Dr Palitha Bandara
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Dr Palitha Bandara |
Fabric Formation and Monitoring of High Speed Processes
Research is concerned mainly with the development of high-speed fabric formation processes, particularly weaving. Research in high response hydraulic actuation led to UK's first computerised guide bar control in warp knitting. Interests are also in the application of mechatronics, particularly in relation to instrumentation.
Yarn Tension Measurement
A major interest is the non-contact measurement of tension in yarns and other forms of strand in textile processes, which is fundamental to their formation. Through an EPSRC funded research project I have recently developed a novel optical instrument for the non-contact measurement of tension in textile yarns, which overcomes many limitations associated with contact type tension measuring instruments, and hence has the potential for new measuring possibilities in textile processing. The instrument is not affected by yarn characteristics such as evenness, colour, hairiness, twist, reflectivity etc. The instrument is unaffected by fluctuations of ambient illumination including the 100Hz flicker of factory illumination. It is currently available as a handheld device, but its main potential would be for tension monitoring of single or multiple threadlines in process tension control. A machine mountable, multihead instrument is being developed. This is an electro-optical instrument, and hence ideally suited for being interfaced with machine control systems. The sensor head is a low cost device, and hence suitable for multi-head applications. It also has a large tex range capacity from a few to several hundred tex.
Novel Measuring Instruments for Technical Textiles
Other projects include development of a new instrument for the measurement of air permeability of technical fabrics at high pressure levels (0.1 -3.0 bar) and an improved instrument for measuring yarn friction.
Selected Publications
Wijayathunga V.N.; Lawrence, C.A.; Blackburn, R.S.; Bandara, M.P.U.; El-Dessouky, H.M.; Lewis E.L.V.; Cheung, T.L.V., Influence of laser irradiation on the optical and structural properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibres, Optics & Laser Technology, pp.1301-1309, 2007
Bandara, M.P.U.; Lawrence, C.A.; Mahmoudi M.R., Instrumentation for the measurement of fabric air permeability at higher pressure levels, Measurement Science and Technology, pp.2247-2255, 2006
Celik, N.; Babaarslan, O.; Bandara, M.P.U., A Mathematical Model for Numerical Simulation of Weft Insertion on an Air-Jet Weaving Machine, Textile Research Journal, pp.236-240, 2004
Dauda, B.M.D.; Bandara, M.P.U., Effect of loom settings on fabric cover and beat-up force, Indian Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, pp.339-342, 2004
Bandara, M.P.U.; Mirjalili, A., Evaluation of a Shell Type Gauge for the Measurement of Warp Tension, Journal of the Textile Institute, pp.222-234, 2003
Bandara, M.P.U., Novel Instrument for Non-contact Tension of Yarn Tension, Textile Machinery, Technology and Process Research & Development-Academe-Industry Symposium, Manchester , 2002
Durur, G.; Bandara, M.P.U., Active ribbon breaking in random winding of yarn packages, Mechatronics, pp.1225-1238, 2002