Parametric study on some physical behaviors of tri-component elastic-conductive composite yarns with different elastane drafts

Stretchable and conductive yarns spun on traditional ring spinning frames are promising candidates for applications in wearable devices. A scalable approach for manufacturing multifunctional tri-component elastic-conductive composite yarns (t-ECCYs) has been reported previously. In this study, the effect of the elastane draw ratio upon the physical and conductive properties of the resulting yarns was investigated. It was found that the tensile characteristics of t-ECCYs were primarily dependent upon the spinning settings, especially the draft applied to the elastane filament, which exerted a highly vital effect. Tensile characteristics increased sharply with an initial increase in elastane draft up to 3, beyond which they increased only marginally. Significant alternations in yarns' tensile behavior incorporating different elastane drafts were established. Weibull statistics and box–whisker plots were used to quantify the variability in strength. The role of spinning geometries and different elastane drafts on the yarn hair formation were also highlighted. The results indicated that increasing the elastane draft increased yarn hairiness. It is the distinctive configuration of the yarn's material constituents (the elastane) and the draft applied to elastane that are responsible for the exceptional stretchability of t-ECCYs. With variable thermal-conductive characteristics under different amounts of stretch, the t-ECCYs, which can be industrially woven or knitted, hold tremendous prospects for the wearable electronics or portable electrical devices.