<p>MicroElectroMechanical Systems, or MEMS, is an emerging high technology that has proven to be very successful in several industries such as medical, automotive and ink jet industries. The technology philosophy is to integrate sensors, actuators and electronics onto a silicon substrate (polysilicon batch) to form as small as a square millimeter micromachine at low manufacturing cost. Such advantages prompted investigating the potential applications of MEMS in textiles.Initially, we identified possible applications of MEMS technology in spinning, weaving, knitting, fiber formation, nonwovens, testing and evaluation, and dyeing and finishing. Based on a perceived real need and large potential market for a successful device, it was decided to concentrate efforts into the development of a MEMS based detection device to monitor warp tension and end breaks in weaving. Thus replacing the abrasive and passive traditional drop wire with gentle and active device that has the potential to expand the markets for weavers. A macro prototype device (sensors, software and hardware) to monitor warp tension and break was designed and built. Descriptions of the device components along with weaving specifics are given. To demonstrate the benefits of the device, several experiments were conducted. The experiments along with their results are reported. The experiments include: Simultaneously monitor tension of eight individual warp ends in real time Identify complex weave patterns through matching tension fingerprint with weave floats and intersections Detect yarn tension trends while weaving Quantify variations of warp tension across beam width Identify variations of warp tension at the warp sheet edges Monitor the behavior of the warp let-off mechanism Detect broken warp yarns Assess warp yarn damage caused by using drop wiresBased on the results of these experiments, it can be concluded that monitoring individual warp yarn tension could provide a useful mean for woven fabric producers as well as weaving machine manufacturers. From these findings, the micromachine, an array of piezoresistive sensors, was designed and built.<P>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-20010514-171836 |
| Date | 13 June 2001 |
| Creators | Gahide, Severine Francoise |
| Contributors | Dr. Abdelfattah Seyam, Dr. George Hodge, Dr. William Oxenham, Dr. Paul Franzon |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-20010514-171836 |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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