GATE XE Textile Engineering and Fibre Science Syllabus

Complete section-wise syllabus for GATE XE Textile Engineering and Fibre Science section. This syllabus is prepared based on the latest official GATE notification and is regularly updated to reflect any changes announced by the exam authorities. Each section includes a detailed list of topics that candidates should study to prepare effectively for the exam.

5SectionsXE9 Section Code35 Marks

  • Classification of textile fibres; Essential requirements of fibre forming polymers; Gross and fine structures of natural fibres like cotton, wool, silk; Introduction to bast fibres; Properties and uses of natural and man-made fibres including carbon, aramid and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibres; Physical and chemical methods of fibre and blend identification and blend analysis
  • Molecular architecture, amorphous and crystalline phases, glass transition, plasticization, crystallization, melting, factors affecting Tg and Tm; Polymerization of nylon-6, nylon-66, poly (ethylene terephthalate), polyacrylonitrile and polypropylene; Melt spinning processes for PET, polyamide and polypropylene; Preparation of spinning dope; Principles of wet spinning, dry spinning, dry-jet-wet spinning and gel spinning; Spinning of acrylic, viscose and other regenerated cellulosic fibres such as polynosic and lyocell; Post spinning operations such as drawing, heat setting, tow-to-top conversion; Spin finish composition and applications; Different texturing methods
  • Methods of investigating fibre structure such as density, x-ray diffraction, birefringence, optical and electron microscopy such as SEM and TEM, I.R. spectroscopy, thermal methods such as DSC, DMA, TMA and TGA; Structure and morphology of man-made fibres; Mechanical properties of fibres; Moisture sorption of fibres; Fibre structure-property correlation

  • Principles of ginning; Principles of opening, cleaning and blending; Working principles of modern blowroom machines; Fundamentals of carding; Conventional vs. modern carding machine; Card setting; Card clothing; Periodic mass variation in card sliver; Card autoleveller; Principles of roller drawing; Roller arrangements in drafting systems; Periodic mass variation in drawn sliver; Drawframe autoleveller; Principles of cotton combing; Combing cycle and mechanisms; Recent developments in combing machine; Principles of drafting, twisting, and bobbin building in roving formation; Modern developments in roving machine; Principles of drafting, twisting and cop building in ring spinning; Causes of end breakages; Modern developments in ring spinning machine; Working principles of ring doubler and two-for-one twister; Relationship between single yarn twist and folded yarn twist; Principles of compact, rotor, air-jet, air-vortex, friction, core, wrap and twist-less spinning processes
  • Influence of fibre geometry, fibre configuration and fibre orientation in yarn; Fibre packing density of yarn; Yarn diameter; Yarn twist and its relation to yarn strength; Helical arrangement of fibres in yarns; Yarn contraction; Fibre migration in yarns; Stress-strain relation in yarn; Mass irregularity of yarn; Structure-property relationship in ring, compact, rotor, air-jet and friction spun yarns

  • Principles of winding processes; Classification of winding methods; Patterning mechanism; Yarn clearers and tensioners; Different systems of yarn splicing; Warping objectives and classification; Different types of warping creels; Features of beam and sectional warping machines; Different sizing systems; Sizing of spun and filament yarns; Drawing-in process; Principles of pirn winding
  • Primary and secondary motions of loom; Shedding motion; Positive and negative shedding mechanisms; Type of sheds; Tappet, dobby and jacquard shedding; Weft insertion; Mechanics of weft insertion with shuttle; Shuttle picking and checking; Beat-up; Kinematics of sley; Loom timing diagram; Cam designing; Effect of sley setting and cam profile on fabric formation; Take-up and Let-off motions; Warp and weft stop motions; Warp protection; Weft replenishment; Principles of weft insertion systems of shuttle-less weaving machines such as projectile, rapier, water-jet and air-jet; Principles of functioning of multiphase and circular looms; Types of selvedges; Basic woven fabric constructions and their derivatives, such as crepe, cord, terry, gauze, leno, double cloth and other constructions; Drawing and lifting plans
  • Fundamentals of weft knitting; Classification of weft knitting technologies; Weft knitted constructions such as plain, rib, interlock, purl and others; Different knit stitches such as loop, tuck, float and others; Principle of warp knitting; Classification of warp knitting technologies; Swinging and shogging motion of guide bar; Basic warp knit constructions such as pillar, tricot, atlas, inlay nets and others; Fibre preparation processes for nonwovens; Web formation and bonding processes; Spun-bonding and melt-blowing technologies; Applications of nonwoven fabrics; Principles of braiding; Type of braids; Maypole braiding technology
  • Peirce's equations for plain woven fabric geometry; Thickness, cover and maximum set of woven fabrics; Geometry of plain weft knitted loop; Munden's constants and tightness factor for plain weft knitted fabrics; Geometry of tubular braids

  • Sampling techniques for fibres, yarns and fabrics; Sample size and sampling errors
  • Moisture in textiles; Fibre length, fineness, crimp, maturity and trash content; Tensile testing of fibres; High volume fibre testing
  • Linear density of sliver, roving and yarn; Twist and hairiness of yarn; Tensile testing of yarns; Evenness testing; Fault measurement and analysis of yarns
  • Fabric thickness, compressibility, stiffness, shear, drape, crease recovery, tear strength, bursting strength, pilling and abrasion resistance; Tensile testing of fabrics; Objective evaluation of low stress mechanical characteristics; Air permeability; Wetting and wicking; Water-vapour transmission through fabrics; Thermal resistance of fabrics

  • Impurities in natural fibre; Singeing; Chemistry and practice of preparatory processes for cotton; Preparatory processing of wool and silk; Mercerization of cotton; Preparatory processes for manmade fibres and their blends; Optical brightening agent
  • Classification of dyes; Dyeing of cotton, wool, silk, polyester, nylon and acrylic with appropriate classes of dyes; Dyeing of polyester/cotton and polyester/wool blends; Dyeing machines; Dyeing processes and machines for cotton knitted fabrics; Dye-fibre interaction; Introduction to thermodynamics and kinetics of dyeing; Brief idea about the relation between colour and chemical constitution; Beer-Lambert's law; Kubelka-Munk theory and its application in colour measurement; Methods for determination of wash, light and rubbing fastness
  • Methods of printing such as roller printing and screen printing; Preparation of printing paste; Various types of thickeners; Printing auxiliaries; Direct styles of printing of (i) cotton with reactive dyes, (ii) wool, silk, nylon with acid and metal complex dyes, (iii) polyester with disperse dyes; Resist and discharge printing of cotton, silk and polyester; Pigment printing; Transfer printing of polyester; Inkjet printing; Printing faults
  • Mechanical finishing of cotton; Stiff, soft, wrinkle resistant, water repellent, flame retardant and enzyme (biopolishing) finishing of cotton; Milling, decatizing and shrink resistant finishing of wool; Antistatic and soil release finishing; Heat setting of synthetic fabrics; Minimum application techniques
  • Pollution control and treatment of effluents