CA1083800A

CA1083800A - Zero twist yarn of organic fibers

Info

Publication number: CA1083800A
Application number: CA300,969A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Bernard Magel
Original assignee: EI Du Pont de Nemours and Co
Current assignee: EIDP Inc
Priority date: 1978-04-12
Filing date: 1978-04-12
Publication date: 1980-08-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A yarn is provided which has zero twist and random lengths of tightly entangled fibers as nodes having sub-stantially zero twist and comprising an average of about 20%-70% of a representative length of yarn, said nodes having a retentivity of at least 75% and alternating with random lengths of substantially unentangled asymmetrically splayed fibers in intervals having an average length of about 3-12 mm.
A fraction of the fibers in the yarn can be broken to provide effect yarns.

Description

BACKGROUN~ OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to substantially zero twi~ yarns which can be u~ed in conventional weaving and knitting operations to produce fabrics having improved tactile and visual aesthetics.
Be$ore being knitted or woven, zero twist textile yarns are inevitably subjected to one or more processing steps in order to improve their handling properties. At the very least, true textlle twist at the "producer" level of twist (normally less than 0.4 turns/cm) is needed merely to allow such yarn to be withdrawn from its supply package and for some purposes very high levels of twist are required, i.e., from 6-12 turns Jcm. The need for such twist or a replacement therefox is described by Bunting, Jr. et al. in U.S.

2,985,995.
In addition, zero twist yarns are often processed before they are kni~ted or woven to improve aesthetics potential for the fabric to be produced from such yarns. Generally, procedures such as stuffer box crimping, jet screen bulking, false twist set text~ring and the like are conventionally employed. Indeed, false twist set textured yarns com-posed of polyester, nylon and the like have found wide-spread asceptance in woven and knitted fabrics. However, such fabrics, particularly knits, tend to sna~ and have air permeabilities lower than optimum for summer wear.
On the other hand, fabrics made from yarns which are not processed or textured tend to have a sleazy or synthetic hand and a glitter that is also undesirable.

~ - 2 -.. ...:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
. .
A yarn which has a uni~ue structure and which can be easily processed into fabrics having a dry hand, flowing drape, appealing luster and good air permeability has been found. The yarn has substantially zero twist and random lengths of tightly entangled fibers as nodes having zero twist and comprising an average of about 20%-70% of a representative length of the yarn, said nodes having a retentivity of at least 75% and alternating with random lengths of substantially unentangled asymmetrically splayed fibers in intervals having an average length of about

3-12 mm. Continuous filament yarns are hereinafter referred to as modified yarns. A fraction of the filaments in the yarn can be broken to produce effect yarns which have enhanced spun-like aesthetics. As used herein, the term fiber is generic to continuous filaments and discontinuous or broken filaments in the yarn and, unless otherwise indicated, discussion of a yarn of this invention is generic to modified and effect yarns.

Figure 1 is an optical micrograph of a modified ;~
yarn magnified 3.5X;
Figure 2 is an electron micrograph of a node that has been vapor-metallized and magnified 24X to show morphological details;
Figure 3 depicts an idealized false twist knot;
Figure 4 is an optical micrograph of an effect yarn magnified 3.5X;
Figure 5 is a schematic digram of one process used to prepare the yarns of this invention;
Figure 6 schematically illustrates the apparatus _ 3 ---. . .. . .. ~ . ~; , , ~. . ;~ .

used to measure node retentivity;
Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a Rothschild Yarn Entanglement Tester; and Fisure 8 is a schematic diagram of another process used to prepare the yarns of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The yarns of this invention are particularly useful in making woven or knitted apparel or home furnish-ing fabrics, e.g., dresswear, blouses, sheets, toweling, draperies, curtains and the like. The structure characteristic of the yarns of this invention serves as a twist substitute because of the yarn morphology as illustrated in Fi~. 1. Thus, fabrics can be produced from the yarns of this invention which are similar to those made from twisted yarns, for curtains, for example, without the expense of the twisting step otherwise required to consolidate a yarn and confer frictional characteristics.
As Fig. 1 shows, the modified yarns are characterized by noccs or intcnsely entangled segments alternating with intervals or segments containing substantially unentangled asymmetrically splayed filaments. The nodes and intervals have sufficiently random lengths that fabric features attributable thereto, including spun-like aesthetics, are not accompanied by objectionable barre patterning.
The nodes in the structure of the yarns of this invention are intensely entangled and, upon microscopic examination, preferred node structures appear to have a predominantly (greater than about 5~/0) tightly braided appearance as shown in Fig. 2, Most preferably,the node structures are substan-c, 30 tially all (9~/0 or more) braided in appearance. The cross-section of such nodes is essentially round or occasionally elliptical in shape. The nodes may have any other form as desired as long as they are tightly entangled. ~y tightly entangled is meant that the entanglement in the node is so intense that the nodes will have a retentivity of at least 75%. By retentivity is meant the percentage of the original node length retained after the yarn under-goes the Dynamic Stability Test described herein. The dynamic stability test applies about the same amount of force to a yarn as the yarn experiences transiently when it is being woven conventionally, except that the test requires this force to be maintained on the yarn for thirty seconds. In order to insure that the integrity of the yarn is maintained through processing, the retentiv-ity of the highly entangled lengths is preferably at least 95% It is not uncommon to find individual yarns that have substantially the same average length of entangle*
segments after textile processing into and removal from, knitted or woven fabrics.
Since nodes are sufficiently devoid of false twist knots to have substantially zero twist in the node structure and since yarn of this invention, as produced, has substantially zero twist along its length, the yarn is torque free and devoid of twist liveliness. Accordingly, the yarn presents no torque balanc-ing problem in knitting. Further, because the nodes have zero twist, the yarn does not tend to bend in any planeas could the false twist knots shown in Fig. 3. Accordingly, fabric aesthetics are different. In addition, the zero twist nodes do not develop unbalanced shear stresses in their cross sections which in turn can cause ~- 3o torsional buckling, - a kind of yarn deformation encountered with twisted or possibly false twist knotted yarns when the yarn crowns to release torsional energy.
The nodes comprise a minimum of about 20~ o a representa-tive length of yarn of the invention which is generally a randomly chosen length of at least one meter. Preferably, the nodes comprise at least 30~O o the yarn length to provide a definite distinctiveness to fabrics compared to fabrics prepared from the unmodified feed yarn. A desirable maximum is about 7~/O, preferably 6~/o of nodes in a representative yarn length since higher amounts result in stiff yarns which provide fabrics with a harsh, some-times scratchy tactility. As long as these ranges are observed, the length of each individual node per se is not critical and average node length may vary from 1-8 mm, ~15 ; preferably 2-7 mm.
~$~ Since the nodes alternate with the intervals in yarns of the invention and since the nodes, as well as the intervals, may vary in length, there may be selected short sections of yarn in which the nodes may comprise somewhat less than 2~/o~
In addition, some interval lengths will be found to be greate~ or less than the average lengths specified herein.
e~presence of such yarn sections and interval lengths wi11 not~detract from the performance of the yarn as long ;;as,~on the whole, the nodes comprise a minimum of 20% of the~yarn length and the intervals have an average length of 3-12 mm, preferably 3-8 mm.
The intervals which alternate with the node contain asymmetrically splayed substantially unen-tangled filaments as shown in Fig. l. It is believed that the splaying of the filaments results because some ~::
-~ - 6 -' .

. .. . . . .
,,.- . . . ~ .

1083~00 filaments in the interval are more involved in the adjacent node structure or structures than are the other filaments in that interval. This is, in turn, be-lieved to be a function of the intensity of the entangle-ment in the node.
As shown in Fig. 1, the interval contains some straight load-bearing filaments extending between the nodes and along the longitudinal axis of~the yarn while the remaining or non-load-bearing filaments have varying lengths an'd splay around the axial load-bearing filaments for greater or lesser distances dictated by their available lengths.
The splays can be asymmetrical in either or both of two ways. The filaments may project outwardly to a greater extent on one side of the core filaments than on any other side or more of the filaments in the splayed segment may be situated on one side of the load-bearing filaments than on any other side. In the latter case, the outermost fila-ments in the splayed segment can extend for the same distance as any other of the outermost filaments' which have the same ~ ~

load-bearing filament core although they need not. Thus, ~ ' the kind and degree of splay which exist along a yarn length are not uniform and the splayed or non-axial fila-ments in the interval can be either in a single plane or in two or more pl'anes around the load-bearing filaments.
' The splayed filaments in the intervals are essentially unentangled and they may possess latent crimping potential, as when bicomponent filaments are used.

