Characteristics of knitted structures produced by engineered polyester yarns and their blends in terms of thermal comfort

Abstract

Engineered yarns are used to provide better clothing comfort for summer garments because of their high levels of moisture and water vapor management. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of knitted structures that were produced using different types of polyester yarns in order to achieve better thermal comfort properties for summer clothing. However they are relatively expensive. Therefore, in this study engineered polyester yarns were combined with cotton and lyocell yarns by plying. This way, the pronounced characteristics of these yarns were added to the knitted structure as well. Channeled polyester, hollow polyester, channeled/hollow blended polyester, cotton, and lyocell yarns were plied with each other and themselves. Then, single jersey structures were knitted using these ply yarn combinations and air permeability, thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity, water vapor permeability, moisture management, and drying properties were tested. The results indicate that channeled PES fabrics are advantageous for hot climates and high physical activities with regards to high permeability and moisture transfer and also to fast drying properties. Besides, air permeability and thermal properties improved through the combination of lyocell yarn with engineered polyester yarns. However, the use of lyocell or cotton with engineered yarns resulted in a to a decrease in moisture management properties and an increase in drying times.