Steam and Relaxation Shrinkage
topic
Steam shrinkage tests expose marked fabric specimens to saturated or superheated steam at defined temperature and duration, measuring dimensional change after conditioning; relaxation shrinkage separately quantifies the dimensional recovery that occurs when fabric tension from weaving or finishing is released by water or steam treatment.
Role
Critical for predicting shrinkage in tailored wool garments during steam pressing operations and for quantifying the contribution of manufacturing tension to total garment shrinkage, enabling pre-relaxation treatments to be specified in production to prevent post-sale shrinkage.