Although the splay of the filaments in the inter-vals may appear to be diminished during conversion of the yarn into fabric, it nevertheless contributes increased cover over that achieved using the corresponding unmodified ,- , - ~ . . .. -. ; . . :
`~ ` ; . ~ ` : ` "

1083~V0 yarn. The splays provide good drape and reappear substan-tially intact when the yarn is removed from the fabric.
The splays also provide fabrics which t~nd to have a soft hand. This result is believed attributable to the S fact that the asymmetrically splayed filaments will not com-pletely nest or bed at yarn intersections. Nevertheless, the yarns of this invention present no snag or filament picking problems upon being processed and they exhibit a high degree of stability and integrity.
Fabrics prepared from the modified yarns of this invention exhibit an unusual random pattern of dirfering light reflectances that integrates to an overall subdued luster and spun-like appearance. They have an attractive, dry, crisp hand due to the higher friction characteristics of the yarn compared to the feed yarn arising from the intense entangle-ment in the nodes. The frictional characteristics also account for the fact that terry ground cloth capable of holding a pile in place without pull-apart can be pre-pared from yarns having the node/interval structure defined herein although such fabrics are not obtainable from similar unmodified yarns. Fabrics having such character-istics find broad utility, including use in wovens for dress and sportswear, in light-weight knits for dresses and blouses, and in home furnishings such as for draperies, sheer curtains, napery, sheets and pillowcases, the latter especially as a filament/spun yarn combination where the yarns of this invention serve as strong warp yarns. Modi-fication of the smooth-slick look and feel of fabric made from flat, continuous filament yarns provides an a~sthetic advantage and gives some fabrics a worsted-like or cotton-1083~V0 likc appearance even in the absence of free fiber ends.
Suppression of specular reflectance or glitter ~ives these fabrics a desirable, subdued luster.
Fabrics made from yarns of this invention gen-erally exhibit superior wash-wear performance relative to fabrics made from the corresponding, unmodified feed yar-.s.
They also have unexpectedly good resistance to snagging and superior retention of topical applications such as resins added 'co impart hydrophilic characteristics (water wick-ability~.
In additior, to the foregoing, fabrics which are to be used in clothing and which are prepared from the yarns of this invention have good air permeability. This property provides summer comfort. Fabrics made from the modified yarns of this invention have only moderately less air permeability than fabrics made from the corresponding unmodified yarns, and have a good balance of dry crisp hand and cool comfort. Examples 4 and 6 illustrate these relationships. By contrast, conventional yarn texturing methods used to develop dry tactility in fabrics lead to increased bulk and cover but cause a significant reduction in the air permeability of fabrics prepared from such yarns.
A different result can be produced in fabrics prepared from yarns of this invention in which a fraction of the filaments in the yarn has been broken as iliustrated ~ -in Fig. 4. The fraction of filaments which is broken ; `
can determine yarn strength, that is, the yarn can become weaker as the number of broken filaments increases.
Accordingly, the fraction of filaments to be broken can be -- .
.-: ' ' ~ ' . : . - .

~083800 dictated, for example, by the yarn strength desired and can be controlled by using a predetermined ratio of weaker to stronger filaments in the yarn. The filaments ~hat are broken e~tend freely from, but are securely anchored into, the main structure via the nodes to provide enhanced spun-like aesthetics without the disadvantage of fiber pull-out.
As a consequence, an effect yarn, i.e., a modified yarn hav-ing a core of essentially continuous filaments and containing free ends, is achieved.
Ther~ are certain methods for the preparation of effect yarns in which the filaments are broken and simultaneously entangled in certain instances. In such methods, the broken filaments or fibers contribute to the entanglement by wrapping and interstitching the node. In such a case, free ends can extend from the node itself.
The retentivity of such effect yarns is especially high.
Also, because the broken filaments are entangled in the node, the average end length is small and similar to that for con-solidated spun yarns. (Long average end length is disad-vantageous since it tends to cause an undesirable fuzzy fabric appearance and poor pilling resistance.) The effect yarns of this invention have many of the attributes of both spun yarns and continuous filament yarns and are much more uniform than commercial spun yarns with respect to both denier and strength. For example, a commercial spun yarn has a coefficient of variation of denier of about 14% as measured on a Uster Evenness Tester under standard conditions while the effect yarns of this invention have a coefficient of variation of about 3-5%. Likewise the effect yarns of this invention have more uniform strength due to their core of essentially continuous filaments which provides 1083~00 significantly better processibility. The strength uniformity makes it ~easible to u~e the effect yarns as strong warp yarns in combination fabrics. In addition, the free ends of the effect yarns afford enhanced spun-like aesthetics over the modified yarns of this invention. Preferred effect yarns of this invention typically have an average free end length of 0.8 mm to 2.5 mm with ~ 10~ (preferably < 5%) being longer than 6 mm. A typical 177 denier (19.6 tex) (30/1 cc) polyester/cottGn spun yarn has about a 1.3 mm average free end length with C 5% longer than 6 mm. Further, the average free end length can be much shorter than the average interval length of the modified yarns, as shown ln Figure 4.
The number of free ends which are contained in an effect yarn of this invention depends upon the work-to-break (WTB) value of the individual filaments expressed as dyne-cm/cm, fluid pressure, yarn running speed and the amount of overfeed on the yarn going into the entangling jet. Since yarns produced by commercial processes generally have good uniformity, the WTB values of filaments of such yarns are fairly uniform and can be spoken of in terms of average work-to-break (WTB) for any given yarn. Accordingly, the property for any given group of filaments will be referred to generally hereinafter as WTB.
Generally, selectivity in filament fracturing becomes greater as the difference between the ~rB values of the filaments increases. An effect yarn can be produced from feed yarns wherein the filaments are m~de from the same poly-mer having the same relative viscosity (molecular weight) and having the same denier ~all o~ which tend to provide essentially equal strength) undex suitable conditions as ~083800 described herein as long as the filaments do not have exactly th~ same WTB value and some of them will fracture before others.
Generally, h~wever, feed yarns of two or more kinds o filaments having discretel~ differcnt WTB values are preferred.
Where filaments having widely dif~erent WI~ values are used, part or all of the filaments in the group of lower W~ , but essentially none of the filaments in the group of higher WTB, are fractured in many sections if the effective work potential of the fluid (Kinetic energy) exceeds only the WTB of the filaments having lower WTB values. The differentiation in ~B can be derived not only by using two or more different polymer compositions, but also by using two or more different molecular weights tRV) or the same or different polymers and by using different filament deniers, cross-sections, elongations or crystallinities or combinations of these. When different filament deniers are used, the filaments to be broken should have a maximum denier of 4 [ .44 tex] and the filaments to remain intact should have a denier of 2-10 [.22-1.1 tex] as long as the average dpf of the yarn is less than 8 [.89 tex~.
The effect yarn would then be comprised of a core of essentially continuous filaments of higher WTB with some of the filaments of lower WTB broken into numerous free ends to confer soft tactility to fabrics made from such yarns. Beca~se the filaments of higher WTB function as the core, the effect yarns retain strength and strength uniformity.
Preferred feed yarns contain a total of 20-600 filaments, most preferably 20-100, and have a total denier of 40-600 (4.4-66.7 tex). Significantly enhanced spun-llke aesthetics can be obtained in fabrics prepared from a 150-200 denier (16.7-22.2 tex) yarn havin~ 2-50 free ends per cm, prefer-ably 8 free ends per cm (20 ends per inch). These yarns have a 10~38()0 relatively uni~orm breaking strength of at least about 30 lbs (133.4 N) which ma~es them useful for preparing Xnitted and woven fabrics conve~tionally without difficulty.
The erfect yarns of this inventioll can also be achieved conveniently by other methods such as, fox example, by abrading modified yarns having the unique node-interval structure described herein. A convenient way to abrade such yarns is to pass them over stationary sheets of sandpaper, adjusting the pressure between the sandpaper and the yarn so that a sufficient number of filaments can be broken without serious detriment to the overall yarn structure. An abrasive wheel, such as, for example, a one-inch (2.54 cm) diameter wheel shaped as a torus at its outer face can also be used either in line with the process used to modify the feed yarn or in a separate operation independent of the modification process. In either case, the modified yarn is tensioned, guided and forwarded across the rapidl~ revolving wheel to generate free fiber ends in the yarn. Other methods for abrading yarn known in the art can also be used.
Fabrics prepared from the effect yarns of this invention have enhanced spun-like aesthetics and a firm crisp hand. If mixed dpf staple is used in preparing a spun yarn, a harsh hand results because the higher dpf ends as well as the lower dpf ends are free. In certain effect yarns, the core is composed mainly of higher denier fila-ments while the lower denier filaments form the free ends, thus providing a fabric with a combination of good body and a soft warm spun-like hand. Further, because the free ends in the effect yarns derive from continuous filaments and are tightly entangled and anchored in the nodes, enhanced . .

1083~00 spun-like aesthetics are achieved without the disadvantage of fiber pull-out.
Fabrics prepared from the effect yarns of this invention have superior bulk and co~ering power compared to . 5 unmodified yarns and modified yarns without free ends. In many woven constructions the covering power of these yarns surpasses that Gf commercial SpU;l yarns (see Example 24).
The free ends impart a soft, warm tactility to knit and woven fabrics not unlike that obtained with commercial spun yarns, making them especially suitable for shirts, blouses and other apparel. In addition, the high denier uniformity - of the effect yarns of this invention provides fabrics with a pleasing visual uniformity superior to that obtained from commercial spun yarns. ~ecause a lofty structure is :15 more desirable in apparel end-uses conventionally employins spun yarns, the preferred level of entanglement is lower for modified yarns with free ends (effect yarns) than for modified yarns without free ends. Preferably, about 25-40 of the effect yarn length is entangled as nodes.
~20 The yarns of this invention can be prepared from any filament forming synthetic organic polymer although filaments of other materials such as silk are also suitable.
Illustrative of such synthetic organic polymers are rayons, . .
homopolymers and copolymers of nylons, polyesters, acrylics, polyolefins and aramids and the like. Exemplary nylons are 66 ~poly(hexamethylene adipamide)], 6[poly(omega-caproamid~

' ,, .
.., .

6T[poly(hexamethylene terephthalamide)~, those disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,416,302 and copolymers such as 66/6T[poly(hexa-methylene adipamide/terephthalamide)] and the like. Exemplary polyes~ers are poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene S terephthalate), poly(tetramethylene terephthalate), poly(hexa-llydro-para-xylylene terephthalate), copolymers such as described in the Griffing and Remington U.S. Patent 3,018,272 and the like. Exemplary acrylics are polyacrylonitrile and its copolymers such as those described by Andres and Sween-y in ~ 10 U.S. Patent 2,837,500 and by Millhiser in U.S. Patent ; 2,837,501 and the l~ke. Polyolefins include polypropylene as an example and aramids include poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide), poly(para-phenylene terephthalamide), copoly-- mers such as poly(metaphenylene isoterephthalamide) and the like.
In general, the modified yarns of this invention can be prepared from any continuous filament feed yarn having at least 10 filaments, and the effect yarn can be prepared from any continuous filament feed yarn having : 20 at least 20 filaments. In such yarns the filaments ... .
should have an average dpf of less than about 8 ~.89 tex).
Yarns having at least 10 filaments are more easily modified than yarns having less than 10 filaments and at an average of less than 8 dpf (.89 tex), they provide a higher degree of softness than yarns of a higher dpf. The feed yarn -' filaments may also have round as well as non-round cross-sections and they may be multilobal, elliptical or multi-, lateral and so on or they may have mixed characteristics, e.g., mixed shrinkage, dpf or cross-section, or they may be ' 30 bicomponent to enhance $abric tactile or visual aesthetics.
, ................................................... . .

