Effect of Number of Fibres per Yarn Cross-section on Moisture Vapour Transport in Knitted Garment

With increasing demand for garment comfort, many studies have focused on the comfort properties of the fabrics. Comfort here refers to the psychological comfort such as the moisture vapor transport rate (MVTR). For wearer comfort, this sweat should be transported away from the skin surface, in the form of liquid or vapour, so that the fabric touching the skin feels dry. The rate at which water vapor moves through a fabric plays an important role in determining the comfort as it influences the human perception and the cool/warmth feeling. Cloth that forms a barrier for MVTR between the skin and the environment, and can enhance or spoil physiological comfort. The problem of MVTR through clothing is discussed. The article focuses on mechanisms of MVTR that could take place in textiles and factors affecting this process. The aim of this paper is to present the effect of number of fibres per yarn cross-section on MVTR. Two samples with different number of fibres per cross-section and the same linear density were knitted. Samples were produced with the same machine and loop-length to obtain the same fabrics specification. Results indicate that there is a relationship between MVTR and number of fibres per yarn cross section. Water vapour permeability increases with the lower of number of fibres per yarn cross section. Spaces between the fibres per yarn cross-section had the greatest effect in increasing MVTR. However this result has to be followed up with a thorough study. This study, for the first time has attempted to link effects on the number of fibres per yarn cross-section and MVTR. [Nahla Abd El-Mohsen Hassan Ahmed and Ghada Abd Alla ElKholy. Effect of Number of Fibres per Yarn Cross-section on Moisture Vapour Transport in Knitted Garment. J Am Sci 2012;8(11):370-378]. (ISSN: 15451003). http://www.jofamericanscience.org. 57