Exploring the transverse wicking behavior of mechanically robust warp super-elastic woven fabric for tight-fitting garments

Abstract

The ability of a fabric to wick moisture away from the human body directly determines the moisture management ability of any given textile, and thereby has a great influence on the comfort offered by garments made from that textile. In this paper, the effects of tensile extension and liquid drop height on the transverse wicking behavior of a warp stretch woven fabric were systematically investigated. By virtue of the unique structure of the nylon/spandex air-covered warp yarn, the woven fabric has a denser and tighter surface, which facilitates its warp elastic stretchability beyond 60%. Furthermore, an acceptable cyclic tensile behavior at an extension of 30% was obtained, indicating the superior mechanical robustness of the fabric to a certain extent. The experimental results demonstrated that the transverse wicking performances of the fabric, including the wetting time and liquid spreading area, were dependent on the tensile extensions and the heights between the water droplet and the fabric surface. Specifically, the wetting time increased with an increase of tensile extension or a decrease of liquid drop height. The spreading area of the water droplet increases as a function of the wicking time, and it fits a power relation appropriately. In addition, the water vapor transmission behavior of our fabric during stretch was clarified. Such work is essential to get an in-depth evaluation of the wicking behavior of complex stretchable fabric structures.

Quantifying the effects of external factors on the behavior of vertical wicking in a warp stretch woven fabric

“…A warp stretch woven fabric was manufactured as per our previous work. 19 Figure 1(a) illustrates the fabrication procedure of the warp nylon/spandex air-covered yarn used in the fabric. The following parameters were replicated as follows; a draw ratio of 2.0 was used to introduce the spandex filament with a nominal pretension of 5-8 cN applied to the nylon multifilament.…”

Regulation of the fabric wet adhesion property through structural design of desirable scale: A theoretical suggestion

“…Fabrics have numerous varieties and sophisticated structures, the typical major categories are discussed such as constructed protrusions on the fabric surface, woven fabrics with relatively parallel cylindrical fiber (for the fabric consisted directly with fibers instead of yarns)/yarns, knitted fabrics with looped fiber/yarn stitches, nonwoven fabrics with punched or spun-laced pores, and so on, respectively represented by protrusion, cylinder, loop, and pore in Figure 2. Upon the existence of a massive quantity of liquid, fabric properties of liquid absorbency, 5,6 abrasion, 7,8 heat and moisture exchange 9 in the circumstance with limited amount of liquid or of dry condition would no longer apply. And fabric afterfinishes such as superhydrophobic finish 10,11 for eliminating wet adhesion show their limits in, for example, regulation capacity, durability, 12 and comfort sacrifice in dry condition.…”