Textile Engineering Overview

Principles

Definition

Textile engineering is an engineering discipline and interdisciplinary field concerned with the design, production, and processing of fibers, textiles, and related products. This field applies scientific and engineering principles, integrating knowledge from areas such as materials science, chemistry, and mechanics, to the study of textile materials, processes, and machinery, and is essential for developing innovative and functional textiles for diverse applications across various industries.

Ontological type

Materials and Fibers

Core Processes

Sustainability and Impact

Key developments

Key Figures

Foundational Fabric Mechanics era

Willy Verstraete [1] was active in this era with positions at Cornell University [3] and Ghent University [4]. His contribution, exemplified by the 1998 Review: Treatment and reuse of wastewater from the textile wet‑processing industry: Review of emerging technologies [7], synthesized emerging technologies for wastewater treatment and reuse in textile processing, underscoring environmental and process implications for industry. J. W. S. Hearle [2] operated across the University of Manchester [5] and University of Delaware [6] during this era. His key contributions encompassed the Anatomy of Buckling of Textile Fabrics: Drape and Conformability [8], and the studies 9—A STUDY OF NEEDLED FABRICS. PART II: EFFECTS OF THE NEEDLING PROCESS [9] and 12—A STUDY OF NEEDLED FABRICS. PART III: THE INFLUENCE OF FIBRE TYPE AND DIMENSIONS [10], which advanced quantitative fabric mechanics by linking drape, bending, and microstructural features to macroscopic behavior.

Nanostructured Functional Textiles era

Hong Hu [1] is a researcher associated with Northwestern University [3] and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences [4] during the Nanostructured Functional Textiles era. Her key contributions in this era derive from three papers: Development of auxetic fabrics using flat knitting technology [7], Negative Poisson’s Ratio Weft-knitted Fabrics [8], and Innovative three-dimensional fabric structure with negative Poisson's ratio for composite reinforcement [9], which collectively advanced controllable mechanical response and reinforcement capabilities in textiles. G.K.H. Pang [2] is associated with the University of Hong Kong [5] and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology [6] during this era. His sole paper in the era, Fabric defect detection by Fourier analysis [10], exemplifies computational quality-control techniques that facilitated scalable, reliable textile production in nanostructured finishes.

Programmable Metafabrics and Wearables era

Guangming Tao [1] has collaborations across Huazhong University of Science and Technology [3] and Donghua University [4] during the Programmable Metafabrics and Wearables era. Key contributions from Tao include the hierarchical-morphology metafabric for scalable passive daytime radiative cooling [7] and the Emerging Materials and Strategies for Personal Thermal Management [8], which together advanced passive cooling strategies and material-driven thermal management for wearable textiles in this era. Zhong Lin Wang [2] has engaged with the Center for Excellence in Education [5] and the University of Pennsylvania [6] during this period. His work on Wearable Self-Charging Power Textile Based on Flexible Yarn Supercapacitors and Fabric Nanogenerators [9] and Highly Stretchable 2D Fabrics for Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerator under Harsh Environments [10] propelled wearable energy harvesting and robust, flexible power sources, underpinning autonomous operation of smart textiles in real-world wearables.