The automotive industry is one of the main areas of application for technical textiles. Compared with leather materials, textile materials are favored by consumers and manufacturers for their breathability, environmental protection, and low cost. According to statistics, each car consumes an average of 42 square meters (50 square yards) of textile materials, which are used for interior decoration (seats, headliners, side panels, carpets, luggage compartments, etc.), reinforcing materials, liners, underlay fabrics, tires, belts, airbags, mufflers and thermal insulation equipment.

Automotive textiles are mainly organic fabrics, knitted fabrics, nonwovens and fiber composites. Due to their different organizational structures and elasticity, applications are mainly selected according to the requirements of the performance of various components. So, how to choose textile materials for automotive interiors?

Generally speaking, automotive fibers are mainly synthetic fibers, and natural fibers are relatively few. Because of the high cost of wool fabrics, they are generally only used in high-end cars. Among synthetic fibers, polyester fibers have good wear resistance, high tear strength, mildew resistance, and ultraviolet resistance. Xian, resilience and wrinkle resistance are good, the price is relatively cheap, accounting for more than 90% of the automotive textile decorative fabric market, but its moisture absorption is low, the comfort is poor; acrylic fiber has good ultraviolet resistance, soft touch, but its abrasion resistance is not good, suitable for the roof of the car and the canopy of the car; nylon fiber has good elasticity and wear resistance, can be applied in car seats; polypropylene fiber is better than polyester fiber in strength and density, cheap, easy to reuse, but it can only be dyed with stock solution or dyed yarn before spinning, wear resistance, poor moisture absorption.

In addition to the traditional comfortable, beautiful, economical and durable properties, textile materials for automotive interiors also have higher requirements for safety and environmental protection such as anti-fouling, flame retardant, antistatic, easy to clean, and sun resistance.

Colour fastness

"The colors (patterns) of interior fabrics are done through dyeing, printing and other processes. The requirements for the dye fastness of fabrics for car seats include color fastness to sunlight, water immersion, perspiration and rubbing. Due to the large inclination of the front windshield of the car, which makes the car seat exposed to the sun for a long time, the textile for the seat should have good color fastness to sunlight. Due to the large area of long-term contact between the driver and the seat, it may be eroded by sweat stains, and it may also be soaked in water. Therefore, good color fastness to rubbing and perspiration as well as water fastness should be the basic requirements for fabrics used in car seats.

Anti-fouling

"Automotive upholstery fabrics are fixed in the interior of the car and often accompany the entire life of the car. Car seat covers are not washed as often as clothing, so the stain resistance of the fabric in the car has attracted much attention. Fluorinated fabric finishes have shown the advantages that general hydrocarbon or silicone waterproofing agents do not have, and have become the mainstream of waterproof and oil-repellent agents today. And multi-functionality has become an inevitable trend in the development of this kind of finishing agent, that is, the fabric treated by fluorine-containing finishing agent not only has waterproof and oil-proof properties, but also has many other characteristics such as anti-fouling, decontamination, anti-static, dry cleaning resistance, washing resistance, etc.

Since fluorinated finishes are much more expensive than general fabric finishes, this has greatly affected its development. Mixing fluorinated finishes with other types of finishes to create long-lasting washability can improve product performance and reduce production costs.

antistatic

"The electrostatic phenomenon of automotive interior fabrics is a problem that cannot be ignored. First of all, static electricity will make passengers (especially when wearing chemical fiber clothing) feel uncomfortable, and friction discharge will occur when leaving the seat, and the driver's static electricity will easily cause secondary accidents. Secondly, the electrostatic charge accumulates on the surface of the fiber and easily adsorbs dust, which causes great trouble to the cleaning and maintenance of the car. In addition, there may be gasoline vapor or smoke generated by smoking in the car, which can easily cause a fire due to static electricity. At the same time, static electricity can reduce the sensitivity of electronic components in the car.

Antistatic finishing of synthetic fabrics for automotive interiors is more flexible than antistatic methods such as chemical modification starting from polymerization and blending starting with spinning. And the processing process is short. Industrialization has little investment and quick results.