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iO83800 The yarns of the invention are preferably prepared from flat dra~m or otherwise oriented yarns, that is, uncrimped and untextured yarns, which have a denier of up to about 800 (8~.9 tex) ~referably up to about 600 (66.7 tex).
Yarns having a denier of up to about 600 are generally textile denier yarns and are preferred for ease of modifica-tion. Higher denier feed yarns can also be used as desired as long as they provide the retentivity and overall yarn structure described herein.
The yarns of this invention can be made from a mixed filament feed yarn in which the mixed filaments have different draw retraction forces. Such yarns can be prepared from a suitable number of filaments of different pollm~r ` compositions or the yarn can consist of a number of bi-component filaments and monocomponent filaments. A
side-by-side bicomponent yarn in which the two components may later be split apart can also be used. The undrawn cospun yarn can be supplied from a package or from a continuous filament spinning machine with the yarn being spun, drawn and converted to the products of this invention all in one operation. Processing speeds up to 1000 m/min or higher can be used in such cases. In one embodiment, -1 an undrawn cospun feed yarn is fed from a supply package to the feed roll of a standard draw winder, drawn over a hot -: 25 plate or hot pin maintained at a suitable temperature and then passed through a jet to give the nodes and intervals herein described. As shown in Fig. 5, the yarn is withdrawn from supply roll 1 and passed through yarn guide 2 by feed rolls 3 which control the draw ratio. The yarn is drawn by draw rolls 6 over a hot plate or pin 4 maintained at a ,, , ~ - 16 -suitable temperature to assist in the drawing of the par-ticular poly~er or polymers being used. The speed of the draw rolls is held constant and the draw ratio is adjusted by changing the feed roll speed. From draw rolls 6 the yarn is passed through any standard interlacing jet 7 such as, for example, any of those described in U.S.
Patents 3,426,406; 3,364,537 and the like. ~he modified yarn is then passed over relaxation rolls 8 which are -~ operated at a slower speed than the speed of draw rolls 6.
; 10 The resulting modified yarn is wound up onto package 9.
~' It is hypothesized that the differential retraction immediately after draw of the filaments of the multicomponent yarn provides excess filament length in some of the filaments ~ ~-when the yarn is overfed to the interlacing jet. This excess ~ -, 15 length is essentially under zero tension while the remainder ~ -.
of the yarn is under tension. As a consequence, the excess '; length is entangled into the nodes of the yarns of this inven-tion. With monocomponent yarns, more strenuous jet conditions are necessary to give the desired structure.
The unique node-interval structure of this inven-tion can also be achieved by feeding the yarn to be modified . : .
from a supply roll, wetting the yarn with water and feeding , the wetted yarn, typically, through a pair of canted jets in series. As illustrated in Figure 8, feed yarn 21 is with-drawn from package 31 through tensioner 22 by feed rolls 23 . ~1 and 24 that control the feed rate. Output rolls 28 and 2 ~' are run at a slightly lower speed to establish the desired ~,~4: .
overfeed of yarn in the process. After leaving feed roll 24, the yarn passes through applicator jet 25, then two interlacing jets 26 and 27 in series, generally canted , ', .. . . -- . ~ - .
,: ' .

as indicated at 45 to the threadline. Water, or other suitable fluid, is fed into inle' 51, and a pressùrized gas, preferably air, is fed into inlets 61 and 71 (and to additional gas inlets not shown if required by the specific jet design). Modified yarn 32 is wound onto a package by winder 33. Any other suitable method may also be used.
TESTING PROCEDURES
Node and Interval Lenqths (Manual) One end of a 115 cm length of yarn is clamped at one end of a horizontally mounted meter stick. A weight calculated as a load of about 0.01 gpd on the yarn is attached to the other end and the yarn is passed over a pulley and allowed to hang freely beyond the opposite end of the meter stick. A smooth, pointed pin is inserted perpendicularly through the interval nearest theclamped end and gently moved back and forth manually to identify the ~' points where nodes begin; the applied force should be selected to neither break nor stretch the filaments -- -about 5-10 g. is adequate for textile deniers. The dis-tance between nodes at each end is noted on the meter stick and recorded to the nearest mm. This procedure is repeated until 74 intervals alongside the meter stick have been measured, or until all of the intervals in the meter length have been measured if there are less than 74, and the corre-l' 25 sponding total yarn length noted. The node lengths reported !, are the distances between measured intervals. The calcula-tions are as follows:
, sum of all interval average interval ~ength = len~ths mcasure(l number of lengt]ls measured ;~ :

:

.. . .
, ' ' , ' ~ ' ;.
.~, . .

average nodc len~h =
yarn length ~ sum of all interval len~ths measured numbcr of I~g~]ls measured - l sum of all interval lengths % int~rval length = ~ea~ ~e~ x lOO
yarn length node length = lO0 - ~ interval length Node an~ Interval Lenqths (Rothschild Yarn Entan~lement Tester) .. . ._ ._ . _ _ Equipment available commercially can also be used to determine node and interval lengths and characterize the yarns of this invention. The Rothschild Yarn Entanglement Tester diagramatically illustrated in Figure 7 can be used for this purpose. The yarn is strung up on the machine as shown, a needle is inserted and the yarn is pulled under ten gram running tension until the needle encounters a predetermined trip tension set at twenty grams for the data summarized in Table 5. After the trip tension is reached, the yarn is stopped, the needle is removed and the yarn is pulled a specified skip distance which is 9 cm (3.5 inches) for the data summarized in Table 5.
When the skip distance is reached, the yarn is stopped, ; the needle is inserted and the process is repeated. The Rothschild data reported herein is based on 300 or more pin counts taken over about a forty yard length of yarn.
Because of ihe nature of the entanglement in the yarns of this invention, the pin count is a function of - skip distance if the skip distance is l or 2 cm, but not if the skip distance is 5 cm or longer. In other words, the insertion of the pin becomes random with respect to the short entangled sections at distances of 5 cm or more.
The pin count data are then displayed into a j histogram so that portions of the curve can be examined and used to calculate the following parameters:
.~ .
: - 19 -' ~ . ' .

Sum of all lengths measured Mean = Number of pin insertions ~(~cr~ =(Number of .ine~_pin failed to penetrate) x 100 Number of pin insertions %(~ 3 mm) =(Number of pin count lengths less than 4 mm) 100 Number of pin insertions %~ 15 mm)=(Number of pin count len~ths greater than 15 mm) x 100 Number of pin insertions However, it is possible that certain fine denier yarns will be stretched because of the yarn tensions invGlved in using the Rothschild Yarn Entanglement Tester.

If there are no counts at 1 and 2 mm (and possibly at succeeding consecutive counts), the histogram should be reconstructed by subtracting the highest length with zero count from all nonzero pin count numbers. The above four parameters are then calculated from the revised histogram.

Free End Tests Test I Free End Count ., The equipment for carrying out this test includes a jig comprising a rectangular brass plate having (1) a set of locating pins, two on each side of the plate, for - positioning an 8.3 cm X 10.2 cm (3.25 in. X 4 in.) glass slide and ~2) a set of guide pins, five on each of the short sides of the rectangular plate spaced approximately 1.25 cm apart, for positioning segments of yarn in par-allel lines. The rectangle defined by the guide pins is filled by a piece of black velvet to pro~ide a high-contrast background. In carrying out the test, the slide is placed between the locating pins and the yarn to be examined is taped to the upper left-hand corner ,~ ' .

:1083800 of the plate, then run successively back and forth across the plate in five parallel lines, using the guide pins to hold the yarn in position, ~he yarn finally being taped again to the plate at the lower right-hand corner.
A second glass slide, taped along each of its short ends with strips of tape approximately 1 cm wide having ad-` hesive on each face of the tape, is then placed between the locating pins and pressed firmly against the lower slide. This seals the slides together and anchors the yarns. The excess protruding loops around the guide pins are then cut free. The joined slides are then ; removed from the ~ig and the short ends are wrapped with masking tape approximately 1 cm in width to ~ complete the mounting op~ration. The pair of slides - 15 iS then placed on a microscope stage at 15X magnifica-tion, where the visible free ends in the five yarn seg-ments (each approximately 8 cm long) are counted. A
record of the visible free ends in each segment is made on ` the tape at the right end of that segment. The total number of free ends visible in all of these seg-ments is then obtained by adding the numbers obtained :
for each of the segments, and the total is divided by the total length of yarn scanned to obtain the average .,, ~
number of free ends per centimeter.
, Test II Free End Length and Ends/cm About a 35 cm length is cut from the yarn to be tested. The yarn is taped at both ends to a clear plastic straight edge, which has been marked off in 1 cm segments.
- The yarn is placed so that it lies straight but not under tension and is then covered with a second clear straight ., , .. . .

' .

