Feb 23, 2011

An international conference on Textiles – Light and Weatherfastness, was held Jan. 21 at the Textile Committee Auditorium in Mumbai, India.  The conference, the first of its kind in India, was sponsored by ASTM International, Atlas Material Testing Solutions and DyStar.

The conference featured several international speakers who addressed the growing need for technical and high-performance textiles.  More than 160 participants attended the live conference on site in Mumbai, while several others from Delhi, Bangalor, Ahmedabad and Tiirupar in India, and Sri Lanka, Germany and the United States were able to attend via Web conference. Participants included textile, dye and chemical manufacturers, quality control managers, laboratories, automotive OEM manufacturers and members of academia.

For all textiles, resistance to the harmful effects of natural sunlight or artificial illumination is critical, and the need for technical and high performance textiles is growing exponentially. The primary goal of the conference was to create awareness and improve the overall understanding in the specialized field of textile durability. Key topics included practical experiences, specific test applications, standardization, instrument technology and the history of textile testing.

The papers presented at the conference and their topics are listed below.

Lightfastness Standards, Testing and Correlation - Professor Martin J. Bide, University of Rhode Island, United States

Performance Based Standards for Colourfastness to Light for Textiles - Challenges and Opportunities -Dr. Artur Schönlein, Atlas Material Testing Technology, Germany

Light and Wet Lightfastness - Dr. Andreas Giehl, DyStar Frankfurt, Germany

Investigation of Uniformity of Lightfastness Test Devices Using ISO 105-B02 Conditions – DEK Ring Test 2008/2009 - Head of German Colour Fastness Committee - DEK

Colourfastness to Light – A Testing Perspective - Mr.Rahul Bhajekar, Managing Director of Texanlab Laboratories Pvt. Ltd, India

Fundamentals and Evolution of Light and Weatherfastness Tests - Professor Josep Valldeperas, Director INTEXZER – UPC Terrasa from Spain

Reliable Lightfastness Testing; Instrument Validation and Implementation of Test Results - Dr. Oliver Rahäuser, Product Manager, Atlas MTT GmbH, Germany

TESTEX Round Robin Tests – 10 Years Experience with Colourfastness to Light - Mr. Adrian Meili, Testex A, Switzerland

The Challenges of Automotive Fabric Coloration - Dr. Andreas Giehl, DyStar Frankfurt, Germany

Cationic Cotton Dyes: Effects on Lightfastness - Professor Peter J. Hauser, North Carolina State University, United States

For additional detailed information about any of the papers presented, please contact Mr. Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, ASTM International (phone: +44-2615-1791; textile1@astm.org).

ASTM International Committees D13 on Textiles (www.astm.org/COMMIT/D13) and F23 on Personal Protective Clothing Equipment (www.astm.org/COMMIT/F23.htm) develop international standards related to textiles.  Visit the www.astm.org for more information on these committees.

ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.

For more information about ASTM International textile standards development activities in India, contact Mr. Jayakumar Gopalakrishnan, ASTM International India Textile Instructor and Technical and Services Consultant, Chennai, India (phone: +44-2615-1791; textile1@astm.org).

ASTM Contact: Teresa Cendrowska, Phone: +1-610-832-9718; tcendrow@astm.org

Release #8800