a given stitch density.
Generally, carpets are made by the combination of a variety of functional layers into a single
unit and these types of carpets are very popular. A layer of adhesive is applied on these carpets
during the initial stages stiffen the whole carpet structure and some cases specially formulated
backing compounds are used to impart unique functional properties. A heavy mass layer that
acts as soundproof materials is common to all automobile carpets. Carpet that has been finished
is sent to a modelling station where it is pressed to deep draw mould to form it with appropriate
dimensions. In European market visco-elastic polyurethane foam is used for backing while in
American market, cotton fibre pad is used.

Fig. 13: Car’s carpet

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2.2.3 Seat Belts:
The seat belt is an energy-absorbing device that is designed to keep the load imposed on a
victim's body during a crash down to survivable limits. Fundamentally, it is designed to deliver
non-recoverable extension to reduce the deceleration force, which the body encounters in a
crash. Seat belts function as a safety harnesses which secure the passengers in a vehicle against
harmful movements during collision or similar incidents.
According to Newton's first law of motion an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object
in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted
upon by an unbalanced force. Thus, driver continues in motion, sliding forward along the seat.
A driver in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction, unless
acted upon by the unbalanced force of a seat belt. Seat belts are used to provide safety for
passengers whose motion is governed by Newton's laws. The seat belt provides the unbalanced
force, which brings driver from a state of motion to a state of rest.
Now a days wearing of seat belt is become compulsory for drives and front seat passengers.
About 1 kg of textile fibre per car is consumed in seat belts. Seat Belts need to be as soft and
flexible as possible along the length direction but as rigid as possible in the width direction so
they can slide easily through buckles and to retract smoothly into housing. The edges must be
scuff resistant but not unpleasantly hard and the material must be resistant to UV degradation
and retain its strength for the life of the car- otherwise it must be replaced some of the first seat
belts were made from polyester because of its superior resistance to UV degradation.
Now days, the seat belts are being woven on shuttle less needle looms which can deliver up to
1000 picks per minute. Whereas, previously, the weaving used to be carried out on shuttle
looms which were capable of delivering up to 200 weft insertions per minute from small weft
suppliers, which frequently needed replenishing. Seat belt webbing is generally woven
according to 2x2 twill design. The twill weave is preferred because warp threads lie parallel to
the face and back of the webbing and as a result, the material has a high warp ways strength
and low elongation.

Fig. 14: Car seat belt

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2.2.4 Seats:
The seat is probably the most important item in the car interior. It is the first thing the customer
seed when the car door is opened and he or she will probably instinctively touch it. Textiles
have become by for the most widely used material in seat coverings and are beginning to be
used in other areas of the seat in place of polyurethane foam. They are also used in a number
of specialist cases in place of metal springs and actual seat pan and seat back. Now a day’s
polyester is very popular material for making seats, like polyester in the face fabric, Polyester
non-woven in the cover laminate and polyester non-woven also in the seat squab and Cashion.
The traditional method of seat making involves cutting and sewing of panels of the seat cover
laminate (face fabric/foam/ scrim) into a cover, which is then pulled over the squab (seat back)
and Cashion (seat bottom) , and then fixed in place using a variety of clips and fastenings. This
process is both time consuming and cumbersome.
Hence several attempts have been made over the years to find better ways using a variety of
techniques. Now a days three dimension seat covers are the very good. A seat cover comprises
a knitting of a three-dimensional structure conforming in its external shape to that of a seat and
including at least main portions, side portions and welt portions integrally knit into a one-piece
form. The knitting further includes integrally knit portions covering overhang portions and
corner portions of the seat and/or rear and bottom portions of a front back of the seat.

Fig. 15: Car seat cover Fig. 16: Textile texture of a car’s seat

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2.2.5 Air Bags:
An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate extremely
quickly, then quickly deflate during a collision.
The main objective of an air bag is to lower the number of injuries by reducing the fore exerted
by steering wheel and the dashboard or any point on the body. This is accomplished in two
ways:
 By increasing the interval over the force being applied.
 By spreading the fore over a large area of the body.
Airbags inflate, or deploy, quickly(faster than the blink of an eye).In the first 15 to 20
milliseconds, air bag sensors detect the crash and then send an electrical signal to fire the
airbags.
Typically a squib, which is a small explosive device, ignites a propellant, usually sodium azide.
The azide burns with tremendous speed, generating nitrogen, which inflates the airbags.
Within 45 to 55 milliseconds the airbag is supposed to be fully inflated. Within 75 to 80
milliseconds, the airbag is deflated and the event is over.
Airbags may save lives and guard against severe injuries in high speed collisions, if designed
properly. However, the speed with which airbags inflate generates tremendous forces.
Passengers in the way of an improperly designed airbag can be killed or significantly injured.
Unnecessary injuries also occur when airbags inflate in relatively minor crashes when they're
not needed.
In the past, the air bags were coated by Neoprene. Generally, coated air bags are preferred for
driver’s seat and uncoated air bags for side seats. Recently, silicon coated and uncoated air
bags have become very popular due to advantages such as extended service life, adaptation to
heavy duty vehicles, reduced module size, cost reduction, improved recyclability.