1~83800 edge. The yarn 1~ Yiewed on a æhadowgraph (e.g., WHlder Varibeam, Optometr$c Tools, Inc., Rockleigh, N.J, o7647 or Nippon Kogaku K.K., Japan Model 6) at 20X magnification, snd all of the following measurement~ are made on the screen on whlch the yarn image læ pro~ected. Through 30 cm of yarn length, the number Or rree ends ln each 1 cm segment is counted and recorded, and the length of e~ch free end ~easured by following its path wlth a small ruler or a calibrated strlng. Individual lengths are recorded in lncre-ments of 1 mm for lengths in the range of from 0 up to 4 mm and in increments of 2 for lengths longer than 4 m~. An~ length ~` greater than ~he last integer or 0 is recorded as the next whole number, or 1f longer than 4 mm, it is recorded as the ~ext even whole number (e.g., a length of 0.2 mm would be recorded as 1 mm, a length of 4.1 mm would be recorded as 6 mm, ~eeping - in mind that the actual readlngs are done at 20X, therefore, a 1 mm rree end length i~ measured as 20 mm on the screen). Two additional 30 cm yarn lengths are analyzed for the number of ~ree endæ in 1 cm segments, but not for end length.
The following calculations are m~de from the data obtained as described above:
Free End/cm = No- free end8 COunted in 90 cm Fraction Or rree endæ in r~nge ~otal No. ~ree ends mea8 w d -~ Iower end of increment ~ upper Midpoint of increment = end o~ increment For each increment, the lower end ~s the upper end o~ the previou~ incremen~.
:
, .~ .
- 22 _ , - ' Avg. Free End Length ~ The sum of the value~ obtained by multiplying the fraction of free end8 ln each increment by the midpoint of the increment 6 No Freembeedr~o> free en~8 meaæured Node Retentivity - Dynamic Stability Test Retentivity of the entangled nodes in textile proce~sing i~ predicted with good precision by a test in which a loop, formed of about fiv~ yards of yarn i8 subjected for a deflned period of time, to conditions which simulate the textile processing conditions under which the yarn iæ
converted to a fabric and finished.
With reference to Figure 6, yarn 12 is wrapped around tensioner 16 with the end left free at top, through tensiometer l9, across ceramic guide 18 a~ an angle oi 120, wrapped seven times around drlve roll 14 and canted idler roll 15, through pigtail 17. The ends the loop are tied together securely, and the tensioner is ad~usted to apply a load equal to .14 gpd on the yarn as it passes the ceramic guide. (The return loop of the yarn from the drive roll to the tens10ner is under zero tension). ~he yarn speed is controlled at 30 ypm (27 m/min).
Once the tension and ~peed are adJu~ted, a fresh æample Or i yarn i8 mounted by the æame procedure and run ior 0.5 minute, then removed and tested in the Node and Interval Iengthæ
meaæurement. The percentage oi the original node length retalned after the yarn undergoes the dynQmic stability test i8 the retentivlty.
;`.', ~ - 23 -.

., .

~083800 Breakin~ Strength (Yarn) A skein of 120 yard~ (110 m) of yarn i~ wound on a 54" (137 cm) circumference reel (8.6" t21.9 cm] radius), and broken to obtain lb~-to-break with a Scott ~ester (Model DH., No. B38850), bullt by Scott Tester I~G., Providence, R.I. The lbs-to-break i8 recorded a~ the breaking strength of the yarn in the examples.
Work-to-Break (WTB) The procedure described in ASTM D-885-72, Section 26 is used to measure the work-to-break of a 10 inch ~25.4 cm) filament. The average work-to-break i8 determined by averaging the work-to-break values of a representati~e number (i.e., 5) of the filaments to be broken. The work-to-break in dyne-cm/cm is equal to (X) x (Y) x (Z) x (gc) where X ~ area under the load-elongation cur~e (cm ), y 2 load scale factor in gram - ~orce (gf) per cm of chart, Z = elongation scale factor (Ccm) of specimen per cm of chart, gc ~ gravitation constant (dyne~/g~), 980 dynes/gf.
Relative Viscosity (RV) The relative viscosity of the homopolyesters and the copolyesters used in the examples is measured at 25C
(77~F) as the ratio of the viscosity of a solution of 0.8 g of polymer dis~ol~ed at room temperature in 10 ml of hexa-~luoroi~oprcpanol containing 100 ppm ~ S04 to the ~iscosity of the ~ S04-co~taining hex~fluoroisopropanol alone.
~he relative viscos~ty of ~ylon 66 i~ measured at 25C as the ratio of the viscosity oi a solution of 5.5 g of polymer dissolved ln 50 ml of a mixture of 90 parts of formic acid and 10 part~ oi water to the viscosity of the formic acid/water mixture itseli.

1~838VO

The relative viscosity of nylon homo- or copolymers of hexamethylene dodecpmlde including that u~ed in ExQmples lOA and 11 is measured at 25C a~ the ra~io of the vlscosity of a solution of 5.5 e of polymer dissolved in a 50 ml Fanol solution (50 parts phenol/50 parts formlc acid) to the Vi8-c031ty of the Fanol solution ltself.
Fabric Bulk Determination F~brlc thickne~s in lnches is measured at 5 g/cm2 pressure over an area of about 7 cm2. The inches are converted to cm and bulk is calculated by dividing thickness in cm by the fabric unit weight in g/cm , and is reported in cc/g.
Light Transmission Determinatlon Light transmission is determined using a Durst No.
609 pro~ector (Durst SA, 301zano, Italy), a Photomultiplier Mlcrophotometer, Cat. No. 10-211 American Instrument Co., Silver Spring, Md. 20900 and a Solovolt constant voltage transformer, 0.261A, 115 V AC, Sola Electric Co., Chicago, Ill. 60650 (or equivalent) in power supply.
The equipment is equilibrated and ca~ibrated accord-ing to instructions by the manufacturers. In general, the photometer is used only after being energized for at lea~t 24 hours and it is calibrated after allowing the pro~ector to warm up at least five minutes.
Two 6" x 30" (15.2 x 76 cm~ samples of fabric are used, one having its long d~mension along the warp, and the ~ other with itg long dimension at right angles thereto. They - are selected from areas of the fabric no closer to the sel-- vages than one-tenth of the fabric width. If wrinkles are apparent, they are removed by pre~sing l1ghtly. The ~amples are conditioned at 70 + 2F (21 ~ 1C) and 65% ~ 2% relative hl~idity for 16 hours before te~ting.
- 2~ -The conditioned samples without being stretched, are carefully placed between well--cleaned glass pressure plates and five meter readings of % transmissiol- are takc-n at differ-ent areas along their lengths. The meter multiplier setting required to obtain a scale reading of 15-85% and the meter reading to the nearest 0.5% are ~ecorded. ~Prolonged ~xposure of the photomultiplier to an amount of li~ht e~ceedins that giving a lO0~ transmission reading must be avoided, since it results in a reduction in sensitivity). The apparatus is re-calibrated before testing the second sample.
The ~ light transmission is calculated by multiply-i~g the meter reading by the multiplier setting and averaging the five values thus obtained. The precision of repeated measurements on the same sample is about ~ 3%.
The invention is further illustrated but is not in~ended to be limited by the following eY.amples in wh;c~
; ' all pressure values are gauge measurements and all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

Two ends of 70 denier (7.g tex)-34 filament yarn, comprising a basic-dyeable copoly[ethylene terephthalate/5-(sodium sulfo) isophthalate] (98/2 weight ratio) having a - -relative viscosity of about 16 are combined and modified using the process shown schematically in Figure 8. The filaments f this yarn have substantially symmetrical trilobal cross-sections. The yarn is fed into feed rolls at a speed of lO00 ypm (914 m/min) and passed through a wetting jet constructed as described in U.S. Patent 3,426,406 and having an oval yarn entrance orifice of 0.254 cm width 3 and 0.396 cm length with 0.17~ cm diameter - :

round air (water) inlet orifices and well-wet with water at a water flow rate of about 30 ml/minute. The wet yarn is passed through two interlacing jets constructed as described in U.S. Patent 3,426,406 and situated in tandem about 10 cm apart. Each interlacing jet has an ova-yarn entrance hole of 0.193 cm width and 0.305 cm length with 0.117 cm diameter round air entrance orifices and is operated at 175 psi (1207 kPa) pressure of air while canted at an angle of 45 relative to the threadline. A
pair of rolls takes up the yarn At a speed of 967 ypm (884 m/min) and feeds it to a co~stant-tension windu~ device. The : tenacity and elongation of the yarn thus modified are ~.3 gpd (203 mN/tex) and li.6~, res~ectively. ~rhe correspond-ing values for .he unmodified feed ~arns are 2.8 gpd ~247 mN/tex) .. , ~, , 15 and 21.8%. Other properties of the modified yaxn are given in Table 5.
The modified yarn of this example and, for compari-son, the feed yarn of this example are knitted into 18-cut (7.1 needles/cm) Swiss Pique fabrics. These are finished `
' 20 by beck-scouring and beck-dyeing at atmospheric pressure, - the final rinse containing 1% of a quaternary ammonium softener. After being ~lit and dried at 250~F (121C), fabrics are heat-set at 350F (177C) for 30 seconds at 55" (140 cm) width and 15% overfeed, and semidecated 3 x 3. Finished weights are 258 g/m2 for the modified ~` yarn fabric and 238 g/m2 for the comparison fabric. Fabric~

... .

' , , ~,, ':
';' .

to-fabric friction coef~icients, ~,* are 0.41 for that from the modified yarn and 0.29 for that from the compari-son. The test .abric has a dlstinctly drier hand, a crisp tactility and an attractive, subdued luster.

* Calculated as the average force (F) in grams required to move a fabric-bottomed sled at 20"/min (5I cm/min) across a horizontal, fabric-covered surface in two directions in whi~h the face-to-face fabric movement is first in parallel and then in 180 (opposed) orientations under a loading of 5 g/cm2 of sled area, divided by the weight of the sled plus fabric. (/u = F/sled weight) A cospun 120 denier (13.3 tex) - 72 filament nylon yarn prepared as described ir. Example 1 of : U.S. Patent 3,416,302 is modified as described in .
` Example 1 herein, except that steam is used in the ~irst ` interlacing jet. Both jets are operated at 150 psi (1034 kPa) and the yarn is fed at 999 ypm (914 m/min) : :

`' 20 and wound up at 983 ypm ~899 m/min). The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.

