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This paper discusses the influence of core sheath ratio, twist and loop length on the moisture management properties of cotton/polyester core spun knitted fabrics. Box behnken, a three level- three variable factorial design was used to study the interactive effects of the dependent variables. Fifteen single jersey fabrics were knitted according to the statistical run and tested for physical and moisture management properties. Increase in polyester percent increases the moisture management properties which decreases the fabric weight and dries quickly. High twisted and tight structured fabrics hold moisture and spread more. The wetting time of all the knitted structures at the top and bottom surface were rated as fast (i.e. 3 to 5). Absorption rate of all the fabrics at the top and bottom surface were graded as medium range. Maximum wetted radius at the top and bottom surface were graded as very large (i.e. >22). Spreading speed of the top and bottom surface were rated as very fast (i.e. >4). 100% cotton knitted fabrics showed excellent (i.e. >400) accumulative one-way transport index and remaining samples were rated as very good (i.e. 200-400). The overall moisture management capacity of the 100% cotton knitted fabrics were rated as excellent compared to core spun knitted fabrics which were graded as very good.

The human body exchanges heat through the environment by various means, such as radiation, evaporation, conduction, and convection. Thermo-physiological comfort is associated with the effective heat transfer between the body and the atmosphere, maintaining the body temperature in a tolerable thermal range (36.5–37.5ºC). In order to ensure comfort, the body heat must be preserved or emitted, depending on external conditions. If the body heat is not properly managed, it can cause hyperthermia, heatstroke, and thermal discomfort. Conventionally, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are used to provide comfort. However, they require a huge amount of energy, leading to an increase in global warming, and are limited to indoor applications. In recent decades, scientists across the world have been working to provide thermal comfort through wearable innovative textiles. This review article presents recent innovative strategies for moisture and/or thermal management at the material, filament/fiber, yarn, and fabric scales. It also summarizes the passive/active textile models for comfort. Integrating electrical devices in garments can rapidly control the skin temperature, and is dynamic and useful for a wide range of environmental conditions. However, their use can be limited in some situations due to their bulky design and batteries, which must be frequently recharged. Furthermore, adaptive textiles enable the wearer to maintain comfort in various temperatures and humidity without requiring batteries. Using these wearable textiles is convenient to provide thermal comfort at the individual level rather than controlling the entire building temperature.

Low moisture absorbency of hydrophobically coated flame-resistant (FR) fabrics do not correlate well with the thermophysiological comfort. In this frame, we were the first to study the effect of screen-printed microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) on fabric’s breathability and moisture build-up and transfer as user-friendly and wear-related comfortable coating. The amount of MFC applied and its patterning was varied using different printing parameters, and the density and thickness of FR fabric, and studied by add-on measurement and microscopic imaging. The effect of MFC coating and its durability (attachment) after a post-printing of hydrophobic polyacrylate on the same (layer-by-layer) or other side of the fabrics was considered, thus to maintain one side of the fabric (facing towards the wearer) hydrophilic while keeping the other side (facing outward) hydrophobic. The results showed that MFC provides uniform and repeatable printing, which gave homogeneous patterning with good layering on the fabrics, although, resulting in the MFC concentration, squeegee’ pressure, and fabric’ structure dependent add-on, its imprinting and co-crosslinking within the polyacrylate. This slightly reduced the fabric air-permeability, but increased it surfaces wetting, moisture uptake kinetic and capacity (hydroscopicity), without affecting the water vapour transfer. Besides, the polyacrylate could fix the MFC pre-printed on the other side of the fabric, thus maintaining its hydrophilicity, being more pronounced in the case of less open and thicker fabric, while improving its tensile /tear strengths and abrasion resistance, without deterioration of the fabric`s flammability.

