Nebahat Aral

The rapid evolution of next-generation textiles, including smart, nanoengineered, functional, and sustainable materials, has revealed significant limitations in traditional testing methodologies. This chapter examines the advanced characterization and testing frameworks necessary to ensure the performance, reliability, and novelty of these materials. It aims to highlight the limitations of traditional standards and proposes a comprehensive assessment approach that includes material property characterization, performance metric evaluation, and environmental impact assessment. The techniques for examining materials include scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), FTIR-ATR spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Furthermore, the chapter investigates specific test methods for chemical safety and life cycle sustainability, along with thermal regulation, physiological comfort, and multifunctional protection. The chapter concludes by addressing standardization challenges and future research approaches, providing a strategic overview of the evolving measurement methodology for next-generation textiles.

Recently, more sustainable and biodegradable packaging materials have begun to attract attention in food packaging due to major, rising concerns related to plastic usage. This study aims to develop and characterize biodegradable food packaging materials, namely poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) enriched with pomegranate peel extract (PoPE). Firstly, the optimal extract selected was a 24 h maceration of PoPE with 60% ethanol, after production with different solvents and methods. PLA- and PCL-based films were produced via melt compounding with the addition of PoPE at different concentrations (1, 3, 5 and 10%, w/w). FTIR confirmed that the PoPE did not modify the chemical backbones of PLA or PCL, with only a more pronounced O–H band in PCL, suggesting mainly non-covalent/physical interactions. UV–Vis spectroscopy showed tunable warm coloration and strong UV shielding with reduced transparency; for PLA ~3–5 wt.%, PoPE enabled near-complete UV blocking, while PCL achieved very high UV protection even at low loadings. PoPE improved toughness in PLA (3–5 wt.%) and maintained ductility in PCL (1–10 wt.%). PoPE-added PLA and PCL films maintained thermal stability up to 10 wt.% according to TGA results. DSC/XRD indicated a matrix-dependent crystallization response. PLA remained largely amorphous, whereas PoPE promoted PCL crystallinity without changing polymer crystal polymorphs. SEM images revealed homogenous dispersion of PoPE in the films.

The present study analyses the changes in antioxidative behavior of biodegradable Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composite films with bioactive additives derived from pomegranate peel, an abundant agricultural by-product rich in antioxidants and antimicrobials. PLA-based composites were prepared by incorporating industrial-grade pomegranate peel powder (PoP) via melt extrusion at concentrations of 1–5 percent by weight (wt.%). For mechanical characterization, the resulting films were subjected to tensile testing. Their thermal properties were further characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic oxidation induction temperature measurements (OIT), complemented by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), color analysis, rheology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Results show that the incorporation of PoP had no significant impact on the characteristic transition temperatures (Tg, Tm, and Tc) of PLA, indicating that the thermal behavior of the polymer matrix was largely preserved. However, while the thermo-oxidative stability of PLA was improved in the presence of PoP, with a maximum at 3 wt.% of PoP, increasing the OIT by 30 °C, the mechanical performance of the composite films was adversely affected, as evidenced by decreased tensile strength and elongation at break indication embrittlement, especially for ≥3 wt.% of PoP. Significant changes were observed in the films’ surface properties, as well as in their color parameters and UV transmittance values. Consequently, while PoP offers potential bioactive functionality for use as a sustainable additive, its content must be carefully optimized to maintain an acceptable balance between functionality and mechanical integrity.

Core-sheath nanofibers are being developed with coaxial electrospinning for use in drug release studies. In this study, nanofiber structures were developed as hydrophobic PCL in the sheath and hydrophilic PVP in the core. The effect of polymer concentrations on fiber structure and water contact angle was observed by forming two different test groups. In the first group, fiber diameters were observed to decrease depending on viscosity as the polymer concentration decreased from 10% PCL / 10% PVP to 6% PCL / 6% PVP. It was also observed that the contact angle decreased from 104.3° to 57.61° as the concentration decreased. In the second group, the shell polymer ratio was kept constant as 10% wt PCL, while the core polymer ratio was decreased to 10 %, 8% and 6%. It was observed that the core polymer in the structure became hydrophilic as its viscosity decreased. Compared to the first group, the decrease in the contact angles of the surfaces was less since the shell polymer ratio was kept constant. Contact angles decreased from 104.3° to 96.29°.

In this study, core-shell nanofibers were produced by using hydrophilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) polymer in the core and hydrophobic poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer in the shell. Essential oil added nanofiber structures were developed by adding thyme oil (TEO) and borage oil (BO) in the PVP core part by using Triton X 100 (TX-100) as the surfactant. 8% PVP-8% PCL nanofibers were produced by adding TEO, BO and a 1:1 volume/volume mixture of these two (TEO:BO) to the PVP solution. Addition of essential oil and surfactant to the solutions resulted in different conductivity and viscosity values. SEM images were analyzed and it was observed that nanofiber diameters increased when essential oil and surfactant were added to the core of the coaxial nanofibers. Pristine, TEO-added, TEO:BO added and BO-added nanofibers were calculated as 145 ± 66, 233 ± 150, 245 ± 165 and 300 ± 124 nm, respectively. Besides, water contact angle measurements showed that TX-100 and essential oil additives caused high hydrophilization of nanofiber by changing the hydrophobic nature of PCL. While the contact angle of the 8% PVP-8% PCL sample without additives were 98°, the contact angle of the oil and surfactant containing samples were measured as 0°. In conclusion, it was observed that the nanofiber morphology and surface properties changed when different essential oils and surfactant were added to the core-shell nanofibers.

Unlike team sports like football and basketball, professional car racing is considered as an individual competitive sport that inspires fan loyalty both nationally and globally. It is also unique because male and female drivers compete against each other under the same circumstances and supposedly, gender is not a determining factor, though throughout the history of motorsports has mainly been a male dominated field. There are many studies on analyzing the protective performance of the suit made for some specific sports such as cycling, sailing, flying etc., but limited effort has been made to understand female car racers’ expectations of their suit and in particular undergarment in terms of performance, fit, comfort, and aesthetic. So, the study was conducted to design and develop an undergarment prototype by investigating and exploring the issues that female racing drivers face while wearing a unisex suit and accompanying undergarment. For this purpose, 18 types of single jersey knitted samples were developed and their dimensional and comfort properties were measured. The results were evaluated using AHP-TOPSIS multi-criteria decision making method, so that a seamless undergarment prototype with varying structures at areas such as torso and bust was proposed for female racing drivers, which can be improved in parallel with FIA regulations for further study. Keywords: female racers, activewear, sportswear, seamless knitting, undergarment, moisture management.