283

It ~ is difficult to establish formulas, even empirical

ones, to predict contraction, which is due to circumstances explained in the preceding conclusions. How-

3.

ever, in certain concrete cases

4.

a modification of formulas of either Obukh or Besset-Barella, adapting

the coefficient that affects the term (/100)2, seems
to be applicable.
In some machines (BD 200 S) it seems that in the
formulas recommended for the change wheel, corresponding to the linear density of the spun yarn,
there is already a correction that takes account of
the probable contraction of the yarn which, then, is
minimized in relation with that corresponding to a
conventional yarn of the same twist.
In the studied cases, it seems that contraction of
rotor yarns tends to be less than that of conventional
yarns for the same twist, which is explained by the
difference of structure of the two types of yarn.

Literature Cited

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.
10.

A., Law of Critical Yarn Diameter and

Textile
Res. J. 20, 249 (1950).
Twist,
of
2. Barella, A. and Vigo, J. P., An
Mini-Computers to the Optimization of OpenEnd Spinning. Part IV: The Influence of
Winding Tension on Yarn Properties, J. Textile
Inst. 68, 143 (1977).

1. Barella,

Application

11.

Braschler, E., "Die Festigkeit von Baumwollgespinste," Doctoral Thesis, Zurich Polytechnic
University, 1935.
Carminati, C., "Il Filatore de Cotone," Hoepli,
Milan, 1960.
Goswami, B. C., Martindale, J. G., and Scardino,
F. L., "Textile Yarns Technology, Structure and
Applications," Wiley, New York, 1977.
Hearle, J. W. S., Grosberg, P., and Backer, S.,
"The Structure Mechanism of Fibers, Yarns and
Fabrics," Wiley, New York, 1969.
Manich, A. M., "Structural Aspects of Open-End
Yarns," Doctoral Thesis, Polytechnic University
of Barcelona, 1980.
Obukh, I. G., "O krapkovike i protnosti pochatka
i usadke pryazhi na vaterakh," 1936, In: W.
Zurek, "The Structure of Yams," see Ref. [10].
Ormerod, A.," Management of Textile Production,"
Newnes-Butterworths, London, 1979.
Zurek, W., "The Structure of Yams" (Struktura
przedzy) (from a Polish book published by
W.N.T., Warszawa, 1971).
Zurek, W. and Piwowarska G., Blended Irregularity in Blended Yarns, Textile Res. J. 48, 528

(1978).
14.&dquo;$&dquo;&dquo; recdwd August 15, /Wt.

Thermal Shrinkage and Mechanical Crimping

During False-Twist Texturing
RICHARD G.

FRL,

An

QUYNN AND WILLIAM

1

H. POISSON

Albany International Company, Dedham, Massachusetts 02026, U.

S. A.

ABSTRACT
A mass flow analysis of the conventional double-heater false-twist process shows that the yarn
thermal shrinkage over the first heater equals exactly the imposed first overfeed. A relationship is
derived between the yarn " mechanical shrinkage," thermal shrinkage over the second heater, and the
imposed second overfeed. Single-heater results are shown to result from a special case of the more
general analysis. Some supporting experimental results are given.

Introduction
The false-twist texturing of continuous-filament yarns
constitutes a truly revolutionary development in the
textile industry, primarily because the textured product
1

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California InstiTechnology, Pasadena, California 91103, U. S. A.

Present address:

tute of

resembles in several important respects a spun yam.

The transformation from the linear continuous-filament
bundle to the bulked yarn can be effected at high speed
and with a good measure of control over the final
product. The mechanics of the process has been deby
veloped by Backer and his colleagues [ 1 ~ and the
Thwaites [9~. As fiber and textile processes go,

284
false-twist process is rather complex and not at all
devoid of scientific interest. One of us has had
occasion to comment on one of the morphological

so

that

questions involved [51.

The present paper deals with what might be called
the macroscopic aspects of the so-called &dquo;constantextension&dquo; process, in which the yarn is held in the
false-twist zone by positively-driven rolls. The analysis of mass flow is, of course, independent of the
particular fiber type and of the particular type of
machine used. It is confined to conventional falsetwist texturing, but the same principles apply to drawtexturing, and this was done by Brookstein and Backer
[2~. The &dquo;black box&dquo; approach can yield certain
general principles, at the same time bypassing individual technical questions. Emphasis is placed on the
double-heater process; it will be seen that single-heater
results are obtained as a simpler, special case. The
analysis applies either to every individual filament or
to the yarn bundle as a whole.

