DEAS 252 :2021  
ICS 59 .080.01  
 
© EA C 2021                                                                                                                          Second E dition 2021   
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  
Textile fabrics — Method for determination of water repellency of fabrics 
by cone test  
EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY  
 
 DEAS 252 :2021  
ii © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
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 DEAS 257 :2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  iii 
 Forewor d 
Development of the East African Standards has been necessitated by the need for harmonizing requirements 
governing quality of products and services in the East African Community. It is envisaged that through 
harmonized standardization, trade barriers tha t are encountered when goods and services are exchanged 
within the Community will be removed.  
The Community has established an East African Standards Committee  (EASC)  mandated to develop and 
issue East African Standards  (EAS) . The Committee is composed of  representatives of the National 
Standards Bodies in Partner States, together with the representatives from the public and private sector 
organizations  in the community .  
East African Standards are developed through  Technical Committees that are representa tive of key 
stakeholders including government, academia, consumer groups, private sector and other interested parties. 
Draft East African Standards are circulated to stakeholders through the National Standards Bodies in the 
Partner States. The comments rec eived are discussed and incorporated before finalization of standards, in 
accordance with the Principles and procedures for development of East African  Standards.  
East African Standards are subject to review, to keep pace with technological advances. Users  of the East 
African Standards are therefore expected to ensure that they always have the latest versions of the standards 
they are implementing .  
The committee responsible  for this document is Technical Committee EASC/TC 061, Textiles, textile products 
and accessories . 
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be subject of patent 
rights. EAC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.  
This second edition cancels and rep laces the f irst edition (EAS 252:2007 ), which has been technically revised. 
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:  
— A clause on normative references has been added;  and 
— A formula for expression of results has been added  
 DRAFT EAST AFRICAN STANDARD  DEAS 252 :2021 
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  1 
 Textile fabrics — Method for determination of water repellency of fabrics 
by cone test   
1 Scope  
This D raft East African Standard  prescribes a method for determining the water repellency of fabrics by cone 
test. 
This document is  generally applicable for testing heavy types  of proofed fabrics used as covers for wagons, 
shelters, etc, where pools of water may collect during use due to depressions formed by the uneven level of 
the cover.  
2 Normative references   
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes 
requirements of this document.  For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, 
the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.  
ISO 139 , Textiles — Standard atmospheres for conditioning and testing  
3 Terms and definitions   
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions shall apply.  
water repellency  
characteristic of a fabric to resist wetting  
4 Principle  
Specimen of the fabric  is folded to form a cone and kept in a wire cone kept in glass funnel. A specified 
amount of water is poured into the cone and left to stand for a fixed time. The assessment is made on the 
basis of:  
a) Wetting of the outer exposed surface, and   
b) Amoun t of water leaked out of the cone.  
5 Atmospheric conditions for conditioning and testing  
The test specimens shall be conditioned and tested in accordance with ISO 139  i.e. a relative humidity of 65 
% ± 2 % and temperature of 20 °C ±  2 °C.  In case of fabri c heavier than 270 g/m2 the minimum conditioning 
period shall be 48 h.  DEAS 25 2:2021  
2 © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
 6 Preparation of test specimen  
Take a specimen of 30 cm x 30 cm form the conditioned test sample and fold it in the form of a cone without 
creasing the folds. (See Figure 1 (a) or (b)).   Prepare at least three test specimens.  
 
Figure 1 — Folding of specimen  
7 Apparatus  
7.1 Glass or metal funnel  – of 60° angle and sufficient size.  
7.2 Wire cone  – Typical sketch of the wire cone is given in Figure 2.  
7.3 Glass rod  
7.4 Conical flask  – For collecting water under the glass funnel.  
7.5 Stand  – For holding the cone assembly.  
7.6 Measuring cylinder  
7.7 Water  – Distilled water maintained at a temperature of the testing atmosphere (see clause 5)  
7.8 Weighing balance  
 DEAS 25 2:2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  3 
 Figure 2 — Typical wire  cone  
8 Procedure  
8.1 Weigh the conditioned test specimen to an accuracy of 0.01 g (dry mass m 1). 
8.2 Take a test specimen and prepare a fabric cone (see clause 6), place it in the wire cone and in turn 
place them (fabric cone in wire cone) in the glass (o r metal) funnel.  Mount the assembly on the stand (see 
figure 3).  Place a conical flask below the glass funnel.  Pour slowly 400 ml of water from the sides with the 
help of a glass rod and let it stand for 24 h.  At the end of the test period  remove the w ater container from 
below and also pour out the water from the cone assembly immediately.  
8.3 Weigh the specimen to an accuracy of 0.01 g, and record as the wet mass m 2 
 
Figure 3 — Assembly of apparatus  
8.4 Determine the amount of water (in millilitres) c ollected in the container and also visually assess the area 
of wetting of the outer surface of the fabric cone coming into contact with the surface of the wire cone (that is, 
ignoring the presence of water within the folds of the fabric cone).  
8.5 Repeat the test with the remaining test specimens.  
9 Expression of results  
Calculate the water absorption W, expressed as a percentage by mass, from the following equation:  
 
Where;  
m1 is the  mass , in grams, of the specimens prior to testing;  DEAS 25 2:2021  
4 © EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  
  m2 is the  mass , in grams, of the specimens after testing  
10 Criteria of assessment  
Assessment of the effectiveness of proofing of the sample shall be made on the basis of limits laid down in the 
material specification for  
a) amount of penetrated water collected in millilitres  (see 8.2), 
b) water absorption , expressed as a percentage, and  
c) amount of water  wetting of outer surface (see 8 .2).  
11 Test report  
The test report shall indicate the following information:  
a) type of fabric;  
b) number of test specimens tested;  
c) assessment ratin g:  
i) average amount of penetrated water collected in millilitre;  
ii) water absorption , expressed as a  percentage; and  
iii) amount of wetting of outer surface.  
 DEAS 25 2:2021  
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved  5 
 Bibliography  
EAS 252 :2007, Textile fabrics — Method for determination of water repellency of fabrics by cone test  
 DEAS 252 :2021    
 
© EAC 2021  – All rights reserved