Development of a method for evaluating fabric surface contamination by particulate matter using fluorescent particles

Abstract

Functional clothing products are being developed to prevent the attachment of particulate matter (PM). However, currently, PM-blocking performance of such products cannot be quantitatively evaluated. This study developed a method for measuring fabric surface contamination by PM by contaminating textile fabrics with PM and using an image processing technique. Silicate particles exhibiting fluorescence characteristics with a suitable size distribution were selected as PM simulants. The fabric surface contamination was calculated by contaminating textile fabrics under wind speed and PM concentration conditions similar to actual atmospheric environment. The number of pixels was obtained in the black and white binary images converted from the images of the textile fabrics captured under an ultraviolet (UV) light source. Experiments were performed using finished nylon fabric with PM-blocking performance and raw nylon fabric without PM-blocking performance. Comparison of the fabric surface contamination shows that it is possible to evaluate the PM-blocking performance of fabrics.