Effect of inlaid elastic yarns and inlay pattern on physical properties and compression behaviour of weft-knitted spacer fabric

Abstract

Spacer fabrics are commonly used as cushioning materials. Their compression properties are one of the most important concerns in determining their specific end-use. Therefore, it is time and cost- efficient to have another means available that could allow quick and easy modifications to the compression behaviour of spacer fabrics and control them too. In this study, a method that uses an elastic inlay is adopted to modify the physical and compression properties of spacer fabrics. Fifteen samples constructed with different spacer structures and inlay yarns and patterns were fabricated and then evaluated. The results show that spacer fabrics with different thicknesses, densities and compression behaviours can be obtained by using different inlay patterns and elastic yarns. Increasing the number of miss stitches in the inlay pattern can help to increase the thickness and stiffness of spacer fabric and withstand a higher compression strength. However, when the number of miss stitches further increases to 3 miss stitches between every tuck stitch, the irregularity of the spacer structure would increase and could show adverse effects to certain spacer structures. The spacer fabric made by incorporating an elastic inlay can retain air permeability and a lower fabric weight than that made by the knit stitches of elastic yarns together with the surface yarns. By changing the inlay pattern, a spacer fabric with different compression behaviours in different areas of the same fabric can be realised. This novel method can increase the flexibility of creating a spacer fabric with the desired properties.

Exploration of Effects of Graduated Compression Stocking Structures on Performance Properties Using Principal Component Analysis: A Promising Method for Simultaneous Optimization of Properties

“…This may be attributed to the increased bulkiness of the samples. By increasing the number of missing stitches in the inlay yarn, the thickness was increased, as was observed by other researchers [ 36 ]. The properties of the developed samples were compared with the control sample (C) from the market.…”

“…From the results, it is clear that a knitted pattern where inlay yarn is inserted in every course has better compression properties. Samples where the inlay yarn is inserted in alternating courses generate lower levels of compression, as supported by other researchers [ 36 , 37 ]. Xiong et al [ 38 ] also stated that the inlay yarn provides the required level of compression in elastic fabrics, while the main yarn provides the stiffness and thickness.…”

“…In the 1 × 3 structure, there were three consecutive floating loops of inlay yarn, which were then tucked in the same wale. This arrangement increases the restriction to movement and reduces the extensibility [ 36 ].…”

Investigation of Vibration Isolation Behaviour of Spacer Fabrics with Elastic Inlay

“…The application of elastic yarn inlay can be found in compression garments for controlling pressure delivery [6]. Our previous study showed that the thickness and compression behaviours of spacer fabrics can be changed by incorporating elastic yarn into the surface layer of weftknitted spacer fabric using inlay method [7]. Significant differences in the physical properties, air-permeability and compression behaviour between the spacer fabrics made of elastic inlay and that made with elastic yarn knitted with the surface yarns can be observed.…”

Effect of Silicone Inlaid Materials on Reinforcing Compressive Strength of Weft-Knitted Spacer Fabric for Cushioning Applications

“…The compression properties of spacer fabrics have often been studied. The elasticity of yarns used in the surface layer is one of the factors that contributes to the compression properties [12][13][14]. The compression properties of weftknitted spacer fabric have been found to be affected by the number of tuck stitches in the surface layers [15].…”