, :`' .

, ,. ' .
: .
3o . .
: - 2~ -', .

A 22-cut (8.7 needles/cm) Swiss Pique fabric is made from this yarn. It is finished to 58"(147 cm) width with 35 wales, 44 courses per inch (14,17 per cm) and a weight of 212 g/m2. Finishing procedure consists of he~t setting the slit fabric at 375~ (l90~C) for 45 seconds at 60" (152 cm) width with 30% overfeed, tack-sewing the fabric to tube form, solvent scouring at 180F (82C) and pressure dyeing in a jet-beck at 250F (121C). After being siit and dried at 250F (121C), the fabric is heat-set at 350F (177C) for 45 seconds at 58" (147 cm) widthusing 7.5% overfeed. The finished fabric is found to have a soft, spun-like feel.
EXAM~LE ~
Two ends of 70 denier t7.8 tex)-26 filament yarn, having an equal number of nylon 66 and polytethylene terephthalate) filaments having substantially symmetrical trilobal cross-sections are used. The polyester represents 60% by weight of the yarn and has a relative viscosity of 19 while the nylon represents 40~ by weight of the yarn and .-.;
~ 20 has a relative viscosity of 50. The two ends are combined . ~:
and modified as described in Example 1 except that 150 psi (1034 kPa) steam is used in the first jet and the speeds of the feed rolls and the take-up rolls are 1000 ypm .
:~' .

, ,-t914 m/min) and 986 ypm (902 m/min), respectiv~ly. The resulting yarn has a tenacity and elongation of 3.5 gpd (309 m~/tex) and 20.5~, respectively. The values for the corresponding unmodified feed yarn are 3.S gpd (345 ml~/tex) and 24.4~. Other properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.
A crow's foot weave fabric is made using the modified yarn of this example as filling with an unmodified commercial 70-34 nylon 65 warp. For comparison purposes, a similar fabric is made using two ends of the unmodified feed yarn as filling. Loom construction is 120 ends x 94 ; picks. The fabrics are finished by scouring and dyeing under standard co,ditions for n,~lon 66 and are subsequently dried and heat-set on a clip frame at 375~F (19QC) for 1 minute at 1" (2.54 cm) over wet width. The fabric produced from the yarn of this example has a fabric-to-fabric friction coefficient, ~ calculated as described in Example 1, of 0.72 vs 0.59 for the fabric produced from the unmodified feed yarn.

This example illustrates how varying average interval length and percent node length in the yarn effects cover in fabrics.
A 140 denier (15.5 tex)-68 filament yarn of a basic-dyeable, octalobal cross-section copoly[ethylene - terephthalate/5-(sodium sulfo)isophthalate](98/2 weight ratio) having a relative viscosity of 16 is modified as in ~` Example 1 except that each jet has a yarn passage having an oval shape with a 0.157 cm width and a 0.254 cm length and a circular air passage of 0.097 cm diameter. The first ' . `
_ 30 _ ` ` " ~ " : ~`

jet wets the ~arn as described in Exam~le 1 and the second and third jets tightly entangle the yarn at 180 psi (1241 k~a) o~ air pressure each. Windup (jet-output) speed is luu~) ypm (914 m/min) .
Three lots of product are made at varying input speeds. These yarns and the unmodified feed yarn are knitted into 22-cut (8.7 needles/cm) interlock fabrics which are finished by steam calendering twice at 6" (15.2 cm~
under dry width with 22~ overfeed to allow for gradual shrinkage. Fabrics are then beck-scoured and atmospheric-pressure dyed under standard conditions for basic-dyeable polyester. After drying, the fabrics are steam calendered twic~ at 26"(66 c~) and 28 ~71 cm), respectively, with maximum overfeed, and heat-set at 340F (171C) at 62"(157 cm) : 15 width and 15% overfeed. Fabric characteristics are:

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108381)0 ,,~
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E. -~l u~ coc~
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r o G) ~ ~1 C) ~ H
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i , Q, C~;~ O; ~ ~ ~ ~

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1~83800 Hence, an lncreaRe in percent node length results in an increase in both bulk and co~er (the latter being reflected in the air permeabllity of the fabr~cs as measured by ASTM Method D-737-46).

This example illustraies the suitabillty oi a cospun polyester yarn as feed.
An ethylene terep~lthalate/5-(sodlum sulfo) i~o-phthalate (98/2 weight ratio) copolymer of 15R~ and an ethylene terephthalate/glutarate (87.5/12.5 weight r~tio) copolymer oi 32 RV are ~eparately melted and 13 ~ilQments of each extruded at a spinneret temperature o~ 295~C to form a 26-i~lament composite yarn. me glu~arate copolymer is spun through a splnneret as taught in the Holland U.S. Patent 2,939,201 to yield trilobal filaments having a modification ratio of about 2.1; the other 13 filaments are round. The yarn is air quenched and drawn to 330% of its as-spun length in a ~et supplied with ?20C 80 psi (552 kPa) steam to y~eld a 70-denier t7.8 tex) yarn. The yarn is pasæed from an un-heated draw roll at 3500 ~pm (3200 m/min) to a second set of rolls runnlng at the same speed and heated to 266F (130C).
The ya~n i8 lnterlaced as described in the Bunting et al U.S. Patent 2,985, 995 and wound up.
Two ends of this yarn are combined and modiiied by the general procedure oi Example 1 by being ied at a speed of 1033 ypm (94~ m/min) through an interlacing Jet operated at an air pressure o~ 185 psi (1276 kPa) and ~und up at a ~peed Or 1002 ypm (916 m/min). l~e properties of the resulting modiried yarn are giYen in Table 5.

108;380~

The modi~ied yarn of this example and, for com-parison, two ends of the unmodlfied feed yarn are knitted into 22-cut (8.7 needles/cm) single ~ersey fabrics. These are finished e~sentially as described ln Example 4, except that final heat setting is done at 50" (127 cm) width with 10% overfeed. A heather effect i8 achieved by dyeing only the basic-dyeable filament~ in the fabric. Fabric weight and bulk are 143g/m2 and 3.4 cc/g for the modified iabric and 156 g/m and 2.8 cc/g for the comparison fabric. In addition to a dryer hand, the modifled fabric has a ~iner heather appearance.

A 150 denier (16.7 tex)-68 f lament yarn of poly (ethylene terephthalate) having a relative viscosity of 22 is modified as in ~x~mrle 1 by belng wetted and fed at 1030 ypm (942 m/min) to t~ interlacing Jets in tandem, each h~Ying an oval yarn passage having a width of 0.157 cm and a length of 0.25~ cm with a round gas orifice O.Og7 cm in diameter, and each operated at 190 psi (1310 kPa) air pressure. The yarn is withdrawn a~ 1000 ypm (914 m/min) and wound up and its properties are given in Table 5.
The modified yQrn, the unmodified feed yarn and a false-twist set-textured (FTST) yarn of identical com-po~ition and count are all knitted to 28-cut (11.0 needles/
cm) IaCoste fabrics. These are f$nished by tumble-relaxlng at l99~F (93C) for 30 minutes, jet-scouring and dyeing at atmospheric pressure under standard conditions for disperse-dyeable polyester, steam calendering and h~at-setting at 350F (177C) for 30 seconds at about 66"
(167 cm) width and about 10% overfeed.

Fabric Characteristics Yarn WeightAir Permeability Used g/m2 m3/~in/m2 _ Flat (feed yarn) 180 339 Modified 180 237 The fabrics made of the modified yarn and the FTST
yarn have a crisp dry hand as compared with the slick ~ 15 tactility of the fabric prepared from the flat yarn. The ;~ fabric prepared from the modified yarn has a much higher air permeability than the FTST yarn fabric. Air permeability ; (as measured by ASTM Method D-737-46) is a primary factor ~- in the summer comfort of fabrics.
~ 20 The fabrics made of the modified yarn and the - FTST yarn are tested on the ICI MACE Snag Tester as described by Leung and Hershkowitz in the Textile Research - Journa~ Volume 45, #2, page 93, February, 1975, and found to have the following ratings on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is , the best: Modified yarn fabric: 2.4 wale direction, -~ 2.7 course direction; comparison fabric made from FTST yarn , was rated 1.0 in both direction.
The fabrics are also treated as follows. They are first washed twice in a home-type washing machine and, ` 30 after being dried, they are soaked in acetone overnight.

.., ~, . .

, 1(~838()0 The f~brics are wrung out, dried and soaked in a mixture containing five volumes of water and one volume of a wickins agent such as that prepared by reacting a melamine form~ldchydc condensate with a iong chain alkanol or a polyethylene glycol. After being dried, the fabrics are cured at 347F (175C) for 1 minute, and are "C" washed for the number of times given below and tested for wicking rate. (A "C" wash is done in a home-type washing machine at high water level [17 gal (64.5 1)l with 5 minutes agitation, using 100F (38C) water and 30 g detergent. The fabrics are dried in a home-type dryer for 30 minutes at 160F (71C) and for 5 minutes without heat.
If to be rated for wash-wear, the fabrics are removed promptly and hung.) ~15 Water wicking rates are measured according to the procedure described in U.S. 3,774,387 with the follow-ing modifications. A 2" (5.08 cm) diameter circle of fabric is mounted on the polytetrafluoroethylene form shown in Fig. 2 of U.S. 3,774,387 by taping it across the back. Dimensions of the form are as given for Fig. 2 except dimension 12 which is 3.4 cm. A fabric surface of about 15.7 cm2 is thus formed. The back side of the form covered with fabric is glued to the bottom of a 300 g weight (500 g weight given in patent). The apparatus given in the patent is used but the top of the fritted glass plate is positioned at the same height as the top surface of the horizontal reservoir. The fabric-covered form/weight - assembly is put on the fritted glass and the movement of the meniscus in tube 23 of Fig. 3 of U.S. 3,774,387 is .

observed and recorded at appropriate intervals. The initial wicking rate in ml/sec is then determined.
Results are:

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., :, ~0838oo I~u~l -e X e x ~J

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~ ~ l o o o o o ~ o ~ ~l ~t.
~ ~o ~ x x x x x ~:
~ -~ ~ u~
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.: ~ ~ lo 1~ 1~o 1 1~ ' ~.
FL :C X X '~ X ', . ~
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.