Comfort properties of garments are influenced by fiber properties, fabric properties, and applied finishes. Denim garments are widely used apparels, and they are processed with different industrial finishing treatments. Finishing treatments and fabric weight have a great influence on the thermal comfort of denim fabrics. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the effects of finishing treatments (rigid, bleaching, resin, softener) on the thermophysiological comfort and moisture management properties of denim fabrics considering three weight categories (light, medium, heavy). The thermophysiological comfort (thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity, air permeability, water vapor permeability tests) and liquid moisture transport capabilities (transfer wicking and drying behavior of fabrics) were measured and analyzed statistically. As a result of the study, fabric weight and finishing had been found to be important parameters for the comfort properties of denim fabrics. As a conclusion, it could be stated in the light of the results that the fabric weight type (light, medium, heavy) had a significant impact on the fabric thermophysiological comfort properties.

For investigation of the moisture management properties of bi-layer knitted fabrics, a special knitting structure made of the same or different combinations of yarns of cotton, polypropylene, Microdenier polyester and polyester staple fibre on the face and reverse sides fibre was studied. Moisture management properties, which determine the warm-cool feeling, of the fabrics produced were determined and statistical analysis made. The results indicated that the Microdenier polyester (inner) – Microdenier polyester (outer) fabric had a better moisture management property, providing high levels of comfort, and is recommended for summer, active and sportswear. The results were discussed together with one-way ANOVA test results at a 0.05 significance level. The results indicate that the Microdenier polyester yarn inner and outer layer of bi-layer knitted fabric shows a better moisture management property due to its appreciable wetting radius, as well its good absorption rate, wetting time and spreading speed of sweat, thus exhibiting a very higher level of the comfort property.

The strain-dependent vertical and horizontal wicking of as-prepared cotton/lycra elastic woven fabric was systematically studied. The experimental results revealed that the fabric exhibited a strain strengthening effect. A higher tensile strain results in a higher equilibrium wicking height, and vice versa. Moreover, the results indicated that the proposed Laughlin–Davies model is capable of tracking well the experimental data and replicating the wicking characteristics of fabric under different levels of stretch. In addition, the wetting time and wicking area of fabric under different strains and height regimes were examined during horizontal wicking. It was found that the wetting time decreased with an increase of strain and/or water drop height. The strain-enhanced and height-weakened effects of wicking area were revealed. The spreading mechanism of water drop in elastic fabric was also proposed. Such fundamental work provides a basic support for the in-depth investigation of wicking behavior of complex stretchable textile structures.

Under dynamic wear conditions, moisture management and heat transfer behaviour of clothing between the human body and its environment are very important attributes for comfort and performance. Especially considering heavy works like firefighting, it is important to analyse liquid moisture management and thermal comfort properties of fabrics that influence moisture sensation and personnel comfort feeling significantly. This study mainly investigates thermal comfort and moisture management properties of a firefighter clothing with a new fire resistant underwear. Analysing single layer fabric (underwear, outer shell, moisture barrier and thermal barrier) performance properties, together with their three-layered and four-layered combinations gives a better understanding of comfort and protective performance. For characterizing the fabric structures, weight, thickness, FTIR analysis and SEM-EDX tests were conducted. Heat and moisture transfer properties were measured with limited flame spread, thermal resistance (skin model), water vapour transmission rate (dish method), thermal conductivity, air permeability, thermal diffusion, water vapour resistance, moisture management transfer (MMT) and water vapour permeability tests.

Contact force between fibers in different scales, such as microfiber and nanofiber, is different with those in the same scale. In this work, based on an electrospinning nanofiber yarn system, three...

Wet comfort is a critical performance for fabrics, especially when human bodies release sweat in daily life. Despite excellent moisture absorption performance, cotton yarns are still limited in the moisture release/transfer ability. Here, based on a novel electrospinning technology, polyacrylonitrile and polystyrene (PS) electrospun nanofiber/cotton composite yarns were produced, respectively. Under fluorescence microscopic observation, electrospun fibers within the composite yarns showed a uniform distribution. As a result, these composite yarn-based knitted fabrics obtained a good water transport ability and a fast water evaporation rate. According to the moisture management test, PS electrospun nanofiber composite yarn-based fabrics exhibited a relatively high one-way transport index R (400%), claiming an enhanced moisture management performance. Finally, specific surface area tests and finite element analyses were used to analyze the water transport mechanism inside the yarns. The results proved that a small number of electrospun fibers played a predominant role in enhancing the moisture management ability of the composite yarns.

