As roadside bombs continue to claim lives, the growing threat of Improvised Explosive Devices (lEDs) has led the US Army to take a fresh look at wool as a high-performance fibre. lEDs were said to be responsible for approximately 63% of coalition deaths in Iraq by the end of 2007 and have caused over 66% of casualties in Afghanistan since the war broke out in 2001. While organisations such as Australian Wool Innovation, the British Wool Marketing Board and New Zealand Merino have done a lot to raise awareness of the natural benefits of the wool fibre, it has often been overlooked as a performance fibre for demanding applications, such as protective clothing for soldiers. In addition to developing functional products for servicemen and women, enhancing the performance properties of domestically-produced wool will offer significant business opportunities to wool producers and manufacturers in the US. The US wool industry currently exports approximately 65% of its raw and semi-processed wool to overseas markets; and 10-15% is used by the domestic textile industry. Around a quarter of this figure is consumed by the US military, so even a slight increase could substantially improve business for everyone involved with US wool. "These innovations help to develop products for now and the future, to adapt to the ever-changing needs of combat and tap innovation that is available commercially for developing totally new products," says Rite Samuelson, wool marketing director for ASI. "Over the years in a systematic effort, we looked at various aspects of the concept," says Ms Winterhalter," first developing the camouflage recipe, then simple fibre blends and fabric constructions. Now we're looking at long-staple yarns and wool shrink-resist treatments." NSRDEC and SVC began to spin long-staple (four inch) wool into worsted yarns with Nomex and Kevlar from DuPont for its flame resistance and durable properties. "We believe we will be able to make a fabric that is much stronger with the long-staple worsted yarns," she says. "We have already demonstrated a 20% increase in yarn strength over previous short-staple yarns.
Spotlight on: wool
Future Materials ; Mar ; 14-16
2012
3 Seiten, 4 Bilder
Article (Journal)
English
Wollhaar , Explosivstoff , Marketing , Irak , Afghanistan , Neuseeland , Schutzkleidung , Textilindustrie , Militär , Fasermischung , Kammgarn , Gewebekonstruktion
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