Mass Flow
It is useful to visualize the two-heater false-twist
process as two &dquo; black boxes&dquo; in sequence, and to consider in Figure 1 the mass flow of material through the
machine. Consider the first two rolls,. having linear
speeds vi and v2, and everything in between as comprising the first black box. In a given short interval
of time a small mass di X h, consisting of a straight
length of yarn tie and denier di, is introduced into the
box, and over the same period of time a mass d2 X t2
is expelled. The yarn is straight on entering v2 and
becomes bulked immediately on leaving v2. Since in
the steady-state condition there cannot be any buildup
or decay of mass within the box, and assuming no
slippage of the rolls,2

the first important result is that (TS), equals the

first overfeed, based on the speed of the firsl roll. If the
yarn did not thermally shrink as much as the first overfeed allowed, then there would be a mass buildup in the
zone, and the machine would not operate.
Similarly, vz, the second heater, and v3 can be considered a black box. In a given short interval of time
At (e.g., 0.001 s) the roll V2 (the roll that has a linear or
peripheral speed V2) delivers a certain mass of yarn
equal to t2 X d2. During the same time interval At,
the roll v3 expels the same mass of yarn, which is confined to an end-to-end distance which we define as L$
in Figure 2. That /2 is&dquo;straight&dquo; is an explicit assumption which has already been made. The mass of yarn
represented by L~ consists of a (sinuous or nonlinear)
length of yarn t3 having a denier d3, i.e., if L3 were
straightened out but not stretched, it would equal ~G$.
or

FIG. 2.

Sketch illustrating definition of mechanical shrinkage.

Thus, because of the equal

mass

flow, d212

d3l3,

or

The fractional &dquo;mechanical shrinkage&dquo; (M Sh, or more

properly the decrease in end-to-end yarn length by
virtue of the individual filaments passing from a straight
to a

curled

or

bulked

configuration

We note that (MS)2 is based on the twice-shrunk

length ts, and is essentially a geometrical quantity.
It must now be clearly understood that V2 = 12/At and
last expression is
vs
Lsllt (and not t3/Al). This
3
subtle, and bears close pondering. Then
=

FIG. 1.

Sketch of conventional two-heater

false-twist texturing process.

By definition, the fractional thermal shrinkage occurring over the first heater is
3 The
of the rolls; outside
s only at the
yarn speed equals υ
the nip each filament goes off in some other direction, and its
actual speed multiplied by the cosine of the angle of inclination

nip

2
Throughout the analysis we use the symbol d to denote
denier, as used in the traditional sense of linear density.

is

equal

to υ
.
s

285
This expression corresponds to the intuitive feeling that
the excess length represented by the overfeed is &dquo;used
up&dquo; by the mechanical and thermal decrease in length.
The reason that Equation 5 is an approximation rather
than an exact expression is that the basis length for the
calculation of (MS)2 is different than that for the other
two terms. If one assumes that the thermal shrinkage
over the second heater (TS)2 is not only small but

Since, by definition,

and

zero, then

3 (or 5) says that as far as (MS): is concerned, the first heater temperature and dwell time
play no role whatever, as long as the machine runs,

Equation
3 expresses the relationship between the
fractional &dquo;mechanical shrinkage,&dquo; the fractional thermal shrinkage over the second heater, and the fractional
imposed second overfeed. The second overfeed is that
based on the speed of the second roll. In order for
(MS)2 to be a positive number (i.e., in order to get any
bulking), (ON)2 must be greater than (TS)2. Thus, if
there is a positive second overfeed, the yarn must
either bulk or shrink, and in general it does both.
Equation 3 can be rewritten in a form that
shows that (MS)2 is a linear function of (OF)2- If
K
1/[1 - (TS)2], then

Equation

which shows that (MS)2 is linear with (OF).2, of slope

K and intercept (1
K). Figure 3 shows this relationfor
values
(TS)2
ranging from 0 to 15%.
ship,

(OF) influences (MS)2 only by its influence

These purely formal consequences are valid
to the extent that the assumptions underlying Equation

and that
on

(TS)2.

valid.

are

Experimental
In most modem double-heater machines, the yam is
not taken up at vs, but rather at a later roll V4- We
now show how to calculate (MS)2 by measurements

made on yarn collected (at some arbitrary package

overfeed) at V4. Referring to Figure 1, the &dquo; mechanical
shrinkage&dquo; of yarn issuing from roll v, is

For mass continuity,

94AI and Ls >g4l.
l,d,. But since there is no denier change (there

where L,

tsd3

being
l3

no

heater between vs and

V4), d= = d,, whereupon

l,, regardkss of 1M ,so

But

so

that

and therefore it is easy to show that

Fm. 3. Graphical relationship between mechanical shrinkage

(MS)&dquo; thermal shrinkage over the second heater (TS):, and
imposed second overfeed (OF)t.

