Development of multi-layered weft-knitted fabrics for thermal insulation

Abstract

The main goal of the presented study was to develop new multi-layered weft-knitted structure for thermal insulation and to investigate the dynamic of the heat transfer through this fabric. For knitting of outer and inner layers of this structure, different raw materials of yarns were used, i.e. wool, cotton, polyester and acrylic yarns. All the newly developed multi-layered weft-knitted fabrics show thermal insulation as, after 1 h of observation, temperature on the outer layer of all tested fabrics does not reach 40℃, i.e. the temperature of a heated plate. The results of this research showed that the nature of the yarns has a significant influence on the air permeability and dynamic of the heat exchange through the multi-layered structure, as it influences porosity of the knitted fabric. The results showed that the best fabric was the one where the outer layers are knitted from woollen yarns and the inner layer from polyester filament yarns.