Moisture Management Properties of Seersucker Woven Fabrics of Different Structure

Abstract

Moisture management is defined as the controlled movement of water vapour and liquid water (perspiration) from the surface of the skin to the atmosphere through the fabric. The ability of moisture transport is a very important feature of textile materials from the point of view of the physiological comfort of usage clothing made of these materials. Among the different textile materials (woven, knitted and nonwoven), seersucker woven fabric is considered as having good comfort-related properties. The fabrics are characterised by the occurrence of puckered and flat strips in the warp direction. The puckered effect generates air spaces between the body and the fabric, keeping the wearer cool in hot conditions as the puckered area holds the fabric away from the skin during usage. In the work presented, seersucker woven fabrics of different patterns of the puckered strips were investigated. The aim of the work was to analyse the relationship between the structure of seersucker fabrics and their moisture management properties. Measurement of the moisture transport properties of seersucker woven fabrics was made using a Moisture Management Tester M290, produced by SDL Atlas. Investigations performed showed that the properties of seersucker woven fabrics characterising their ability to transfer liquid moisture are different depending on the variant of the repeat of puckered strips.