The research reports moisture management capabilities of the jute/cotton blended fabric before and after enzyme and amino silicone softener treatment. The findings of the results revealed that the enzyme and silicone softener treatment significantly (p

The six types of weft knitted fabric in plating structure were made by cotton, polypropylene and polyester with different number of filaments. The fabrics were tested by moisture management tester, vertical wicking and drying test. It was found that the large water absorption difference and the large filament density difference between the inner and outer side of fabric could result in the better water absorption and drying ability. The fabric with polypropylene yarn (75D/48f) at inner side and cotton yarn (40 Ne) at outer side had best moisture management property evaluated by MMT. While the fabric with polypropylene yarn (75D/48f) at the inner side and polyester yarn (75D/144f) at the outer side had highest vertical wicking and drying rate.

The present study involves the preparation and characterization of antibacterial nanofibers made from nigella/PVA mixer along with silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles were efficiently synthe...

On the purpose of analysing the moisture management behaviour of knitted sportswear made of micro-polyester, texturized polyester and polyester spandex blend, knitted in three different structures, single jersey, 1 × 1 rib and interlock were systematically produced. Multidimensional liquid transport through moisture management tester and index properties of fabric samples have been analysed in this part of the paper. A comparative study of these results has been done in the next part of the paper with the results of dry rate performance, air permeability, water vapour permeability, vertical wicking height and some structural properties of the fabrics. According to analysis, it is observed that plain single jersey fabric being the most porous structure is the best suitable to achieve moisture comfort in sportswear among three fabric structures. Also, samples developed from micro-polyester are found better than texturized polyester and polyester spandex due to more capillary channels available to transport the liquid quickly from the top surface to bottom surface.

“Wear a mask. Save lives” is the slogan of WHO and all the government agencies over the world to the public. One of the most adopted prevention measures that can limit the spread of the airborne virus in the form of respiratory viral diseases, including the new strain of COVID-19, is wearing a proper mask. If the mask surface is heated to 65 to 70 °C, it could help potentially diminish any viruses or bacteria accumulated. The FAR-Ultraviolet -C (FAR-UV-C) dose for the influenza limit to 254 nm light is ~3 mJ/cm2/hour exposure is not harmful to the human skin and eyes. Here, we propose an intelligent mask served by FAR-UV-C and conducting a yarn-based heater that could potentially be activated in a controlled manner to kill the virus. The effective irradiation intensity for skin application would be under 0.1 µW/cm2. The exposure risk of UV-C is technically prevented by fabricating multi-layered fabrics with multiple functionalities. Along with experimental validation on bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE), tinker cad simulation for circuit design, and comsol multiphysics for temperature profile study, we probed Moisture Management Test (MMT) in addition with cytotoxicity risk by MTT Assay for survivability to ensure safer application potential. This novel proposed design with the germicidal combination of heating and FAR-UV-C models, described here, is promising in retaliating and combating any airborne viruses.

In recent years, baby clothing has become an important role in the garment sector. The increasing importance of baby clothing, along with the new designs, different fabric structures, accessories and clothing comfort is required to develop. Due to the increasing importance given to baby health in the world, babywears have to be manufactured from materials that are not harmful to health in accordance with the standards. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cotton knitted fabrics structure of babywear on moisture management properties. For this reason, moisture management properties (wetting time, absorption rate, spreading speed, accumulative one-way transport capability (OWTC) and overall moisture management capability (OMMC)) of cotton knitted fabrics of different structures which are widely used in babywear have been examined. Moisture management tester was used for liquid transport of the knitted fabric samples. As a result of the study, it is observed that single jersey fabric had higher OMMC values than these of interlock and 1x1 rib knitted fabrics. Regarding the effect of yarn thickness, liquid transport increased with decreasing yarn thickness in general. Regarding the effect of fabric weight and fabric thickness, liquid transport decreased with increasing weight and thickness in general. Negative correlations were observed between fabric weight, fabric thickness and overall moisture management capability.