338~

EXAMPL~ 7 ; A 7Q denier (7.8 te~)-34 filament yarn of poly (ethylene terephthalate) having a relative viscosity of ~2 is modlfied as described in Example 6 to yi~ld a yarr having the properties given in Table 5.
The yarn is woven into a plain weave ninon fabric, loom construction is 64 ends x 64 picks. The greige fabric is heat-set at 350F (177C) for 30 seconds, bleached and dried under standard conditions used for polyester. Finished `10 weight i.s 44 g/m2. This ~abric and a comparison commercial ;: ninon polyester fabric having a weight of 47 g/m2 are given 10 "C" washes as described in Example 6 and rated subjectively ~ after 1, 3, S and 10 washes for wash-wear characteristics ': (absence of wrinkling). The rating is on a scale o, 1-5, i15 5 being complete absence of wrinkles. The resul~s reported below are the average of ratings by two people comparin~
. .
~ againsk care~ully rated standards similar to AATCC's 1~ standards 124-1967T.
:`

~20 Fabric Wash-Wear Ratin~
Wash No. Modified Comparison ~ 1 4.~ 2.2 -~' 3 3.~ 2.0 ~ 5 3,7 2.0 2.8 2.0 X~MPLE 8 A dull, antistatic 70 denier (7.8 te~ 34 Eila~
ment yarn of nylon 66 having a .relative viscos.ity of about 43 is wetted and fed through two interlacing jets in ~ande~
as described in Example 3 except that each jet is modified ~, .

to accommodate a small ceramic pin at the yarn entrance to minimize wear. The yarn is accumulated at a wind-up speed of 1000 ypm (914 m/min) with a feed speed of 1025 ~pm (937 m/Juin). The alr ~ressure in the interlacing jets s 150 psi (1034 kPa). The properties of the resulting modified yarn are given in Table 5.
The modified yarn and, for comparison, the feed yarn of this example, are knitted on a 2-bar tricot machine using jersey stitch, runners 68"/44" (173 cm/112 cm) and quality 9" (23 cm). The fabrics are scoured one pass open width, relaxed, at 210F ~99C), beck-dyed under standard nylon 66 conditions, and heat-set at 400F (204C) at 45 wales and 47 courses per inch (18,19/cm). Weights are 112 g/m2 for both fabrics. The modified fabric has a crepe-like look with an attractive speckled or grainy effect and has a crisp dry hand. The comparison fabric is slick to the touch and uniformly shiny.
. .

... .
- This example illustrates the use of a splittable bicomponent feed yarn. Bicomponent spinning is well known.
in the art as evidenced by U.S. Patent 3,038,235.
` Side-by-side-bicomponent yarn composed substan- ~-tially of 30% nylon 66 containing 10~ rutile TiO2 as one component and 70% poly(ethylene terephthalate) as the other -~-~; is spun as described below. The relative viscosities of the polymers are 45 and 32, respectively.
., :
Each polymer is melted in a screw melter and -~ metered to a spinneret in which the melts are metered into each hole from adjacent, concentric channels at rates to provide the desired filament denier and polymer ratios.
: :
. , 1~83800 Temperatures in the screw melters range (feed to discharge) from 260 to 290C for the the polyester and from 40 to 2~0 for the nyloll. Block and spinneret temperatures are 290C. An aqueous finish containing 50 parts of mineral oil, 20 parts of sulfonated peanut oil and 20 parts of potassium oleate is applied. A 400-denier (44.4 tex) 34-filament yarn is wound up at 400 ypm (366 m/min).
The yarn is further processed on a Whitin RK draw winder modified by having an interlacing jet mounted horizon-tally between the draw roll and the relaxation roll as shown in Figure 5. The int,erlacing jet is similar to that shown in Figures 11 and 12 and Example III of U.S. Patent 3,364,537, the difference being that instead of ~he two guide air conduits 67 of the patent, the jet has four guide air conduits, each directed toward the yarn passage and at - a 45 angle to the jet base. Air is fed to the orifices - at a pressure of 60 psi (414 kPa).
The draw-winder feed rolls are operated at a surface speed of 77 ypm (71 m/min) and the draw rolls at 258 ypm (236 m/min) and the yarn is drawn 3.3X over a hot plate at a temperature of 120C. The relaxation rolls are driven at 252 ypm (231 m/min) representing an overfeed to the jet of 2.3%. The yarn is wound up at 243 ypm (222 m/min), representing a windup relaxation of the -~ 25 yarn of 3.7~.
The properties of the resulting modified yarn are given in Table 5.

This example illustrates the use of a cospun feed yarn composed of both bicomponent and single-component filaments.

A~ The composite yarn has 9 filaments of a copolymer of 70% poly(hexamethylene dodecamide) and 30~
poly(hexamethylene terephthalamide) having a relative vis-cosity of 35.6 and 27 ~icom~onent ~ilaments of the ~ame s copolymer as one component (50%) and nylon 66 having a relative viscosity of 45 as the other, The copolymer is screw melted over a temperature range of 250C to 295C and the nylon 66 is screw melted over a temperature range of 240C to 280C. The block and spinneret temperatures are 300C. The 400 denier (44 .4 tex)-36 f;lament yarn is wound up at 500 ypm (457 m~min).
The modified draw winder of Example 9 is used to process the yarn further. Feed roll speed is 71 ypm (65 m/min) and draw roll speed is 250 ypm (229 m/min) and the ya~n is drawn 3 . 5X over a hot plate at a tempera-ture of 120C. Jet air pressure is 80 psi (552 kPa).
The speed of the relaxation rolls is 216 ypm (198 m/min) (15 . 7% overfeed to the jet). The yarn is wound up at :~ 220 ypm ( 201 m/min) .
: . .
The properties of- the resulting mod~fied yarn are giVen in Table 5.
B. ~ second 400 denier (44.4 te~ -36 filament yarn is prepared substantially as in ~. above and contains 9 filaments of a 60 RV nylon 66 and 27 bicomponent fila-'~ 25 ments of equal weights of the same nylon 66 and 30 RV poly (ethylene terephthalate). Screw melter temperatures are 250C - 285C for both components. Block and spinneret temperatures are 300C. The yarn is wound up at 500 ypm ~ (457 m/min).
- 30 The modified draw winder of Example 9 is used . ~

to prepare a yarn of this invention using an air pressure of 80 psi (552 kPa) in the jet. Feed roll speed is 55 ypm (51 m/min) and draw roll speed is 250 ypm t229 m/min) and the yarn is drawn 4.5X over a cold pin. Relaxation roll speed is 230 ypm (210 m/min) (8.7~ overfeed to the jet). The yarn is wound up at 226 ypm (207 m/min) (1.7%
windup relaxation of the yarn). The properties of the resulting m~dified yarn are given in Table 5.
ExAMæLE 11 The feed of this example is a cospun yarn com-posed of both bicomponent and single-component filaments.
This composite yarn has 9 filaments of a copolymer of 70~ poly(hexamethylene dodecamide) and 30% poly(hexamethy-lene terephthalamide) having a relative viscosity of 35.6 and 27 bicomponent filaments of the same copolymer as one component (50~) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) having ; a relative viscosity of 30 as the other. The filaments of the 400 denier (44.4 tex)-36 filament yarn have substantiallv symmetrical trilobal cross sections and are spun and wound up at 500 ypm (457 m/min).
The modified draw wlnder of Example 9 is used to process the yarn further. Feed roll speed is 89 ypm ~,,!
(81 m/min), and draw roll speed is 259 ypm (237 m/min) with 2.9X draw over a 3" hot plate at 150C. The air pressure through the ~et, located 12" (30 cm) from the draw rolls and between the draw rolls and the relaxation r-, ~, rolls, is 80 psi (552 kPa). The relaxation roll speed is :.;
: 238 ypm (218 m/min). The yarn is wound up at 228 ypm , . . .
(208 m/min) and has 21 ends per inch (8.3 ends per cm) and a breaking strength oflll lbs (494 N). Other properties ,-.
, of the modified yarn are given in Table 5.