Equation 3 can be approximated in two ways. If

(TS)2 is a number small compared to 1, then one can
1 ~- x, and
use the approximation that 1/ 1-- x
Equation 3 becomes

a double-heater machine (MS)3 - (1~IS)! if

there is 0% overfeed to the package. For a singleheater machine, (MS)s is always equal to (MSh
because there is no M, and v, is the takeup roll. The
last expression can be rearranged to give

i.e., for

where

by definition

the

package overfeed

286

which enables us to calculate (MS)2 from experimentally

measured values of (MS)a prepared under known
package overfeeds. Some results are given in Table I,
which refer to double-heater polyester runs. The
polyester runs were conducted with du Pont Dacron
type 56 150/34/R10 yarns on an A.R.C.T. type FTF440B machine equipped with a cooling or &dquo;extended
yarn path&dquo; device; single-heater runs were conducted
on the same machine by bypassing the second heater.
TABLE I.

Calculation of

(MS)2 from (M S),.

this intersection and the pip mark .(in units of inches

of jaw movement), then (MS)3 [or (MS)2 as the case
may be] is x/ (5 + x). This method of measurement
differs somewhat from that utilized by the Textile
Research Institute [8] ; in the latter, the extension
is not carried back entirely to the point of first jaw
movement, and the extension is divided by the initial
unextended or crimped length. It is clear from its
definition that (MS)2 takes no account of the detailed
geometry of the bulk, and that many different geometries could lead to the same (MS)2 value.
The entire notion of (MS)2 represents an oversimplification of the actual situation. Once the yarn has
been twisted, heated, untwisted, and bulked, it is
quite impossible to restore it to a state in which at
the same instant every individual filament is &dquo;straightened but not stretched.&dquo; Microscopic inspection
shows that even at the breaking point of the textured
yarn some filaments retain a significant curvature.
The problem has been discussed by Skelton [7].
EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION

OF THE

ANALYSIS

For a single-heater machine (MS)2 = (OF)3 exactly,

because there is no second heater and (TS)2
0; in
this case (MS)2 is based on the once-shrunk length.
Table II shows that the agreement here is fairly good.
The overfeed figures are presumably quite accurate
and derive ultimately from gear tables supplied by the
machine manufacturer. The mechanical shrinkage
measurement, however, is subject to some experimental
error and inherent yarn variability.
=

Celanese 200/3Z/32 secondary acetate was run on an

A.R.C.T. type FT-411 (single-heater) machine, which
has no cooling attachment. Each experimental number
is the average of that obtained on two runs.
EXPERIMENTAL MEASUREMENT

OF

(MS)3 OR (MS)2
TABLE II.

By definition,

Single-heater runs.

simply the fractional amount of extension

(based on the straightened length) required to straighten

which is

out but not stretch the bulked yarn. The measurement is most conveniently made on an Instron tester,

be done on a table top. A 5-inch

gauge of nonwavy, nonsnarled, but
unstretched yarn is established, by allowing the yarn
to hang under its own weight.4 A pip marker marks
the chart position at which the bottom jaw begins
to move (in our measurements, at a rate of 5 in.
per minute). The Instron curve is allowed to extend
somewhat beyond the yield point of the yarn. The
initial Hookes law tangent is drawn down to intersect
the X- or extension axis. If x is the distance between

although it can
(12.7-cm) initial

4
One must be very careful here. At this point the yarn
possesses a great deal of latent crimp, as testified to ir. [4].
Familant
also commented on
matter.

[3] has

this

validity of the analysis

double-heater machine, one must have some independent measurement of thermal shrinkage, which is
In order to demonstrate the

for

provided by measurement of the deniers before and after

passing through the machine.

287

(TS),,,,,,i is not simply the sum of the

shrinkages is that the basis length for
the shrinkage calculation is not the same for (TS)1
and (TS)2.
The

reason

that

two individual

For

double-heater run,

take the

we can

corre-

sponding (MS)2 value, calculated from Equation 6,

and with the help of Equation 3 calculate (TS)2; we
know also that (TS)1 equals (OF)1. (TS)~o~8, can then
be determined by Equation 7 and compared with the
,value obtained by the denier measurement. Such a
comparison is given in Table III. Comparison of the
last two columns shows that the agreement is quite
good, considering that Equation 3 has some substantial
assumptions built into it. For the comparison to be
legitimate, however, the (MS)s and denier measureTABLE III.

