Performance Wear and Functional Textiles - Conference
K. Sekhar, Chief Controller (Implementation), DRDO, New Delhi, speaking at a conference on ‘Performance Wear and Functional Textiles’ at the PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore on Thursday. The Defence Research and Development Organisation is considering involving industries in research and development, K. Sekhar, Chief Controller, said here on Thursday.Inaugurating an international conference on “Performance Wear and Functional Textiles” organised by the Department of Textile Technology and Texas Tech University, U.S.A., he said the government and the DRDO were working together towards promoting research activities. The government was giving funds and cutting down on the procedural formalities for undertaking research so that more people voluntarily took up research.
Technical textiles were a growing sector in the country. The global growth rate of the sector was four per cent. It was greater than the apparel sector, he said. In the U.S., it was growing at more than 35 per cent. In China, it was 19 per cent. In India, it was only about five per cent. With a growing economy and the presence of raw materials, the technical textile sector had great growth prospects in Asia, Mr. Sekhar noted. Technical textiles were more functional in nature than aesthetic.
Some of the technical textiles included geo textiles – generally used in construction and manufacturing protective clothing, medical textiles, agro textiles and electronic textiles. Geo textiles were used to manufacture space suits worn by astronauts, which shielded them against the sun’s powerful rays. They were made of high-performance fibres that could withstand extreme heat. Electronic textiles which merged textiles with electronics, was opening a new vista.
Research on this field was on in a big way, he pointed out.Seshadri Ramkumar, Associate Professor, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health, Texas Tech University, said there was a need to create awareness on technical textiles.