This study discusses the effect of modified yarn path in ring spinning such as straight path, left diagonal path and right diagonal path on moisture management properties of the cotton fabric like ...

Thermal resistance and moisture management characteristics are important attributes of textile materials for the characterisation of their ability to provide thermal comfort. Nettle fibre consists of a hollow core that is expected to enable good thermal and moisture regulation properties. Nonwoven fabrics of three different mass per unit area values, made from nettle, polyester and blends thereof, were prepared on a needlepunching machine, maintaining the same punch density and depth of penetration. The thermal conductivity, water vapour permeability, water retention, wicking, moisture management, drying rate and air permeability of these fabrics were evaluated. Nonwoven fabric prepared with 100% nettle fibres exhibited good thermal conductivity, while polyester fabric demonstrated good thermal insulation. The nettle fibre fabric showed good water retention, drying rate and moisture management properties. On the other hand, polyester-enriched fabric exhibited good wicking behaviour.

Moisture management is important for the human comfort of clothing, especially while perspiring. Ideally, the fabric chosen for a garment enables moisture to migrate away from the skin surface, facilitating the liquid to be evaporated into the surrounding environment, which causes a cooling sensation for the wearer. This process is influenced by factors such as fiber type, fabric construction, and fabric treatments, all of which impact the resulting wicking and moisture management properties of the fabric. This research explored the heat loss associated with combined water absorption, wicking, and evaporative cooling during wetting of fabrics. A dynamic sweating guarded hot plate was used to measure transitional heat loss as water was introduced at a steady rate over a 65-minute testing period. The results on a cotton and polyester blend fabric as well as a wool fabric indicated that the liquid water absorption and transport processes significantly influence heat loss properties during this transition. However, the results also show novel aspects in the efficiency of cooling associated with the wicking of sweat and different stages of wetting of fabrics leading to different cooling power. Furthermore, this method raises questions as to whether current sweating guarded hot plate technologies are an appropriate representation of human sweat production or that the scalability of sweat production per unit area is limited. This developed testing method can be successful in quantifying the differences in transitional heat loss and will enable testing of fabrics for comfort in changing conditions.

Purpose Polyester multifilament is used to produce the face and back layer of warp knitted spacer fabric (WKSF) and these two layers are connected by polyester monofilament as a middle layer. This fabric has unique and extraordinary characteristics, and different possibilities of fabric structure and the middle layer thickness are tried to find out the moisture management properties. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the influence of fabric thickness and structure on moisture management properties. Findings Polyester monofilament quickly up takes the water molecule from the water reservoir and transfers it by capillary action. The gravitational force and the availability space between the two outer surface layers restrict the movement of water molecules, although the pressure develops to push the molecules from the water reservoir. As a result, all the spacer fabric samples attain the equilibrium state very quickly. WKSF and the hexagonal net structure prove to be better in vertical wicking. Originality/value The liquid movement is quick in the front side of the spacer fabric, and the rate of wicking is higher in open structure than in the closed structure. It confirms that the hexagonal net structure produces high pore size on fabric and it reaches maximum wicking values. Fabric thickness does not have much influence on the vertical wicking properties of all fabric samples, and the rate of liquid movement produces a similar trend. In in-plane wicking, the polyester monofilament in the middle layer of spacer fabric plays a major role rather than the outer surface layers of fabric.

Comfort has been one of the most important features of clothing, particularly for sportswear, which requires an effective transport of heat and moisture from the inner to the outer side of clothing...

The aim of this study was to investigate the liquid moisture management performance of knitted fabrics produced from vortex-spun yarns using different kinds of fibers and ratios. For this purpose, the vortex-spun yarns with 19.7 tex were obtained in different blend ratios in Murata Vortex Spinner by using different fibers. Then, these yarns were knitted in a circular knitting machine at two different stitch lengths and dyed considering fiber types. Moisture management properties of the produced fabrics were tested. The results revealed that moisture management properties of vortex knitted fabrics were much affected by fiber types in comparison with fabric tightness. Modal and nylon fibers have shown very positive results in terms of moisture management performance. The vortex-spun yarns having a low diameter, high shape values that are more rounded, and high density improved moisture management performance of the fabrics whereas the hairy yarns and higher fabric thickness reduced it. © 2019, © 2019 The Textile Institute.

