Thermophysiological comfort properties of polyester weft-knitted fabrics for sports T-shirt

Abstract

In sportswear industry, the usage of synthetic material is increasing due to its excellent water transport characteristic. This study aims to evaluate the thermo-physiological comfort properties of different sports fabrics and to investigate the effect of fabric physical property and knitting parameter on comfort-related properties of commercial sportswear fabric. Vertical wicking test, wettability test, dry rate test as well as air resistance test were conducted on 17 types of polyester-knitted fabrics obtained from market. Analysis of variance and multiple-comparison least significant difference test was performed to select the best fabric for sportswear. A single jersey fabric sample No. 16 made of 75D/100f in 145 g/m2 as determined to be the best fabric for sports T-shirt due to its excellent wicking property, faster water absorbency, quicker dry rate, and lower air resistance. It is likely that finer filament, low fabric mass, and proper density are associated with best property. Besides, it is found that higher mass was associated with higher air resistance, higher porosity was associated with faster dry speed, and faster vertical wicking rate was associated with shorter water absorption time for fabrics tested in this study.