Double-heater polyester

runs.

ments must be made under the same loading. In these

(MS)a measurements with polyester yarns, the stress

the point x on the extension axis

0.1
gpd, which is the same as the
approximately
loading under which the deniers used for the last
column of Table III were obtained. The agreement
is probably better than could be expected, because of
the well-known difficulty of measuring the (inherent)
denier of a textured or bulked yarn. The textured
yarn deniers were determined by loading to 0.1 gpd,
and cutting out and weighing 90-cm lengths. The
weights in each case were corrected for the amount of
finish on the yarn (approximately 1.0%) as determined

immediately above
was

by perchloroethylene
Factors

extraction.
,

Affecting Mechanical Shrinkage

Double-Heater Operation

in

According to Equation 3, the mechanical shrinkage

(MS)a during double-heater operation is determined
by the imposed second overfeed and thermal shrinkage

the second heater. The latter, of course, refers

to the actual thermal shrinkage occurring in the particular situation and, as such, depends on both machine
factors and the propensities of the particular feed yarn
involved. For common operating variables of many
false-twist machines, we would estimate that the total
potential thermal shrinkage over both heaters, for the
customary types of polyester feed yarn, would not
exceed about 10%. Of this 10%, an amount equal to

over

overfeed is used up over the first

to Equation 1. The remainder is
then available for shrinkage over the second heater
(to the approximation indicated by Equation 7).
Whether the full amount of this remainder is actually
realized obviously depends on such things as the temperature and dwell time on the second heater, the
ef6ciency of yarn-heater contact, etc. Table III indicates that in these particular runs about 5% (TS)2 was
realized. Even if one knows all the machine conditions,
it is difficult to predict (MS)2, because the required
data on rate of thermal shrinkage as a function of
temperature and tension, especially at very short times,
A further complication
are not ordinarily available.
arises with polyester because of its &dquo; thermal memory&dquo;:
the exact amount of thermal shrinkage over the second
heater will depend on the amount and circumstances
of the first heater shrinkage. Additionally, in its
passage over the second heater, the yarn is in a bulked,
albeit nearly untwisted, state. One would expect that,
other things being equal, increased second-heater temperatures5 and increased second-heater dwell times
would lead to higher (TS)2 values, and hence lower
(MS)2 values.
(MS)! or (MS)a is a (rather crude) measure of the
degree of crimp development obtained from any
particular set of machine conditions. According to
Equations 3 or 6 it is determined only by the imposed
overfeeds, and not at all by the number of turns/inch
of twist inserted, except insofar as the latter might
influence (TS)2- The space-filling propensites of a
bulked yarn will depend on the crimp amplitude and the
number of crimps/inch. For any given (MS)2 the
latter would be expected to be determined largely by
the inserted turns/inch, and the crimp amplitude would
be influenced by the total denier.

imposed first
heater, according
the

Excess Length and

Start-Up of the Machine

In the operating steady-state, if vl > V2 the machine

is said to be operating at a positive or (+) overfeed.
At zero first overfeed (VI
11t) no thermal shrinkage
can occur, and (TS) equals precisely the first overfeed, as long as this is positive. The latter cannot be
increased indefinitely, however, because the yam
would not thermally shrink enough to take up the slack.
Similarly, increasing the negative first overfeed more
and more would increasingly stretch the yarn, raise the
running tension, and eventually break the yam.
The yarn that is required to accommodate twist contraction in the operating steady-state has already been
stored in the machine. When the machine is first
strung up and started, the situation is different from the
operating steady-state. Although the practice varies
of
among machine operators, an operable sequence
5 It is
thermal shrinkage passes
probably true [6] that polyester
a maximum near 200°C, but the shrinkage is cumulative
=

through

and theyarn must pass

temperatures.

through 200°C

on

its way to

higher

288

operations is to engage V2 (see Fig. 1). then engage the covery from that stretching (&dquo; elastic recovery&dquo;).
spindle (with the heater turned on), and finally- Photography of yarn under simulated running tension
actually only a fraction of a second later-engage vi. reductions shows absolutely no length recovery. The
As long as vi is not engaged, the twist can run all the implication is, then, that there was no significant prior
way back to the supply package, and the machine is stretching.
pulling in whatever length is required to accommodate
the twist contraction (determined by the spindle speed, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
among other things) and thermal shrinkage over the
We are indebted to J. W. Whitworth and E. Norton
first heater. Once vi is engaged, however, the machine
of
Spartanburg, S. C.
quickly comes to a new steady-state, and the twist does for Milliken Research Corporation,
of FRL for the
to
Dr.
Skelton
work,
J.
experimental
not extend beyond vi. As long as vi is not engaged, the
K.
R.
Fox
and M. M.
Drs.
and
to
work,
photographic
machine is operating in a positive overfeed condition
in the sense that the yarn speed at roll Il is greater Platt of FRL for encouraging discussions.

