Book English 2011.p65 - Ministry of Textiles

ministry of textilesdemand upon the packaging material, soit needs extra gas barrier property.Nanoclays are the gas impermeablecrystalline nanomaterial structure wellknown to improve the properties of thebasic polymeric material upon mixing withthe neat polymer matrix. The project aimsto envisage PET/Nanoclay nanocompositewhich can be a high gas barrier materialuseful in the packaging of environmentsensitive products. For the developmentof suitable nanocomposite, suitable gradeof Nanoclay (Cloisite 30B) and PETmaterial (IV 0.82) have been identified.Testing of the raw materials are beingcarried-out and based upon the testresults, PET and Nanoclay compoundingparameters will be adjudged. Later onnanocomposite development parameterswill be optimized and finally developednanocomposite will be evaluated for thegas barrier properties.6) Development of reflectiveAgrotextiles for Sun managementProtective Agrotextiles help in controllingclimatic factors, especially sunlightexposure to crops. Many crops are alsoextremely light sensitive. Sunlightmanagement is the process ofmanipulating the sunlight quality andquantity to which plants are exposed. Anew generation of agrotextiles can bedeveloped to address this problem. Theywould allow the grower to choose boththe duration of light as well as theparticular wavelength that will produce thedesired effect from the plants at all stagesof development. The proposed projectaims to develop wide range of agrotextilescreens which will reflect light and thusripen all plants uniformly protecting themfrom extreme climatic conditions. It isproposed to develop woven reflectiveagro ground covers with suitable reflectivecoatings leading to desired results. Studyof already existing imported reflectivefabrics and their base product used formaking the product is being carried out.Imported reflective screens for Agrotextilesbeing evaluated at laboratory.7) Standardisation of Norms forAgricultural Shade NetThe project envisages studying thedifferent agrotextile shade nets beingmanufactured and used in the country forbenefits in agriculture yield improvement.Although the products are gainingpopularity in the country at themanufacturers' end and users' end, thereis no clear guideline available defining thenorms for the manufacture andconstruction of the product. So also, themethodology to test the functionalproperties of these products has not beenestablished. The proposal is aimedtowards establishing these norms foragricultural shade nets. Various shadenets constructions being used in differentagriculture application are under evaluationvis-à-vis existing test methods.8) Developing fabrics withthermoregulatory properties usingphase change materials (PCM) forspecialty applicationThis project aims to identify and developthermo-regulatory behaviour fabricssuitable to these fields of application.Development of such value-added textileproducts for specialized uses would opena new avenue in market for textile products,thereby benefiting the industry. Variouswork wear fabric substrates have beentreated with treated with range of PhaseChange Materials (PCMs) using pad-drycuretechniques as well asmicroencapsulation technique. Theeffectiveness of each treated sample hasbeen compared to the untreated fabrics.The properties like fabric physicalcharacteristics air permeability,breathability, thermal conductivity andthermal characterization have been studied.The suitability of the treated fabrics forvarious applications has been depicted.220