Thermophysiological Comfort Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics Developed for Apparel Industry.

Abstract

Durable nonwoven fabrics have been developed that can be used in the apparel industry and the classic example is Evolon®. Beside with other mechanical properties such as tensile and flexural rigidity, the thermo-physiological properties are also very important because these properties are directly linked to the wearer’s comfort. Thermal comfort has a significant relationship with the moisture management, air permeability, water vapour permeability and the structure of the fabric. The moisture management in the fabric determines the cooling effect and therefore gives comfort to the wearer. Wearer comfort of clothing has continually assumed great importance during the last few decades. During exercise or working conditions, the human body wets because of sweating of the liquid (sweat), which does not evaporate from the skin to the atmosphere, as a result the wearer feels uncomfortable and tends to lose the working efficiency. Therefore, moisture transmission of the fabric is very important in order to optimise the wearer’s comfort and for this, the wicking property of a fabric plays an important role in moisture transmission [1]. Wicking is an effective phenomenon that plays a pivotal role in maintaining the body comfort in sweat condition. Fabrics with higher wicking properties offering a dry feeling by spreading the moisture within the fabric structure coming from the body and tends to evaporate to the environment [2]. Fabric’s higher moisture transmission is linked with the air permeability of the fabric.