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Spacer fabric is often used in cushions, footwear, filter material, and other products because of its high air permeability and three-dimensional (3D) structure. However, for practical applications, it is typically combined with other materials. We investigated the thermal properties and water vapor permeability of assembly-combined thicker spacer (16 mm) and various cotton nonwoven fabrics. The assembly-combined lightest nonwoven (30 g/m2) and spacer fabric exhibited the highest thermal resistance, increasing by 66.62% compared with the bare spacer fabric; however, no significant difference was observed when combined with the heaviest woven fabric (60 g/m2). Furthermore, the fabric arrangement during assembly could affect the heat and moisture-transfer efficiencies. The assembly-combined lightest nonwoven (30 g/m2) and spacer fabric under the upward test condition exhibited the highest thermal resistance, highest Clo, lowest heat transfer coefficient, highest insulation ratio, and lowest evaporation resistance among all assemblies. Higher thermal resistance and lower evaporative resistance could benefit physiological comfort. However, the assembly-combined heaviest nonwoven and spacer fabric under the downward test condition exhibited similar thermal resistance to the spacer fabric and the highest evaporation resistance. The asymmetric heat- and moisture-transfer properties of a porous assembly can contribute toward developing new materials for applications in other engineering fields.

Abstract Warp knitted mesh fabric was usually applied to sportswear due to good air transmission, but without multilayer structure and one-way transport property. In order to solve this problem, the miss-lapping structure was applied to examine the possibility to fabricate multilayer and improve water transport in warp knitting structure. Besides, the effect of thread type and warp density on comfort properties were also exploited to enhance the moisture management. The moisture management test, water vapor permeability and air permeability were examined. Long float at the back side in structure I formed by miss-lapping could improve liquid transport and air permeability, but slightly reduce water vapor permeability. With proper density, there existed the optimal one-way transport capacity and overall moisture management. Warp density in 20 cpc was an optimal parameter of knitting process. Taking advantage of miss-lapping, sample 5 where polypropylene was partly threaded on GB1 provided best moisture management, water vapor permeability and air permeability.

Both face and back sides of cotton weft-knitted fabrics in five knitting structures (plain, rib, interlock, single pique, and double pique) were investigated based on modified water drop test (methods I and II) in terms of water diffusion time. The water drop height was raised from 1 cm to 20 cm and water drop volume was increase from 0.1 mL to 0.5 mL. The water diffusion time greatly decreased with the variation in water drop height from 0 to 15 cm. Water diffusion time was also influenced by water volume at 0.1–0.2 mL for the different structures and surfaces. It was found that the structures behaved differently, and two surfaces of fabric were capable of asymmetric water absorption property. The face side of single pique and the back side double pique had better water diffusion property. Besides, vertical wicking rate and the drying rate (methods I and II) were also conducted to evaluate the different structures. Although the plain structure was widely used for inner garments in the market, the interlock fabric was recommended in nonsweating conditions due to its poor water spreading and better drying ability, while the single-pique fabric was recommended in heavy sweating conditions due to its better water absorption ratio and faster drying rate.