~ .~o ends of 70 denier (7.8 tex)-34 filament poly(ethylene terephth~late) (rel~tive viscosity of 22) yarn having filaments of round cross-section are pro-cessed by the procedure described in Example 1 except that the yarn is wound up at a speed of 962 ypm (880 m/min).
The properties of the resulting modified yarn are given in Table 5.
EXAMæLE 13 - A 150 denier (16.6 tex)-94 filament yarn made from poly(ethylene terephthalate) having a relative viscosity of about 12 is modified as in Example 1 except that the ~ -yarn is fed from feed rolls at a speed of 1029 ypm (941 m/min) ~ -through the wetting jet and then through 2 interlacing jets having round air-passages of 0.079 cm diameter and round -yarn-passages of 0.193 cm diameter. The interlacing jets ~--/ are operated at 180 psi (1241 kPa) air pressure. The modified yarn is abraded with a Norton abrader A-38 made of 32 "Alundum" in 60-120 grit prior to windup. The windup speed is 1000 ypm (914 m/min). The abrader contact angle and speed are controlled at 20 and 6600 rpm, respec-/ tively. The yarn tension downstream of the abrader is i adjusted at 373 mN.
... . . . .
The resulting yarn having 14.5 ends per inch (5.7 ; ends per cm), an average free end length of 2.9 mm (13.1%
are greater than 6 mm) and a breaking strength of 72 lbs ~1 (320 N) has enhanced spun~ e character. It also has a ;, coefficient of variation (% C.V.) of denier of 4.8~ as measured under standard conditions at 100 ypm (91 m/min) .~, ~. _ - 44 _ ., with an Uster Evenness Tester, type GGP-B21, made by Zellweger Ltd. of Switzerland and a % C.V. of strength of 0.0~ as measured under standard c~nditions with an Uster Automatic Yarn Strength Tcster, Model ST 2 57112-3030, made by Zellweger Ltd. of Switzerland. A comparison yarn spun from 3 dpf (.33 tex/filament) 2.2" (i.5 cm) poly(ethylene terephthalate) staple has a ~ C.V. of denier of 24.4~ and a ~ C.V. of streng~h of 18.2%.
EXAMæLE 14 Two ends of a 70 denier (7.8 tex)-50 filament yarn of copolylethylene terephthalate/5-(sodium SU1fO) isophthalate~ (98/2 weight ratio) having a relative viscosity of 16 are processed by the procedure described in Example 1 except that the interlace jets are operated at a pressure ; 15 of 80 psi (552 kPa) pressure of steam in the first jet and air in the second, and the take-up rolls withdraw the modified yarn at 975 ypm (892 m/min). The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5. --~` EXAMPLE 15 .
A 500 denier(55.6 tex)-141 filament yarn spun from a poly(ethylene terephthalate) polymer having a relative -~- viscosity of 22 is modified as described in Example 1 but is fed through the jets at a speed of 1039 ypm (950 m/min).
Both interlacing jets are operated at an air pressure of 165 psi (1138 kPa). The modified yarn is wound up at a speed of 1000 ypm (914 m/min). The properties of the modi-! fied yarn are given in Table 5.
EXAMPLE ~6 A 30 denier (3.3 tex)-26 filament nylon 66 yarn made from flake having a relative viscosity of 29 is modified ', , 10838()0 as described in Example 1 but is fed through the jets at a speed of 1025 yprn (937 m/min) while the interlacing jets are operated at an air pressure of 150 psi (1034 k~a) and have a circular yarn passage diameter of Q.158 cm and a roun~
air orifice diameter of 0.079 cm. The yarn is wound up at 1000 ypm (914 m/min). The prop~rties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.

.
An 840 denier (93.2 tex)-140 filament feed yarn spun from nylon 66 having a relati~e viscosity of 62 is m~dified as described in Example 1 except that jets having the structure of the Example 1 wetting jet are used as the interlacing jets and a jet having the structure of the .i Example 1 interlacing jets is used as the wetting jet. The yarn is fed through the jets at a speed of 1000 ypm (914 m/min) while the first interlacing jet is operated at a steam pressure ~
of 175 psi (1207 kPa) and the second interlaciny jet is operated at an air pressure of 175 psi (1207 kPa). The yarn is wound up at 980 y~m (896 m/min). The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.
EXA~LE 18 A dry-spun 63 denier (7.0 tex)-36 filament acrylic yarn having a relative viscosity of 26 (measured at 25C
` as the ratio of the viscosity of a solution of 0.5 g of , 25 polymer [or fiber] dissolved in 10 ml of dimethyl acetamide -~ containing 5~6 LiCl to the viscosity of the LiCl-containing '.`! dimethyl acetamide alone) is modified as described in Example 6, except that 80 psi (552 kPa) pressure of air is applied by both interlacing jets and the speeds of the feed rolls and :.' take-up rolls are 1030 ypm (942 m/min) and 997 ypm (912 m/min), . "

_ 46 -. .

respectively. The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.
EY,AMPLE 19 A 150 denier (16.7 tex)~40 filament cellulose acetate yarn having an intrinsic viscosity of 1~6 deter-mined at 25C in dimethyl acetamide is modified as in Example 6 except that the speeds of the feed rolls and the take-up rolls are 1034 ypm (946 m/min) and 1019 ypm (932 m/min), respectively, and the air pressure in the interlacing jets is 15Q psi (1034 kPa). The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Table 5.

One end of a 100 denier (11.1 tex)-20 fiiament yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate) having a RV of 22 and another end of a 70 denier (7.8 tex)-34 filament yarn of the same polymer having a RV of 12 are combined and modi-fied by the general procedure of Example 1, except that only a single entangling jet is used and the jet is opera-ted at 350 psi (2413 kPa) of air. The yarns are fed to the `~ 20 jet at a speed of 1020 ypm (933 m/min) and wound up at a speed of 1000 ypm (91~ m/min).
The resulting effect yarn has 38.6 ends per inch (15~2 ends per cm) and a breaking strength of 151 lbs ~672 N) with a coefficient of denier variation of 4.17g6 (measured as in Example 13) . Other properties of this yarn are given in Tables 5 and 6.
In this example, essentially all free ends are produced from the filaments of 12 RV polymer.
EX~MPLE 21 This example exemplifies the preparation of an -- ~l7 --effect yarn from feed yarns of filaments having two different deniers and RV's and the preparation of a range of fabrics from the effect yarn showning the utility of these yarns in giving superior bulk and coverin~ power over ~abric produced from unmodified yarn.
One end of a 100 denier (11.1 tex)-20 filament yarn of copoly[ethylene terephthalate/5-(sodium-solfo) isophthalate] (98/2 weight ratio) having a RV of 15 and another end of a 70 denier (7.8 tex)-34 filament yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate) having a RV of 11 are combined ; and modified by the general procedure of Example 20 except that the jet is operated at 300 psi (2068 kPa) of '~`12. The yarns are fed to the jet at a speed of 10~0 ypm (933 m/min) ~-and a wind-up at a speed of 1000 ypm (914 m/min). The ~ -resulting yarn properties are given in Tables 5 and 6.
The effect yarn of this example is knitted into `; 18 cut Ponte de Roma fabric. This is finished by Jawatex ~ :
scour at 180F (82C) followed by heat-setting at 350F

~~ (177~C) for 30 seconds at 55.5" (141 cm) width with 6~ over-., .
feed. The fabric is dyed in a Hisaki jet dyer at 250F

(121C) under standard conditions for disperse-dyeable . . ~
... .
` polyester and is dried and heat set in one step at 365F
.. .
-- (185C) at 50" (126 cm) width with 7~ overfeed. The fabric has a weight of 8.5 oz/yd2 (288 g/m2) and bulk of 3.8 cc/g. Air permeability is 275 ft3/min/ft2 (84 m2/min/m2).

'' Pilling resistance of the fabric as determined by the Random ~ Tumble Pill Test (ASTM D-1375) is excellent, ratin~s of 4.0, ~5~
3.8, 4.5 are obtained after 10,20 and 30 minutes of tumbling.

The fabric has a warm spun-like hand.

The yarn of this example is also converted into

4 8 .

, 1083t~1~0 28-cut La Coste and plain jersey fabrics. The formcr is knit to 4.3 oz/yd2 (146 g/m2) steamed ~eight, the latter to 3.5 oz/yd2 (119 g/m2) boi]ed-off weight. The La Coste is finished by Jawatex scouriny at 180F (82C), jet ~couring and pressure dyeing at 250F tl21C) under standard condi-tions for disperse-dyeable poly_ster, steam-calendering and heat-setting at 350F (177C) for 30 seconds at 74" (1~8 cm) width and 5% overfeed. The single jersey is finished by scouring and bleaching under standard conditions used for polyester followed by drying at wet width at 250E (121C) and heat setting at 350F (177C) for 30 seconds at 59"
(150 cm) and 8% over feed.
Fabric properties are:

Weight Bulk Air Permeability ~ Light ~ 15 g/m2 oz/yd2 cc/g m3/min/m2Transmission ; La Coste 156 4.6 6.9 230 10.2 Jersey 112 3.3 5.7 160 16.4 To demonstrate the covering power as measured by % light transmission and the bulk of fabric prepared from the effect yarns of this example, the La Coste fabric was compared to other 28-cut La Coste fabrics prepared from 140 denier (15.5 tex)-68 filament unmodified yarn and a 177 denier (19.6 tex) (30/1 cc) poly(ethylene terephthalate)/
cott~n (65/35) spun yarn:

Wei~ht Bulk Air ~ermeability~ Light Yarn Type oz/yd (g/m2) cc/g m~/min~m2 Transmission Unmodified 5.3(180) 4.3 340 15.0 - Effect 4.6(156) 6.9 230 10.2 Spun 4.6(156) 6.2 150 6.6 The fabric made from the effect yarn has substantially .

higher bulk and covering power than that prepared from the unmodified yarn even though the latter contains much more yarn ~greater weight). The effect yarn fabric is almost equivalent to a fabric prepared rom a commercial spun yarn.
` 5 In addition, the fabric uniformity is superior to that of fabric prepared from spun yarn because of its superior denier uniformity.
EXAM~LE 22 This example exemplifies the preparation of an effect yarn prepared from feed yarns of filaments having the same RV but mixed dpf. The feed yarn in this example is spun side-by-side, the low dpf from one spinneret and the high dpf , from another. The two ends are combined on the spinning , machine and wound up as a single bundle.
; 15 A co-spun 104 denier (11.5 tex)-13 filament/ 70 i denier (7.8 tex)-34 filament yarn of copoly[ethylene terephthalate/5-(sodium-sulfo)isophthalate] (98/2 weight ratio) having an RV of 12 is modified by the general procedure of Example 20 except that the jet is operated at 525 psi ~3620 kPa) of N2. The yarn is fed to the jet at ~-` a speed of 1011 ypm (924 m/min) and wound up at a speed of 1000 ypm (914) m/min). The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Tables 5 and 6.