Women's breasts contain limited anatomic support. Sporting activities create an excessive movement of breasts. It causes generation of continuous stress on the cooper ligaments. Excessive stress on cooper ligaments creates discomfort, pain, embarrassment and also causes the breasts to sag. The effectiveness in reducing breast movement depends on various factors. The factors are related to breast sizes, breast stiffness, running and jumping speed of sport woman and fabric structural parameters by which sports bra are made. However, no work has investigated and characterized spacer fabric based on the curvature of inner body parts under the bra. Characterization of spacer fabric is required on the basis of the real life simulation. The reaction force acting on the breasts during spherical compression of spacer fabric needs to be analyzed. Air and moisture transmission through the fabric, thermal resistance and moisture management properties also need to be characterized along with compression properties. Samples were developed to characterize spacer fabric for the above requirement. This paper analyzes to understand the behavior of warp knitted spacer fabric for spherical compression with different diameter of the spheres and its thermal, air and moisture related comfort characteristics. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is also done for compression properly of spacer fabric. It is concluded that spacer fabric may be considered as a very effective component of sports bra for controlling breast movement without compromising with comfort of sports women.

This study aimed to examine the fabrication of bi-constituent nanofibrous membranes and investigation of their moisture management behavior in various environmental conditions. In doing so, polyurethane with a hydrophobic nature and superior mechanical behavior and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) (PAMPS) with a hydrophilic nature were utilized. Different hybrid electrospun nanofibrous membranes were aligned based on different layer arrangements and composition ratios. Then, the impacts of the solid fraction of polymers, sequence of stacking, and environmental conditions on water vapor permeability, contact angle, and acidic water permeation were measured and discussed. Tracing the water vapor permeability behavior in samples was carried out through measuring the amount of permeation hourly and proposing some regression models. Bi-modal nanofibrous membranes were successfully fabricated using PAMPS and polyurethane with an average fiber diameter of 543.5 and 216.7 nm, respectively. As the volume fraction of PAMPS increased, the porosities of the samples remained unchanged, the number of pores increased, and the pore size decreased (the average pore diameter was 299.97 nm for the PAMPS sample and 492.35 nm for the polyurethane sample). Despite the better water vapor permeability of the polyurethane membranes than that of the PAMPS membranes, in the first 12 h of the water vapor permeability test, the trend was completely reverse. The results also revealed that in the relative humidity of 55%, the polyurethane layer had the highest water vapor permeability among all samples. The results of the acidic water permeation and contact angle tests showed that the hybrid electrospun nanofibrous membranes exhibit better wicking and wetting properties.

Moisture management is defined as the controlled movement of water vapour and liquid water (perspiration) from the surface of the skin to the atmosphere through the fabric. The ability of moisture transport is a very important feature of textile materials from the point of view of the physiological comfort of usage clothing made of these materials. Among the different textile materials (woven, knitted and nonwoven), seersucker woven fabric is considered as having good comfort-related properties. The fabrics are characterised by the occurrence of puckered and flat strips in the warp direction. The puckered effect generates air spaces between the body and the fabric, keeping the wearer cool in hot conditions as the puckered area holds the fabric away from the skin during usage. In the work presented, seersucker woven fabrics of different patterns of the puckered strips were investigated. The aim of the work was to analyse the relationship between the structure of seersucker fabrics and their moisture management properties. Measurement of the moisture transport properties of seersucker woven fabrics was made using a Moisture Management Tester M290, produced by SDL Atlas. Investigations performed showed that the properties of seersucker woven fabrics characterising their ability to transfer liquid moisture are different depending on the variant of the repeat of puckered strips.

This comparative study was done to study modal fiber as an ecofriendly alternative of cotton fiber in polyester-cotton (PC) fabrics. Clothing serves as a barrier between environment and human body, thus providing the thermo-physiological comfort by controlling the transportation of moisture and heat from body to external environment. Thermo-physiological comfort is an important sportswear criterion in terms of sportsmen’s comfort and performance. In this study, heat and mass transfer of active sportswear were evaluated. Thermal properties were measured by sweating guard hot plate, air permeability by air permeability tester and sweat response by moisture management tester. It was found that fabric with modal on face and micro polyester on back showed best transmission properties with good pilling resistance.

