**1. Introduction**

230 Atomic Force Microscopy – Imaging, Measuring and Manipulating Surfaces at the Atomic Scale

Pauli, A.T., Grimes, R.W., Beemer, A.G., Miller, J.J., Beiswenger, J.D. & Branthaver, J.F.

Redelius, P. (2009). Chemistry of Bitumen or Asphaltenes Where are you ? *Proceedings of the* 

Tarefder, R.A. & Arifuzzaman, M. (2010a). Nanoscale Evaluation of Moisture Damage in

Tarefder, R.A., Zaman, A. & Uddin, W. (2010b). Determining Hardness and Elastic Modulus

Tripathy, S. & Berger, E .J. (2009). Measuring Viscoelasticity of Soft Samples Using Atomic

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291-309, ISSN 1029-8436

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montmorillonite modified bitumen by atomic force microscopy. *Journal of* 

Textile fibers either natural or man-made (biodegradable and/or non biodegradable) are being increasingly used in non-traditional sectors such as technical textiles (automotive applications), medical textiles (e.g., implants, hygiene materials), geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for crop protection), and protective clothing (e.g., heat and radiation protection for fire fighter, bulletproof vests, and spacesuits).Textile structures (roving, knitted, woven or non woven) are also being increasingly used in textile reinforced composites.

Surface treatments of textile fibers, yarns or fabrics play an important role in their processing and end-use. The AFM-Atomic Force Microscopy seems a very valuable tool for investigating the effect of different fiber surface treatments and their impact on the final textile material properties. The AFM probe has been used to understand the frictional behaviour of sized glass fibers, and to study the impact of an air-atmospheric plasma treatment on polyethylene terephthalate fabrics
