Common Problems in Singeing & Their Countermeasures

Textile fabrics are normally singed in order to improve their surface appearance and wearing properties. The burning-off of protruding fibre-ends, which are not firmly bound in the yarn, results in a clean surface which allows the structure of the fabric to be clearly seen. Un-singed fabrics soil more easily than singed fabrics. Similarly, the risk of cloudy dyeings with singed articles dyed in dark shades is considerably reduced than un-singed articles.
Although textile materials can be singed in yarn, knitted or woven forms, singeing of woven fabrics is much more common as compared to other forms. Two main methods of singeing are direct flame singeing and indirect flame singeing. The important direct flame singeing parameters are:

• Singeing position
• Flame intensity
• Fabric speed
• Distance between the fabric and the burner
• Moisture in the fabric coming for singeing
  

If any one or more of the above parameters are not optimal, the result may be faulty singeing. There may be singeing faults which are optically demonstrable and are quite easily remedied during the actual working process. On the other hand there may be some singeing faults which are not visible until after dyeing and which can, once occurred, no longer be repaired. A summary of most common problems in the singing of woven fabrics is given in Table 1.

Table 1 Common Problems in Singeing and Their Countermeasures

Problems	Causes	Countermeasures
Incomplete singeing	1. Too low flame intensity 2. Too fast fabric speed 3. Too far distance between the fabric and the burner 4. Inappropriate singeing position [not severe enough] 5. Too much moisture in the fabric incoming for singeing	1. Optimum flame intensity 2. Optimum fabric speed 3. Optimum distance between the fabric and the burner 4. Optimum singeing position 5. No excess moisture in the fabric incoming for singeing
Uneven singeing [widthways]	1. Non-uniform moisture content across the fabric width 2. Non-uniform flame intensity across the fabric width 3. Uneven distance between the burner and the fabric	1. Uniform moisture content across the fabric width 2. Uniform flame intensity across the fabric width 3. Uniform distance between the fabric and the burner
Uneven singeing [lengthways]	1. Non-uniform moisture content along the fabric length 2. Non-uniform flame intensity along the fabric length 3. Change in fabric speed during singeing 4. Change in the distance between the fabric and the burner along the length	1. Uniform moisture content along the fabric length 2. Uniform flame intensity along the fabric length 3. Uniform fabric speed during singeing 4. Uniform distance between the fabric and the burner along the length
Thermal damage or Reduction in tear strength	1. Too high flame intensity 2. Too slow fabric speed 3. Too close distance between the fabric and the burner 4. Inappropriate singeing position [too severe]	1. Optimum flame intensity 2. Optimum fabric speed 3. Optimum distance between the fabric and the burner 4. Optimum singeing position