AATCC 26-2004 Ageing of Sulfur-Dyed Textiles: Accelerated

AATCC 26-2004 Ageing of Sulfur-Dyed Textiles: Accelerated. 6. Test Specimens 6.1 Suitable test specimens are taken and blanks of the same material, dyed and undyed, used. 7. Procedure 7.1 Oven Test. Expose the specimens to 135 ± 2°C (275 ± 4°F) heat in the oven for 6 h continuously. At the beginning of the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth hours the ports or vents are closed and 20 mL of water added for each 0.03 m 3 (1.0 ft 3 ) of oven capacity. The vents are kept closed for 5 min, then opened and circulation resumed for the rest of the pe- riod. As an alternate method the test specimens may be removed from the oven at the end of each hour and thor- oughly humidified in an atmosphere of steam, then replaced in the oven. At the end of the 6 h of heating, the specimens are removed from the oven and placed in a conditioning room, if available. 7.1.1 Alternate Oven Test. Expose the specimens to 135 ± 2°C (275 ± 4°F) heat in the oven for 6 h continuously. At the beginning of the test, 100 mL of water for each 0.03 m 3 (1.0 ft 3 ) of oven capacity is introduced into the oven in a vessel having a surface area of approximately 413 cm 2 (64 in. 2 ). The vents are left open during the entire test. At the end of the 6 h of heating, the specimens are re- moved from the oven and placed in a conditioning room, if available. Under the conditions above, it has been found that the water will require from 1.75- 2.0 h to evaporate. 7.2 The Steam Ager Test. The test specimens may be suspended while ag- ing, or may be tacked on frames, which are then placed in the steam ager, pyra- mid style, with the bottom baffle func- tioning as a support. The specimens are aged for 8 h with saturated steam at 103 kPa (15 lb) pressure, or for 16 h at 51.7 kPa (7.5 lb) pressure. After the ag- ing test is completed the specimens are removed from the ager and placed in a conditioning room, if available. 8. Evaluation of Results 8.1 Determine the breaking strength (see 10.4) of the aged specimens to eval- uate the degree of deterioration due to ageing. Test specimens and unaged blanks should be...