This work investigates how the orientation of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) affect the moisture and heat transfer of poly acryl amide membranes. In so doing, iron oxi...

In this study an attempt has been made to study the influence of laundry performance on the various comfort characteristics of Moisture Management Finished (MMF) knitted fabrics. The influence of laundering on comfort characteristics of MMF microdenier polyester knitted fabrics was studied to find out the durability of the MMF and its capability to withstand at least 20 home laundry cycles. In order to study this effect, the MMF knitted fabrics were subjected to different laundering cycles. It was observed that 10 wash and 20 wash fabrics exhibited a superior performance thereby fulfilling an important parameter of permanent wash proofness.

In this study, the moisture management properties of plasma treated single jersey knitted fabric with different types of polyester yarns: spun polyester, continuous filament yarn and micro denier yarn with different linear densities were analysed and investigated. The moisture management properties of the same were measured using a moisture management tester. The results of the treated and untreated single jersey fabric were tested for their wetting time, absorption rate, maximum wetted radii, spreading speed, and overall moisture management capacity . It was observed that for the plasma treated fabrics, the time taken for wetting and the absorption rate of spun polyester are faster. Continuous filament polyester shows the maximum wetted radii, and the spreading speed and overall moisture management capacity (OMMC) of spun polyester significantly increases when compared with untreated fabrics. The plasma treatment significantly improved the overall performance of polyester fabric.

Tailoring the surface of fibrous materials has brought special performance to textiles, endowing protection against threats from either environment or in wearer’s daily routine. Different functionalization techniques, including plasma treatment, pad-knife-pad coating and laminating, have been widely used to engineer the surface of fabrics for this purpose. This study contributes a comprehensive comparison of fabrics treated by these different techniques, in terms of surface morphology, chemical components, handle, superhydrophobicity and its durability, and resistance against water, liquid, oil, chemicals and soil. The comfort of the fabrics, including air permeability and moisture management properties, was also analyzed. It has been found that these functionalization techniques brought different levels of versatile protection to textiles with the sacrifice of comfort due to the change of the surface of fabrics.

Propensity of a textile material to evaporate moisture from its surface, commonly referred to as the ‘moisture management’ ability, is an important characteristic that dictates the applicability of a given textile material in the activewear garment industry. Here, an infrared absorbing nanoparticle impregnated self-heating (IRANISH) fabric is developed by impregnating tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanoparticles into a polyester fabric through a facile high-pressure dyeing approach. It is observed that under simulated solar radiation, the impregnated ITO nanoparticles can absorb IR radiation, which is effectively transferred as thermal energy to any moisture present on the fabric. This transfer of thermal energy facilitates the enhanced evaporation of moisture from the IRANISH fabric surface and as per experimental findings, a 54 ± 9% increase in the intrinsic drying rate is observed for IRANISH fabrics compared with control polyester fabrics that are treated under identical conditions, but in the absence of nanoparticles. Approach developed here for improved moisture management via the incorporation of IR absorbing nanomaterials into a textile material is novel, facile, efficient and applicable at any stage of garment manufacture. Hence, it allows us to effectively overcome the limitations faced by existing yarn-level and structural strategies for improved moisture management.

Prolonged drying times of terry fabrics is a problem as they can not be re-used until completely dry. To resolve this issue, we have designed a sandwich polyester in the mid-layer with low moisture content that could reduce the drying time with excellent wicking properties. These fabrics are widely used as activewear and sportswear. The effect of different softeners on the moisture management properties of weft-knitted terry fabrics’ for various applications has also been studied. Terry knitted fabrics were prepared using a circular knitting machine. Six different softeners were applied with three different concentrations, i.e., 10 g/L, 15 g/L, and 20 g/L, on the fabric using the pad-dry-cure method. Moisture management tests and rubbing fastness tests were performed to analyze the applied softener’s effect on the fabric comfort and moisture management performance. Results revealed that softener type (i.e., cationic, anionic, and non-ionic) and concentration levels considerably affect the moisture management capability of terry knitted fabrics.

