Color Prediction Model of Gray Hybrid Multifilament Fabric

To facilitate the product design of hybrid multifilament fabric prior to spinning, a color prediction model was proposed. The monofilaments in the multifilament were assumed to have a square cross-section and stacked vertically. The prediction model considered the reflectance, transmittance and arrangement of the monofilaments in the fabric. To test the reflectance and transmittance of the monofilament with the Datacolor spectrophotometer, films with the same material and thickness as the monofilaments were made. 20 kinds of multifilaments with different blending ratios and fineness were produced and woven into fabrics. The color difference between the fabric color tested by the spectrophotometer and predicted by the new model and classical Kubelka-Munk (K-M) theory was calculated and compared. The result shows that the average color difference obtained by the new model was 1.02 Color Measurement Committee (CMC) (2:1) units, which was less than that of 1.78 CMC (2:1) units obtained by the K-M theory. Through Spearman correlation analysis, the fabric lightness and the multifilament fineness had a significant influence on the color difference, and the color difference decreased with the increase of them. Finally, the surface color of a fabric was reproduced, indicating the model can be used to characterize the phenomenon of uneven color mixing on the fabric surface.