Flame retardant

"Automotive interior materials must have good burn retention and flame retardant properties, so that passengers have enough time to leave if the car catches fire. The composition and chemical structure of various synthetic fibers in automotive textile materials are different, and their thermal properties and combustibility are also different, and there is no ideal flame retardant finishing agent suitable for all kinds of synthetic fibers.

Polyester fiber is a molten heat shrinkable fiber, which is dripping when it comes into contact with the flame to form molten droplets, and the fiber itself is not easy to burn, but polyester fabric products are treated with various chemical reagents, which hinders the droplet effect during melting, making it flammable.

Flame retardant used in polyester fibers, mainly phosphorus and bromine compounds. Polypropylene fiber is a flammable fiber, which is not easy to carbonize when burned, and all of it is decomposed into flammable gas, which emits a large amount of heat and promotes rapid combustion. Therefore, the flame retardant of polypropylene fiber is mainly to inhibit the combustion reaction of gas by applying halogen-containing flame retardant and flame retardant additives.

When polyamide fibers are decomposed by heat, their N-C and CH2-C0 bonds are broken, and the addition of nitrogen-containing compounds as flame retardants helps the flame retardant of polyamide.

Lightfast and UV-resistant

"Textile materials for automotive interiors are degraded by long-term ultraviolet radiation, heat and moisture. Among the fibers, the UV resistance of acrylic fiber is better than that of other fibers, but its abrasion resistance is not as good as that of polyester and nylon, and there are not many practical applications. Polyester has good abrasion resistance and good UV resistance, so it is used more. Proper UV-resistant finishing of upholstery fabrics can effectively improve their UV resistance and reduce the degradation of fibrous materials.

Rime phenomenon

"The fog is caused by the interior decoration materials, especially a variety of liquid, paste, powder and solid as raw materials of the automotive decoration materials and the installation of these materials used in the various adhesives in the volatile components will evaporate, these substances and vaporized substances on the glass plate to form condensation, especially on the window and windshield, affect the driver's line of sight, is also difficult to remove, seriously affect driving safety. The fogging phenomenon caused by the accumulation of chemical agents used in the dyeing, weaving and finishing of fabrics. The surface area of the fibers on the front of the velvet fabric is larger, and the fogging phenomenon will be more serious. The problem of mildew caused by volatile substances affecting the air quality in automobiles is becoming more and more important.

At present, the main associations that measure the quality standards of automotive interior textiles are: ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), AATCC (American Society of Dyers and Chemical Workers) and SAE (American Society of Motor Vehicle Engineers).

ASTM mainly provides test methods for the physical properties of fabrics, AATCC mainly provides test methods for the chemical properties of fabrics, and SAE develops standards including test methods for various parts of automobiles. The contents of the three organizational standard tests mainly include: abrasion resistance, durability, flammability, color fastness to light, sewing strength, tensile strength, shrinkage, odor resistance, fluff resistance, dyeing stability, fogging, cleaning ability, water stain resistance, surface damage, friction decolorization and dimensional stability.

At present, the relevant standards of automotive textiles in China are not perfect, and some of the standards are too outdated and inappropriate for the development of today's automobile industry. However, the relevant foreign test methods have similar method standards in China. Therefore, on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of foreign quality standards, it is imperative for the development of China's automotive textile industry to establish corresponding internal control indicators and equivalent test methods and actively participate in the formulation and revision of international standards.

China is a textile production and export country, with the gradual establishment of the status of the pillar industry of the automobile industry, the demand for automotive interior textiles will show a sustained growth trend, which provides a new opportunity for the re-emergence of China's textile industry. Develop high-tech automotive interior textiles, improve the adoption rate of international standards, accelerate the formulation and improvement of national and industry standards, guide the development of the market with standards, promote enterprises to optimize product structure, improve new product development capabilities, and ultimately eliminate international technology trade profits, enhance product competitiveness, and occupy the international market.