In recent years, the development of personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers (HCWs) attracted enormous attention, especially during the pandemic of COVID-19. The semi-permeable protective clothing and the prolonged working hours make the thermal comfort a critical issue for HCWs. Although there are many commercially available personal cooling products for PPE systems, they are either heavy in weight or have limited durability. Besides, most of the existing solutions cannot relieve the perspiration efficiently within the insolation gowns. To avoid heat strain and ensure a longtime thermal comfort, new strategies that provide efficient personal thermal and moisture management without compromising health protection are required. This paper reviews the emerging materials for protective gown layers and advanced technologies for personal thermal and moisture management of PPE systems. These materials and strategies are examined in detail with respect to their fundamental working principles, thermal and mechanical properties, fabrication methods as well as advantages and limitations in their prospective applications, aiming at stimulating creative thinking and multidisciplinary collaboration to improve the thermal comfort of PPEs.

In this modern era, customers demand improved functional fabrics along with some other properties. The product developments can be done in various methods; the blending of various fibres to make fabric with enhanced properties is one of them. The wet processing can affect the comfort properties of fabrics made out of different fibrous material. Here, the effect of wet processing (scouring and dyeing) was studied on the comfort and other properties of plain-woven fabrics made using weft of 100% cotton, 50:50 cotton/tencel and 50:50 cotton/modal blend was studied. The results reveal that the air permeability decreases in all samples (100% cotton fabric, cotton/modal blended fabric and Tencel/cotton blended fabric) after scouring but no significant change has been seen after dyeing. The overall moisture management capacity increases significantly in all samples after scouring and further increases after dyeing. Fabric strength increases after scouring and decreases after dying. The fabric bending modulus decreases after scouring in all fabric samples and there is not significantly change has been seen after dyeing.

Hygrothermal modelling is increasingly used to inform building envelope design. A key input for these calculations is the material’s vapour diffusion properties. Respecting a growing international concern, this research has questioned the appropriateness of the current test method to establish construction material for vapour diffusion properties. This article reports on the empirical measurement of the vapour diffusion properties of two vapour-permeable building membranes commonly used in Australia residential systems when subjected to variable relative humidity conditions. The method involved completing dry cup and wet cup standard tests as specified in ISO 12572, (23 °C and 50% relative humidity RH). Further tests were then conducted as temperature remained at 23 °C but the relative humidity changed to 35%, 65% and 80%, respectively, in order to know if the diffusion properties are the same or change with varying relative humidity. The results from the wet cup and dry cup tests under different relative humidity conditions were non-linear and different. These results indicate vapour-permeable membranes behave differently when exposed to different relative humidity conditions. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that the current vapour resistivity test method is inadequate, hence the need to establish more detailed diffusion resistivity properties in different humidity ranges that represent conditions experienced within a building’s external envelope.

The influence of repeated laundering to the change in moisture management properties of hospital protective textiles was researched in this paper. For that purpose, green cotton fabric for surgical gowns and white one for linen were subjected to repeated laundering according to ISO 15797:2017 up to 25 washing cycles. Washing procedures for white workwear and/or sensitive coloured trimmings – Peracetic acid (PAA) bleach were performed in Wascator FOM71 CLS machine at 75°C using Reference Detergent A1 with optical brightener by WFK. The physical-chemical properties were monitored on FTIR-ATR, Spectrum 100, PerkinElmer after 1st, 3rd and 25th cycle. The liquid moisture management properties were determined according to AATCC TM 195-2017 on Moisture Management Tester (MMT M290, SDL Atlas). It has been showed that hospital protective textiles contain finishing treatment, which removes during laundering, even after one washing cycle, changing the moisture management properties. Fabrics goes from water penetration, through moisture management to fast absorbing and quick drying fabrics. The MMT results indicate better comfort of such treated fabrics.

