Computational and experimental investigation of moisture transport of spacer fabrics

Abstract

This paper investigates the moisture transfer behavior of spacer fabrics. Spacer structures are knitted fabric constructions comprising two separate fabrics which are joined together by spacer threads. In order to investigate the dynamic moisture transfer of spacer fabrics, an experimental apparatus was developed which made the simulation of human body sweating possible. In the experimental section, the influence of some parameters such as the kind of spacer threads and also heat setting under drawing on moisture transport properties is investigated. Heat setting under drawing affects air permeability, thickness and porosity of spacer fabrics. The Results showed that water vapor produced by sweating can be easily and quickly transferred from the skin to the outer surface to keep the skin dry. In the computational section, a mathematical model was developed to describe moisture transport behavior of spacer fabric. The model was in high good agreement with the observations in the experiments.