than that

at

V2-

II is perfectly true that when the machine is operating

is engaged,or not), at every instant there

exists between vi and v~ a length of yarn greater than
the straight-line distance between vi and V2, because of
twist contraction. Just beyond the spindle, this excess
length is &dquo;given back,&dquo; so to speak, until at v2 the yarn
is untwisted (for Rotoset feed yarn) or back to the low
twist characteristic of the feed yarn. The amount
of this excess length could be calculated if one knew
(a) the twist contour--,i.e., the actual twist at every
position between vi and V2, and (b) the analytical relationship between the twist and the twist contraction,
which involves the total denier. However, this
&dquo;storage&dquo; function of the machine has nothing whatever to do with the black-box argument, which depends solely on what enters y during a given time interval, and what exits from v2 during the same interval.

(whether

Literature Cited

vi

1.

Backer, S. and colleagues, Mechanics of Texturing

Thermoplastic Yarns. Part I :, Textile Research J.
46, 599-610 (1976); Part II :, 46, 724-733 (1976);
Part III :, 46, 802-809 (1976); Part VI:, 48, 198218 (1978); Part VII:, 48, 722-732 (1978);

Transient Threadline Behavior in False-Twist

Texturing, J. Textile Inst. 67, 224-226 (1976).
2. Brookstein, D. and Backer, S., Mechanics of Texturing Thermoplastic Yarns. Part V: SteadyState Mechanics of Draw Texturing, Textile Res. J.

47,
256-266 (1977).
Familant, H. M., Dependence of Latent Crimp on
Wind-Up Tension in the False-Twist Texturing
Process, Textile Research J. 47, 448-449 (1977).
4. Gupta, V. B. and Natarajan, M., Latent Crimp in
3.

False-Twist-Textured

Yarn

Stretching During SteadyState Operation

The question is often asked: Is there any stretching of

the yarn within the first zone during steady-state
operation with zero or positive first overfeed? The
analysis of mass flow provides no answer, of course, because it deals only with the itet effect.
We believe that
the answer is in general no for several reasons:

stretching is required in order to provide the

length demanded by twist contraction, because
excess length is already stored in the machine.

1. No
extra

that
2. I)enier measurements on yarn made before and
after single-heater runs show no sign of a significant
reduction of denier, although, to be sure, the accuracy
of the measurement is not suflicient to detect a small
amount of stretching. One would have to measure the
denier of individual filaments. The tensile properties
of yarns after single-heater processing are consistent
with their having been slightly shrunk rather than substantially extended-i.c., they show a somewhat reduced tenacity, and modulus and somewhat increased

elongation.

3. In order for Equation 1 to be satisfied, stretching

within the first zone would have to be followed by re-

Polyethylene Terephthalate

Yarn, Textile Research J. 46, 417-419 (1976).

5. Quynn, R. G., The False-Twist Texturing of Various
Fibres, J. Textile Inst. 62, 510-511 (1971).
6. Ribnick, A., The Thermal Shrinkage of an Oriented
Yarn as a Function of Time, Temperature, and Stress, Textile Research J. 39, 742-748

Polyester
(1969).

7. Skelton, J., The Effects of Planar Crimp in the

Measurement of the Mechanical Properties of
Fibres, Filaments, and Yarns, J. Textile Inst. 58,
T533-556 (1967).
8. Textile Research Institute, "Stability of Crimp and
Mechanical Properties of Textured Polyester
Yarns to Solvent Treatments," Notes on Research No. 226, Princeton, N. J., November 1972.
9. Thwaites, J. J., Mechanics of Texturing Thermoplastic Yarns. Part IV: The Origin and Significance of the Torsional Behavior of the False-Twist
Threadline, Textile Research J. 46, 886-892 (1976) ;
Thwaites, J. J., Brookstein, D. S., and Backer, S.,
Deductions about the False Twist Process from
Observations of the Variation of Torque on Detwisting a Twisted Heat Set Yarn, J. Textile Inst.
67, 183-186 (1976).
Manuscript received July 18,

1979.