Abstract:

Investigations on the dynamic absorption processes of double-layered knitted fabrics enabled to anticipate the fabric’s ability to absorb humidity, transmit it to the next layer and evaporate to the environment, as well as to find the best combination of raw materials and knitting structure of fabrics designed for clothing for active leisure and sport. The main goal of this work was to investigate the influence of knitting structure and raw materials on the dynamics of water absorption in double-layered weft knitted fabrics using the drop wicking/wetting method. It was found that liquid spot dynamics is influenced by the following factors: the raw material, the course and wale density of the fabric, and the fabric knitting structure, i.e. the type of floats between the loops and arrangement of synthetic and natural/man-made loops on the inner and outer sides. The knitted fabrics made of cotton and man-made bamboo yarns (outer layer) and synthetic Coolmax® threads (inner layer) came top, with the fastest water absorption. The knitted fabrics made with a combination of PP threads and cotton yarns (especially the ones with a higher loop density) showed the worst ability to absorb water in the inner layer and to transmit it to the outer layer.