The present study aims to investigate the moisture management and wicking properties of eri knitted fabrics. In this study, two different knit structures, namely, single pique and honeycomb fabric,...

A super breathable skin-like fabric with artificial sweating glands to excrete fluid droplets and repel external liquids., Personal moisture management fabrics that facilitate sweat transport away from the skin are highly desirable for wearer’s comfort and performance. Here, we demonstrate a “skin-like” directional liquid transport fabric, which enables continuous one-way liquid flow through spatially distributed channels acting like “sweating glands” yet repels external liquid contaminants. The water transmission rate can be 15 times greater than that of best commercial breathable fabrics. This exceptional property is achieved by creating gradient wettability channels across a predominantly superhydrophobic substrate. The flow directionality is explained by the Gibbs pinning criterion. The permeability, mechanical property, and abrasion resistance (up to 10,000 cycles) of the fabric were not affected by the treatment. In addition to functional clothing, this concept can be extended for developing materials for oil-water separation, wound dressing, geotechnical engineering, flexible microfluidics, and fuel cell membranes.

Hydrogels based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly-NiPAAm) and chitosan (PNCS hydrogel) in two size ranges were synthesised, i.e. PNCS microgel (PNCS_M) and PNCS nanogel (PNCS_N) with an average particle size of 405 nm and 76 nm, respectively. Hydrogels were applied to poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fabric and the influence of the hydrogel particle size on the functional and handling properties of the fabric was assessed. Morphological and chemical changes were determined using FT-IR, SEM and AFM. The temperature and pH responsiveness of the functionalised PLA were studied based on the water uptake (WU), moisture content (MC) and water vapour transition rate (WVTR); thus, the rate of the liquid spreading through the sample and the overall stiffness of the padded samples were assessed. Both hydrogels improved air and moisture management of the functionalised PLA fabric. In an aqueous dispersion, PNCS_N demonstrated a greater volume change than PNCS_M. Particle size did not influence the LCST of poly-NiPAAm, but it affected morphology of the coated fibres. PNCS_M formed microgel particles on the PLA fibres, and a homogenous layer was observed on the PNCS_N coated fibres. Such deposition hindered swelling of the PNCS_N in comparison to the PNCS_M. The handling properties were better preserved when using smaller particles.

This paper has focused on moisture management (MMT) and air permeability properties of fabrics produced from linen (100%) and linen-polyester yarns (80% polyester and 20% linen) at different weft densities. In the experimental study, eighteen different types of fabrics composed of six different weft yarns with three levels of weft density (weft density of 8,10 &12 pick/cm for 100% linen fabrics and 14,16,18 pick/cm for polyester-linen fabrics) were selected in order to determine the influence of weft density and yarn structural parameters (number of yarn folds) on moisture management as well as air permeability properties. The following weft yarns were selected: 104/1 tex, 104/2 tex & 104/3 tex for 100% linen and 41/1 tex, 41/2 tex & 41/3 tex for 80% Polyester - 20% linen fabrics, whereas the warp yarn was constant - 50/1 tex 100% linen for all fabric types. Satin type fabrics were subjected to moisture management tests and air permeability tests as well. According to test results, it was determined that some of the moisture management (wetting time, absorption rate (%/s) and one-way accumulative transport index of the fabrics’ top surfaces and bottom surfaces) and air permeability properties were significantly affected by the number of yarn folds and the weft density at a 0.05 significance level. © 2018, Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibres. All rights reserved.

Moisture management is an important behaviour during engineering of textile material. In case of intimate apparel (which is in close contact with skin), its moisture management property would affect the comfort behaviour during use. Fabric-foam-fabric plied materials are commonly used materials for making intimate apparel. In this study, we prepared different fabric-foam-fabric plied materials by plying polyurethane foams (non-laminated and laminated) with different fabrics. Their performance on absorption rate, accumulative one-way transport capability and spreading speed had been measured objectively in previous works using instrument (moisture management tester) according to AATCC Test Method 195. Based on the data, we can calculate the overall moisture management capability (OMMC) of the piled materials. Therefore, we reported the OMMC values of different plied samples and the results were discussed properly.