Heat and moisture transfer in fabric consisting of fibers with low hygroscopicity

Abstract

The heat and moisture transfer through dry and wet fabric made up of hydrophobic fibers was modeled and experimentally verified. In the modeling, the governing equations are obtained with consideration of the energy balance and the mass balance of the liquid water, where the specific initial and boundary conditions were set according to measurement of the cooling property of fabric. By comparing temperature changes at the fabric inner surface, the model validity was confirmed by the agreements between the experimental results and numerical solutions. Thus, this simulation was able to predict the cooling performance of fabrics. The effects of internal and external factors on heating/cooling performances of fabrics were analyzed by this model. With an increasing evaporation rate, thermal conductivity and water content of fabric, the cooling capability of fabric was improved. Surrounding conditions with lower temperature, lower relative humidity and higher air velocity demonstrated a positive effect on fabric thermal and moisture transfer performances, which benefits the thermal comfort of the human body after excessive sweating.