Studies on Plasma treatment (Dielectric barrier discharge) on P/C blended fabric

Kiran Kale & Shital Palaskar

Plasma

Plasma constituents properties

Electron density

mean free path

Ion density

Electron

/ion temperature

Classification of Plasma

Hot plasma /cold plasma

Natural plasma /man-made plasma

Low pressure & atmospheric pressure plasma

Atmospheric pressure plasma

Corona discharge

Dielectric barrier discharge

Atmospheric pressure glow discharge

Plasma-surface Interactions

PLASMA PROCESS VARIABLES

System pressure Electrode configuration
Nature of gas Concentration of gas Power Time of treatment Nature of substrate

Objectives
To investigate effect of DBD plasma treatment on wetting properties of P/C blended fabric

To study changes in surface morphology after plasma treatment

To study the durability of plasma treatment

Materials and methods

Fabric: Polyester/cotton blended RFD fabric with following specifications Blend composition , P/C: 67/33 Thread density , epi / ppi : 90/70 GSM: 88

Type of plasma : Atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge

Plasma treatment
Sample of fabric of 50 cm width was passed between the electrodes of PT machine wherein it was exposed to plasma generated from helium and Oxygen gas mixture with the following variants,
Power :1000-2500 W Duration : 10-60 s Helium gas flow: 1-5 SLPM Oxygen gas flow: 0.1-1 SLPM Inter-electrode distance: 0.5- 3 mm

Characterization techniques
Measurement of wicking height for 30 minutes with an interval of 5 minutes each

Durability of treatment after 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months assessed by wicking height measurements

Surface morphology of the fabric by SEM

Results
a. Discharge power
Treatment conditions
Power 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 W

Exposure time
Helium flow

10 s
4 SLPM

inter-electrode gap 0.5 mm

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 5 min 10 min 15 min 20 min 25 min 30 min

capillary height (mm)

1000 w 1500 w 2000 w 2500 w untreated sample

time of wicking (min)

Results
b. Helium flow rate
Treatment conditions
Power exposure time Helium flow inter-electrode gap
80

2500 W 10 s 1, 2,3, 4, 5 SLPM 0.5 mm

capillary height (mm)

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 1 lpm 2 lpm 3 lpm 4 lpm 5 lpm

0
5 min 10 min 15 min 20 min 25 min 30 min

time of wicking (min)

Results
c. oxygen flow
Treatment conditions
Power Exposure time Helium flow Oxygen flow inter-electrode gap
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 5 min 10 min 15 min 20 min 25 min 30 min Time of wicking

2500 W 10 s 4 SLPM 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.8, 1 SLPM 0.5 mm

Capillary height mm

0.1 lpm 0.2 lpm 0.3 lpm 0.4 lpm 0.5 lpm 0.8 lpm 1 lpm

Results
d. Inter-electrode distance
Treatment conditions
Power exposure time Helium flow 2500 W 10 s 4 SLPM

Oxygen flow
inter-electrode gap
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 5 min

0.3 SLPM
0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 mm

capillary height (mm)

0.5 mm
1 mm 1.5 mm 2 mm 2.5 mm 3 mm
10 min 15 min 20 min 25 min 30 min

time of wicking (min)

Results
f. Duration of Treatment
Treatment conditions
Power 2000 W

Duration of treatment 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 s

Helium flow inter-electrode gap
70 60

4 LPM 0.5 mm

capillary height (mm)

50 40 30 20 10 0 1 min 2 min 3 min 4 min 5 min 10 min

10 s 20 s

30 s
40 s 50 s 60 s

time for wicking (min)

Results
Durability of plasma treatment with respect to inter-electrode distance
30

capillary height (mm)

25 20 15 10 5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 fresh sample after 1 week after 1 month

inter-electrode distance (mm)

Results
Durability of plasma treatment with respect to helium concentration
40 wicking height (mm) 35 30 25 20

fresh
after 1 week after 1 month after 3 months

15
10 5

0
1 2 3 4 5

helium flow (lpm)

Results
Durability of plasma treatment with respect to oxygen concentration

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.8 oxygen concentration (LPM) 1

freash sample after 1 week after 1 month after 3 months

wicking height

Results
Change in surface morphology-SEM studies
Plasma treated, 30 s

Control

Plasma treated, 60 s

Concluding Remarks
Wettability of P/C improved with plasma treatment Plasma process variables have significant effect on the plasma treatment Changes in morphology were observed