UV radiation is the major source of radiation in
environmental conditions and affects many
characteristics of exposed fabrics. Physical properties
of polymeric material and fabric deteriorate when
exposed to environmental conditions. The study of
the changes in physical properties has been a major
issue for researchers. Color absorption of degraded
fabrics varies with exposure time. The main aim of
this work was to predict the physical properties of
UV degraded woven fabrics at different levels of
exposure time. Samples of plain-woven fabrics were
selected. The fabric consisted of nylon 66 as weft
yarns and polyester as warp yarns. A UV light source
was used to induce controlled degradation at different
exposure times. The samples were dyed in identical
conditions and the color values for all samples were
measured using a spectrophotometer. The samples
were then tested with tensile testing machine and
stress-strain curves were obtained. Six parameters
were considered in stress-strain curves. Exposure
time caused the differences in the color values of the
samples. This was used to evaluate the tensile
behavior. Regression and artificial neural network
methods were used to correlate each of the six
parameters of tensile properties with color values. To
validate the methods, experimental samples were
tested with the tensile testing machine and the results
were compared with the predicted values. The results
show a good agreement between the experimental
and predicted models.