Comprehensive evaluation of the fabric crease recovery property by the whole recovery process

Current standard methods specify the recovery angle of a folded wrinkle in a controlled recovery period as the evaluation standard for the fabric crease recovery property. Nevertheless, there are limitations in the characterization of the whole recovery process by using the single recovery angle. We proposed a whole-process test method and comprehensive evaluation method for assessing the fabric crease recovery property. Firstly, a specimen was tested on the automatic fabric crease recovery testing device to obtain the “time-recovery angle” data. Then, the “time-average recovery angle” data was calculated by the recovery angle at the corresponding moment in the recovery period from repeated testing. The “time-average recovery angle” data was fitted into power function equation f(t) = atb. Parameter a reflects the degree of initial recovery. Parameter b reveals the speed degree at which the sample recovery reaches stable status. The K value, the ratio of a to b, could be calculated. Finally, the K ¯ value, the average of the K values of four folded ways, was used to evaluate the crease recovery property of the fabric. The experimental results demonstrate that the K ¯ values have positive correlation with the recovery angle of the fifth minute in the recovery period (r = 0.92). In addition, for fabrics with the similar recovery angle results obtained from the wrinkle recovery angle evaluation method, the proposed method could differentiate the property of the fabrics. Therefore, the evaluation method can accurately reflect the initial resilience and comprehensive crease recovery property of textile materials.