TABLE OF CONTENTS

Volume 1, Issue 1
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CHARACTERIZATION OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN NONWOVEN FABRICS DURING LOAD-DEFORMATION EXPERIMENTS

Han Seong Kim and Behnam Pourdeyhimi
Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center
North Carolina State University

Agaram Abhiraman
Georgia Institute of Technology

Prashant Desai
FiberVisions, Inc.

Current efforts to establish links between processing conditions and the structure and properties of nonwoven fabrics in general, and for point-bonded (spot-bonded) nonwovens in particular, would be served significantly by an in situ experimental visualization and measurement of the structural changes which occur during controlled-deformation experiments. In this study, structural parameters such as fiber orientation distribution function, bond-region strain, unit cell strain, and shear deformation of the unit cell during controlled-deformation experiments are explored to provide quantitative measures and so determine the role of bonding temperature on deformation behavior.

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RAPID PROTOTYPING IN THE TEXTILE & APPAREL INDUSTRY:A PILOT PROJECT

Cynthia L. Istook
North Carolina State University

A project was developed to explore integration of 3D body scanning, CAD/CAM, and digital printing technologies to support prototpying and mass customization activities. Patterns altered to fit each specific customer were cut from their digitally printed designs, sewn into the desired garments, and tested for fit. This project allowed us to test the developing rapid prototyping and mass customization paradigms and look for the bugs that are inherent in new technologies. While the process was ultimately successful, several areas were uncovered where the implementation of these processes might be problematic for industry.

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FORMATION OF SHAPED/MOLDED MELTBLOWING NONWOVEN STRUCTURES

Yogeshwar Velu, Raoul Farer, Tushar Ghosh, Abdelfattah Seyam
North Carolina State University

Three dimensional (3D) fiberweb structures are useful in many applications. The Robotic Fiber Assembly and Control System (RFACS) being developed in this research allows precise control of fiber meltblown fiber deposition on a 3D mold surface. The effect of various process parameters on a number of polypropylene (PP) web characteristics is reported. Under the experimental range studied, the fiber orientation distribution was significantly impacted by the process parameters. The fiber diameter distributions indicate that they are unique to a particular process condition. The distributions do not overlap when a parameter is evaluated. In keeping with the long-term objective of developing chemical/biological barrier fabrics using RFACS technology, the pore distribution of the fiberwebs was characterized. Under the conditions explored, the average pore size of the analyzing web has decreased by 60% when the attenuating air pressure was increased from 0.7 bar to 2.8 bar. The pore size was decreased by 33% when the take up speed of the web was increased from 20 ft/min to 50 ft/min.

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ESTIMATION OF CONSUMER DEMANDS: AN APPLICATION TO U.S. APPAREL EXPENDITURES

Moon W. Suh and Eun-Kyung Lee
North Carolina State University

Matthew T. Holt
University of Arizona

A set of new statistical methods will be presented to model the U.S. men's wear markets along with the general consumption trends among U.S. male and female populations. The Almost Ideal Demand (AID) system of Deaton and Muellbauer (1980) was extended to include general, nonlinear and nonadditive habit effects. By employing a "Habit Stock" model into a first-order differential demand system, the pattern of shifts as well as the dynamic changes in the market shares were estimated. The results of analysis on four categories of men's bottom during 1990-96 suggest that the dynamic habit stock formation is a highly promising new concept for explaining the current and emerging fashion trends and market shares. The paper will also discuss the potential of using social science data obtained from consumers' general social behaviors during 1990-1998 for the projection of future apparel consumption trends.

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EVOLVING STRATEGIES, STRUCTURES AND RELATIONSHIPS IN COMPLEX AND TURBULENT BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTS: THE TEXTILE AND APPAREL INDUSTRIES OF THE NEW MILLENIUM

Peter Kilduff
North Carolina State University

Over the past four decades the textile and apparel industries have witnessed rapid technological change, global integration and shifting demand requirements. Consequently, many of today's firms look radically different, compared to forty years ago, in terms of their capital and technical intensity, their manufacturing and business process capabilities, and their business scope, structure and relationships. As the business environment in which textile and apparel manufacturers operate continues to become more dynamic, diverse, complex and hostile, the process of transformation will continue. New strategies and organisational forms are emerging with a trend towards de-integration, involving a focus on core competencies and the separation of the physical processing functions from the creative 'brain functions' within the supply chain. In some ways, this represents a return to the pre-industrial system of manufacture where physical production was in the hands of commission manufacturers, while the creative design and marketing functions were performed by merchants.

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