Technical textiles which have a constantly expanding usage area are said to constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the textile sector. According to the data of Bundesversband des Deutschen Textileinzel-Handels –BTE (German Textile Retailers’ Association), the automotive sector which is one of the most significant consumers of the technical textiles uses almost 30 kg textile products in a car it manufactures. German automotive firms stand out as the biggest buyers of the automotive textiles (Mobiltech) which mainly consist of shaped or plain formed nonwovens manufactured out of polypropylene or polyester fibres.
Mats and carpets have the biggest share
Mobiltech products are used in the mats and carpets, in the furnishings, internal components, tyres, safety belts, airbags and other places at the rates of 33 %, 18 %, 14 %, 12 %, 8 %, 3.7 % and 9.4 %, respectively. Thanks to the polyamide yarns used in the mats and carpets which have the biggest share among Mobiltech products, light is reflected and dirtiness is prevented. As for the furnishings which rank second, the face of the cloth is covered by polyurethane foam and light-coloured thin-woven lining and wrinkles are prevented. Flock yarns used in the furnishing fabrics in the light of the latest developments are preferred thanks to their thermal comfort and abrasion resistance.
Durableness and Quality
Nylon and pvc fibres used in Mobiltech products as well as roof, baggage, floor, door and wall panel and striped knitting technique increase the quality and strength of the product. In the baggage furnishings manufactured out of short pile fabrics creating a plain appearance, flexibility and the feature of maintaining the form stand out. Besides, the features of the textile products used in the baggage furnishings include stiffness, resistance to abrasion, durableness and ease of cleaning. In the baggage furnishings where polyester and polypropylene fibres are mainly used, the nonwovens obtained through the method of needling are used. At the same time this method provides the base covers used for decoration or insulation at the bases of the automobiles with a certain degree of stiffness and abrasion resistance.
Nowadays, polypropylene fabrics having high light fastness are preferred at the roof covers instead of polypropylene products felted with the method of needling. In the production of petrol, oil, air, motor and fuel filter, polyester, nylon 6 and nylon 6,6 and polypropylene are used owing to their abrasion resistance and hydrophobicity. Lint-free 1.500 denier PET yarn is used in the safety belts in order to meet such needs as dyeability and resistance while single filament layer technology is used in order to prevent the creation of piles.
Research on Mobiltech
Germany is also leader with respect to the research on Mobiltech. At the end of the studies conducted by the Textile and Garment Technologies Department of Niederrhein Technology University, an application aiming at preventing permanent stains on the automotive furnishings was developed. A significant decrease was achieved in the number of fluorocarbons which lead to a dirty appearance on the furnishings owing to the nano-sized silica components used.
In the study conducted by Musa Kılıç and Özcan Şafak, instructors in the Textile Engineering Department of Dokuz Eylül University in Turkey, on spacer fabrics used in the automotive sector, a new test method was developed for the measurement of vertical air permeability of the spacer fabrics used in the self-heating or self-cooling automobile seats, in particular. With this new method, the aim is to obtain suitable combinations by changing the number, count and sequence of the connection monofilaments.