Fig. 17: Air bag application Fig. 18: Working principle of an air bag

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2.3 CARE AND SELECTION OF AUTOTIVE TEXTILE
2.3.1 Technical demands for a textile to be selected:
The automotive textile is specified using the following demands/requirements documentation:
Primary documents:
 Part drawings
 Technical regulations
 Master Samples
 Standards
 Final Requirements Picture(picture book) and Natural Characteristics Standard(NC
Std)
Complementary documents:
 Design prerequisite (DPR)
 Colour matching basis
 A-master
 Property description (PD)
 Function requirements description (FRD)
Other material demands required:
 Use of rare metals must be avoided.
 Surface containing chromium may not be used
 PVC should be avoided in the interior applications. If there are no cost- effective
alternatives, the PVC applications must not contain lead and organotin stabilisers,
phthalate plasticisers other than linear C>10
 PUR must be used with caution because isocyanates present a hazard during production
and their controlled incineration during the end of life phase can release unwanted
gases.
2.3.2 Care of automotive textile:
Some of the ways in which materials can be cleaned regularly are given below:
 Normal Cleaning
 Spot Cleaning
 Water- based and oil -based stains
 Detergents
How to clean some specific parts are given below:
 Carpets- First, vacuum the carpet completely. Use the brush attachment and various
nozzles of different shapes and sizes to clean crevices and areas around the seats. the
best way to wash almost any carpet is with a steam cleaning machine – hand-held
models are ideal. For most products, we simply need to spray it on and brush it in with
a medium-stiff brush, applying some elbow grease to stains and problem areas. Stains

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 that are difficult to extract may require an industrial strength or specialized cleaning
product.

Fig. 19: Cleaning of a car carpet

 Seats- A multipurpose upholstery cleaner, such as Tuff Stuff, can work well. But if we
have problem stains, we may need a specialized stain remover. We can also use a
household odour elimination spray if the products used up to this point have not left the
car smelling fresh.

Fig. 20: Cleaning of car’s seats

 Dashboard- Whether the dashboard consists of leather, vinyl, or some other material,
it can be one of the most difficult parts of the interior to clean. The angle of the
windshield in some cars can create hard-to-reach areas on the dash, and worse, it tends
to be the most dusty area in your car. Vacuum all the dust before application of a
cleaning product, making sure to reach as far as possible during the entire process. After

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 cleaning, apply an interior dressing appropriate for the material to keep it from fading
or cracking from exposure to sunlight.

Fig. 21: Car Dashboard cleaning

2.4 ECONOMY AND TECHNOLOGY OF AUTOMOTIVE TEXTILE

Textile advances in automotive industry have been spearheaded by advances in science and
technology of fibres and fabric/web forming technologies. These advances have led to the
development of textiles and textile-based components for a broad variety of automotive
applications which are capable of meeting the industry’s tough specification regarding high
performance during use. Automotive textile represents the most valuable world market for
technical textiles and within this segment there is a broad spectrum of products comprising
novel textile structures and high quality design. Automotive technical textile cover a braod
range of applications such as upholstery and seating, floor covering, trunk liners,
headliners, belts, airbags etc.
The textiles for interior furnishing are primarily made of woven, weft knitted, warp knitted,
tufted and laminated fabrics and nonwovens. The designs, aesthetics, feel and comfort are
important consideration for automotive textiles. They are designed and developed
according to strict technical specification set up by the industry and must be able to meet
many end-use requirements such as: high resistance to different types of mechanical actions
under severe external environment conditions of temperature, humidity, sunlight and
soiling. Since seat covers are not washed, these must show strong soil masking behaviour.
The design and performance properties of technical textiles present in automotive interiors
are among the most important criteria for consumer satisfaction.
2.4.1 Market status for automotive textile
In 2015, upholstery application witnessed the highest penetration, accounting for over 54%
of the overall demand and is expected to show a similar trend shortly. Safety devices are
expected to have the highest growth with CAGR 3.8% in 2024. Growth in automobile
production over the forecast period is estimated to contribute to the increased usage of
automotive textiles application for the interior parts.

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Safety devices applications are presumed to have the highest growth rate over the forecast
period. Safety devices applications include seat belt and airbags. Stringent regulations
regarding safety is key factor in the demand of safety devices. Countries such as the U.S.,
India and other European countries have made it mandatory to fix the airbags in vehicles
for safety purpose.

Fig. 22: Global automotive textiles market share

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