By Cameron Walker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past six years, the <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> has been working with <\/span>Eastman<\/span><\/a> in many exciting ways. One in particular has been to assist in the development and testing of two unique fibers through <\/span>Zeis Textiles Extension<\/span><\/a>: <\/span>Naia\u2122<\/span><\/a>, a silky and luxurious cellulose acetate, and <\/span>Avra\u2122<\/span><\/a>, a polyester with exceptional performance-enhancing capabilities. Naia\u2122 recently debuted at international lingerie and activewear trade show <\/span>Interfili\u00e8re Paris<\/span><\/a>, and Avra\u2122 was recently incorporated into the base layer of the U.S. Ski Team\u2019s official uniform.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEastman is collaborating with the school [because] we have the capabilities to assist them in processing the material,\u201d said Jeff Krauss, <\/span>Dyeing and Finishing Pilot Plant<\/span><\/a> manager for Zeis Textiles Extension. \u201cThis is their chemistry, this is their fiber. We have the equipment in creating and spinning, in knitting and in wet processing to add value to their materials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n“We are constantly striving to innovate new products to meet those demands in the marketplace.”<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Naia\u2122<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Naia\u2122 is a comfortable, washable yarn with a silk-like aesthetic well-suited to the intimate apparel market. Eastman developed the product nearly a century ago and since then it has been used in a range of applications from medical tape to formal wear. However, the company has used recent improvements in manufacturing techniques to spin it into a lower denier yarn — making it finer and more lightweight — while also improving tensile strength. Over the past few years, they have researched the yarn\u2019s properties in comparison with competitive materials. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe discovered that value propositions for Naia\u2122 fall into three categories, which are comfort, luxury and ease of care,\u201d said Heather Quigley, applications development scientist at Eastman. \u201cAround comfort, we found that Naia\u2122 has very good dry rates…it has good moisture management and has a cool hand. In terms of ease of care…the fabrics are washable, they have good dimensional stability, good wrinkle recovery and good soil release as well…In terms of luxury, we have a very nice drape, silky hand and luster. It\u2019s a very lustrous fiber, naturally.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knitting Lab<\/span><\/a> manager Brian Davis experimented with mixing the product with other yarns, including cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex. Krauss took Naia\u2122 through its paces — washing, processing, dyeing and finishing it — and proved the yarn had high stain resistance and was able to be richly colored. <\/span>Weaving Lab<\/span><\/a> manager William Barefoot wove the new yarn into prototype fabrics.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eastman\u2019s new performance fiber is designed to be moisture-wicking, with a soft hand and a cool-to-the-touch sensation — but the component that makes these qualities possible is not actually a part of the final product.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAvra\u2122 is, for lack of better words, a super fiber,\u201d said Chambers. \u201cWe use a proprietary sacrificial polymer to do bicomponent spinning to be able to knit a high denier and then open to a very low denier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122 is a ribbon-shaped synthetic fiber so fine that it must be enrobed in a sacrificial polymer sheathing in order to be knitted or woven — much like the inverse of papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9. The fiber and its protective sheathing are knit or woven into fabric together, then during fabric wet processing, the sacrificial sheathing is removed, leaving behind the finer inner core.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe critical technology here is the bicomponent aspect,\u201d said Dr. Richard Holbert, an application research scientist for Eastman and an <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a> triple alumnus. \u201cBicomponent fibers are not necessarily new, but the special sauce is the sacrificial polymer that is proprietary for Eastman, (which) enables different wet processing techniques that make it a little bit easier to remove that polymer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122 and Naia\u2122 are just the beginning of the collaboration between Eastman and the Wilson College of Textiles. The company has sponsored two senior design projects, one investigating the limitations around the production of crimped staple fibers and one designing fabrics that blend Naia\u2122 with other yarns such as polyester and nylon. Along with the undergraduate efforts, Eastman also is currently sponsoring three doctoral level projects within the Wilson College of Textiles through their <\/span>Eastman Chemical Center of Excellence<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zeis Textiles Extension isn\u2019t the only group in the Wilson College of Textiles working closely with Eastman Chemical Corporation. Faculty in the <\/span>Departments of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science<\/span><\/a> (TECS) and <\/span>Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management<\/span><\/a> (TATM) have worked with Eastman on numerous research projects in the past, and the <\/span>Textile Protection and Comfort Center<\/span><\/a> (TPACC) has ongoing work with them as well. The Wilson College of Textiles values a collaboration with Eastman, because working together will contribute to economic development in the United States and fill existing and future needs in the textile industry.