MEASUREMENT OF IN-PLANE CAPILLARY WATER FLOW OF FABRICS

A Dew sensor array method was developed to measure in-plane capillary water flow in various types of woven fabrics. Specimens used were woven fabrics made of various fiber materials and cotton and polyester filament fabrics whose weave densities were altered systematically. The water absorption constant KH (cm/√s) was obtained by plotting distance traveled against square root of time elapsed, and water absorptivity was estimated from KH. Based on Washburn's law, the in-plane capillary water flow in fabrics was considered to be governed by the pores with sizes about 1μm present at the fiber-fiber contact points between fibers. The KH value decreased with increasing yarn density for the fabrics made of the same fibers and yarns. The in-plane anisotropy of water migration was suggested that the yarn was the unit for driving water migration in the case of woven fabrics.