., This example exemplifies the use of a single RV, single dpf feed yarn for producing a strong modified yarn with free ends.
,fj Three ends of 150 denier (16.7 tex)-~4 filament yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate) having an RV of 11 are combined and modified by the general procedure of Example 21 ,, , .~ .
.... ~ .
.

exce~t that the jet is operated at 350 psi (2413 kPa) air.
The yarns are fed to the jets at a speed of 1020 ypm (933 m/min) and wound up at a speed of 1000 ypm (914 m/min). The proper-ties of the yarn resulting from this treatment are sho~rn in Tables 5 and 6.
EXAMEtLE 24 This example exemplies the preparation of an effect yarn from feed yarns of filaments having two different cross sections, and the preparation of a woven fabric demon-strating the superior covering power of the effect yarns.
One end of a 40 denier (4.4 tex)-8 filament yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate) having an RV of 22, the filaments of which have round cross-secticns, and one end of a 40 denier (4.4 tex)-27 filament yarn of copoly[ethylene terephthalate/5-(sodium sulfo)isophthalate] having an RV
of 15, the filaments' of which have substantially symmetrical trilobal cross-sections, are combined and modified by the ~-~ general procedure of Example 21 except that the jet is opera-.
ted at 325 psi (2241 kPa1 of N2. The properties of the result-ing yarn are listed in Tables 5 and 6. The yarn is converted f~ into a plain weave fabric. Loom construction is 80 ends ; , per inch (epi) x 68 picks per inch (ppi) [32 ends per cm -~ (e/cm) x 27 picks per cm (p/cm)]. The greige fabric is heat ~; set at 340F (171C) for 20 seconds l't (2.5 cm) under width ~ 25 and 2~ overfeed, bleached and dried under standard conditions x~ used for polyester. The fabric is given a light singe, and .. ~
is cold calendered and semi-decated 1 x 1. Finished weight is 1.7 oz/yd2 (57.7 g/m2). The cover of this fabric as measured by % light transmission as compared to that of a commercial poly(ethylene terephthalate)/cotton (63/35) of ., .
~ .

,~'- .
, ~. .
.. . .
, .: . , similar constru~tion but higher weight is found to be better:
Wei ht Construction% Light Fabric ~ e/cm x p/cmTransmission Effect yarn 57.7 35 x 29 11.3 Commercial 74.7 35 x 30 16.6 This example exemplifies the use of feed yarns of filaments prepared from two different polymer types to - produce a strong modified yarn with free ends.
10. One end of a 1~0 denier (11.1 tex)-20 filament - yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate? having a RV of 22 and . one end of a 55 denie'r (6.1 tex)-24 filament yarn of cellulose acetate (Acele acetate, Type C) are combined and modified by the general procedure of Example 1. Both jets are operated at 170 psi (1172 kPa) and the yarns are fed at 1030 ypm (942 m/min) and wound up at 1000 ypm (914 m/min).
. The properties of the resulting yarn are given in Tables 5 . -~' and 6.

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-- 54 _ So far, this detailed description has referred to application of the invention to yarns of the type that are useful in making woven, knitted or other fabrics, in other words to drawn yarns. As indicated in the following Example, however, the invention is also ap~licable to partially oriented yarns, such as are available commercially, being obtained by melt spinning at relatively high speeds, pref-erably in excess of 2500 m/min, and are used commercially as feed yarns for simultaneous draw-texturing. Such yarns include polyester yarns having a birefringence of about 0.025 to about 0.05, and nylon yarns having a birefringence of about 0.04 to about 0.05.

A 255 denier (28.1 tex)-68 filament draw-texturing feed yarn of poly(ethylene terephthalate) of 22 RV having a birefringence of 0.040 (measured as in British Patent -No. 1,406,810, pages 5 and 6) is modified as described in Example 1, except that the wetting jet has a round yarn entrance orifice of 0.193 cm diameter with round air (water) entrance orifices of 0.079 cm diameter, each interlacing jet has an oval yarn entrance hole of 0.157 cm width and 0.254 cm length with 0.097 cm diameter round air entrance orifices and is operated at 180 psi (1241 kPa) pressure of air, and that the takeup speed is 975 ypm (892 m/min).
The resulting modified yarn has 34% of its length entangled in nodes averaging 3.9 mm in length and having a retentivity of 94~. The average interval length is 7.7 mm.
This modified yarn is draw-textured on a commercial Leesona 570 false-twist texturing machine, modified for simultaneous drawing and texturing as described in . . .

', ~
... . .
:-' . .. .
- . ~ ., . .~ ' l .

10~38t~0 Piazza & Reese U.S. Patent No. 3,722,872, being fed at a speed of 90 ypm (82 m/min), drawn at a draw ratio of 1.57X, with a first heater at a temperature of 420F (216C) and a spindle speed of l9S,000 rpm to give a yarn twist level of 60 tpi (23.6 turns/cm), set using a second heater at a temperature of 400F (204C) with 15% overfeed, and then wound up using an underfeed of 4%.
The draw-textured modified yarn of this Example and, for comparison,some draw-textured unmodified draw-texturing feed yarnfor this Example are knitted into 18-cut (7.1 needles/cm) Ponte de Roma fabrics. These are finished by Jawatex scouring at 208F (98C) at open width, and dyed in a Hisaki Jet Dyer using standard conditions for disperse-dyeable polyester yarn, and heat set at 350F (177C) for 45 sec. Finished weights are 264 g/m2 for the modified yarn fabric and 258 g/m2 for the comparison fabric. Both fabrics have a similar bulk of 3.8 cc/g. The test fabric has a drier tactility and a more spun-like appearance.
As shown in this Example, the draw-textured yarn prepared from modified draw-texturing feed yarn is useful in preparing fabrics having a similar bulk but a more spun-like tactility and appearance than those from draw-textured yarn prepared from the unmodified draw-texturing feed yarn, because of the presence of the nodes.
It is important to carry out the draw-texturing simultaneously. If the modified draw-texturing feed yarn is merely drawn, or drawn and textured sequentially, it is difficult to retain the nodes.
It will be undexstood that effect yarns with free ends can also be prepared using draw-texturing feed yarns.

_ 56 -.

The free ends are preferably created by stretch-breaking during the draw-texturing operation. For this purpose, the draw-texturing feed yarns preferably contain a mixture of component yarns having differing break elongations.
When the invention is applied to partially oriented yarns that are subsequently destined for simultaneous draw-texturing, the levels of entanglement and retentivity can be lower than indicated above for drawn yarn. Such partially oriented yarns, however, pref-erably have nodes comprising an average of at least 10% of the yarn length and a retentivity of at least about 50~
The subsequent simultaneous draw-texturing introduces more retentivity in the final draw-textured yarns.
Although the invention has been described in ~ 15 considerable detail in the foregoing, it is to be under-.~ stood that such detail is solely for the purpose of : illustration and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

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Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A yarn of organic fibers which has zero twist and random lengths of tightly entangled fibers as nodes having substantially zero twist, the nodes comprising an average of about 20%-70% of the yarn length, and having a retentivity of at least 75% and alternating with random lengths of substantially unentangled asymmetrically splayed fibers in intervals having an average length of about 3-12 mm.

2. The yarn of Claim 1 having a retentivity of at least 95%.

3. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the nodes having zero twist as produced have a substantially braided appearance.

4. The yarn of Claim 1 having 30-60% nodes in the yarn length.

5. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the nodes have an average length of 1-8 mm.

6. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the intervals have an average length of 3-8 mm.

7. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the fibers have different deniers.

8. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are fibers of a rayon, homo or copolymer of a nylon, aramide, polyester, acrylic polymer, polyolefin, or mixtures of any of them.

9. The yarn of Claim 8 wherein the organic fibers are fibers of a polyester.

10. The yarn of Claim 8 having a denier of up to about 800.

11. me yarn of Claim 10 having a denier of up to about 600.

12. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are bicomponent fibers.

13. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are bicomponent and monocomponent fibers.

14. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are splittable bicomponent fibers.

15. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the fibers have mixed shrinkage.

16. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the fibers have a modified cross section.

17. The yarn of Claim 1 which contains at least 10 fibers wherein the fibers in the yarn have an average dpf of less than 8.

18. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the fibers have mixed cross sections.

19. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein a fraction of the fibers in the yarn is broken.

20. The yarn of Claim 19 which contains at least two different fibers, each of which is composed of a different organic polymer.

21. The yarn of Claim 19 which contains fibers of an organic polymer having at least two different vis-cosities.

22. The yarn of Claim 19 which contains fibers having different deniers per filament.

23. The yarn of Claim 19 having at least 20 fibers wherein the fibers in the yarn have an average dpf of less than 8.

24. A yarn wherein a fraction of the fibers in the yarn of Claim 13 is broken.

25. A yarn wherein a fraction of the fibers in the yarn of Claim 14 is broken.

26. A yarn wherein a fraction of the fibers in the yarn of Claim 15 is broken.

27. The yarn of Claim 1 having continuous filaments.

28. A fabric of the yarn of Claim 1.

29. A fabric of the yarn of Claim 19.

30. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are prepared by melt spinning at a withdrawal speed in excess of 2500 m/min.

31. The yarn of Claim 1 wherein the organic fibers are fibers of a polyester having a birefringence of about 0.025 to about 0.05.

32. The yarn of Claim 30, wherein the nodes comprise an average of at least about 10% of the yarn length and a retentivity of at least about 50%.

33. The yarn of Claim 31, wherein the nodes comprise an average of at least about 10% of the yarn length and a retentivity of at least about 50%.