Electrical degradation of conductive paths under repetitive washing using data-driven analysis
JOURNAL OF ENGINEERED FIBERS AND FABRICS, cilt.21, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 21
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1177/15589250261487651
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF ENGINEERED FIBERS AND FABRICS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals, Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study investigated the electrical degradation and durability of conductive paths under repeated domestic washing using a data-driven framework. A full-factorial experimental design was established by combining three conductive sewing threads, four fabric types, three stitch types, two thread feeding configurations, and two seam lengths, resulting in 144 unique design combinations. The specimens were subjected to 20 repeated wash cycles, and electrical resistance was measured throughout the washing sequence. Selected specimens were also examined by scanning electron microscopy to evaluate surface degradation of the conductive coating.The results showed that electrical resistance increased with washing cycles in all specimen groups, indicating gradual conductivity loss. However, the extent of degradation varied depending on both material and process parameters. To represent degradation behavior over time, the resistance data were defined and integrated into a PCA-based Dynamic Quality Index. The first principal component explained 81.75% of the total variance, while the first two components together explained 94.78%.Decision tree and random forest analyses were then used to identify the main determinants of durability. Both models consistently showed that conductive thread type was the dominant factor. In particular, CST-3 (Durak Silver Pro 40) was associated with poorer durability, whereas CST-1 (Madeira HC 12) and CST-2 (Madeira HC 40) showed more stable resistance behavior. Overall, the findings show that wash durability is mainly governed by the interaction between conductive thread type and sewing-related parameters.