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Cameron Walker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the past six years, the <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> has been working with <\/span>Eastman<\/span><\/a> in many exciting ways. One in particular has been to assist in the development and testing of two unique fibers through <\/span>Zeis Textiles Extension<\/span><\/a>: <\/span>Naia\u2122<\/span><\/a>, a silky and luxurious cellulose acetate, and <\/span>Avra\u2122<\/span><\/a>, a polyester with exceptional performance-enhancing capabilities. Naia\u2122 recently debuted at international lingerie and activewear trade show <\/span>Interfili\u00e8re Paris<\/span><\/a>, and Avra\u2122 was recently incorporated into the base layer of the U.S. Ski Team\u2019s official uniform.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEastman is collaborating with the school [because] we have the capabilities to assist them in processing the material,\u201d said Jeff Krauss, <\/span>Dyeing and Finishing Pilot Plant<\/span><\/a> manager for Zeis Textiles Extension. \u201cThis is their chemistry, this is their fiber. We have the equipment in creating and spinning, in knitting and in wet processing to add value to their materials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Knitting Lab<\/span><\/a> manager Brian Davis experimented with mixing the product with other yarns, including cotton, polyester, nylon and spandex. Krauss took Naia\u2122 through its paces -- washing, processing, dyeing and finishing it -- and proved the yarn had high stain resistance and was able to be richly colored. <\/span>Weaving Lab<\/span><\/a> manager William Barefoot wove the new yarn into prototype fabrics.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eastman\u2019s new performance fiber is designed to be moisture-wicking, with a soft hand and a cool-to-the-touch sensation -- but the component that makes these qualities possible is not actually a part of the final product.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAvra\u2122 is, for lack of better words, a super fiber,\u201d said Chambers. \u201cWe use a proprietary sacrificial polymer to do bicomponent spinning to be able to knit a high denier and then open to a very low denier.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122 is a ribbon-shaped synthetic fiber so fine that it must be enrobed in a sacrificial polymer sheathing in order to be knitted or woven -- much like the inverse of papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9. The fiber and its protective sheathing are knit or woven into fabric together, then during fabric wet processing, the sacrificial sheathing is removed, leaving behind the finer inner core.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe critical technology here is the bicomponent aspect,\u201d said Dr. Richard Holbert, an application research scientist for Eastman and an <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a> triple alumnus. \u201cBicomponent fibers are not necessarily new, but the special sauce is the sacrificial polymer that is proprietary for Eastman, (which) enables different wet processing techniques that make it a little bit easier to remove that polymer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s next?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Avra\u2122 and Naia\u2122 are just the beginning of the collaboration between Eastman and the Wilson College of Textiles. The company has sponsored two senior design projects, one investigating the limitations around the production of crimped staple fibers and one designing fabrics that blend Naia\u2122 with other yarns such as polyester and nylon. Along with the undergraduate efforts, Eastman also is currently sponsoring three doctoral level projects within the Wilson College of Textiles through their <\/span>Eastman Chemical Center of Excellence<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zeis Textiles Extension isn\u2019t the only group in the Wilson College of Textiles working closely with Eastman Chemical Corporation. Faculty in the <\/span>Departments of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science<\/span><\/a> (TECS) and <\/span>Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management<\/span><\/a> (TATM) have worked with Eastman on numerous research projects in the past, and the <\/span>Textile Protection and Comfort Center<\/span><\/a> (TPACC) has ongoing work with them as well. The Wilson College of Textiles values a collaboration with Eastman, because working together will contribute to economic development in the United States and fill existing and future needs in the textile industry.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n