Liquid Moisture Transport in Cotton Woven Fabrics with Different Weft Yarns

Abstract

Moisture transport in fabrics influences the thermal comfort of clothing due to drainage of sweat secreted by the human body. The moisture transport through textile materials takes place in two ways: water-vapor transport and liquid moisture transport. Both ways are equally important. In the present work, liquid moisture transport in cotton woven fabrics with different weft yarns was investigated. Measurement was done using the Moisture Management Tester MMT M290. The obtained results confirmed that the linear density of weft yarn significantly influenced the values of all parameters characterizing liquid moisture transport in the investigated fabrics. The best performance in liquid moisture transport was achieved by weft yarn of linear density 30 tex. For this fabric variant, the maximum wetted radius for both surfaces was the biggest: 25 mm for the inner and 26.6 mm for the outer surface of the fabric. This means that the fabric spread the liquid on the biggest area compared to the other variants being investigated to facilitate an evaporation of liquid sweat. The fabric variant with 30 tex weft yarn showed the highest spreading speed: 5.83 mm/s for both sides, and the shortest wetting time: 2.83 s for the inner and 3.00 s for the outer side of the fabric. The higher the linear density of weft yarn, the worse the ability of cotton woven fabrics to ensure liquid moisture transport.