Moisture-wicking textile?&?sweat?removing?fiber?series
(Mainly used in sportswear, yoga clothing and home textiles)
(Mainly used in sportswear, yoga clothing and home textiles)
Moisture-wicking textile products are a class of functional textile products that have developed rapidly in recent years, especially in sports, leisure, outdoor and travel apparel products, which have become a bright spot to guide the market and consumption. Moisture-wicking fabrics may seem complicated, but they are not completely high-tech problems. It can be designed from the aspects of hygroscopic and moisture-conducting fibers, fabric structure and so on.
In order to realize the related functions simply and quickly, most of the moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking fabrics on the market are thin fabrics.
fiber
The moisture-wicking properties of fibers depend on their chemical composition and physical structure. The gaseous moisture evaporated from the skin surface is first absorbed by the fiber material (i.e., hygroscopic), and then released through the surface of the material; while the liquid moisture on the skin surface is absorbed by the pores (capillaries, micropores, grooves) inside the fibers and the pores between the fibers. The capillary effect produced by the voids enables the adsorption, diffusion and evaporation of moisture (ie, dehumidification) on the surfaces between the materials.
The form of fiber moisture conduction can be mainly divided into two situations: infiltration and wicking. The former refers to the conduction of liquid phase water along the surface of single fibers or fiber aggregates in the form of infiltration, while the latter refers to the infiltration of liquid in fiber aggregates or single fiber holes. of capillary wicking. Among them, wetting is the basis and premise of wicking. The wetting of fibers can be characterized by measuring the contact angle, wetting force, spreading speed and other indicators, and the wicking of fibers can be characterized by two indicators: wicking height and wicking speed.
The results of the two effects lead to the migration of water. The former effect is mainly related to the chemical composition of the fiber macromolecules, and the latter effect is related to the physical structure of the fiber.
Moisture-absorbing and perspiring fibers generally have a high specific surface area, with numerous excitatory holes or grooves on the surface, and their cross-sections are generally of a special shape. Using the capillary effect, the fibers can quickly absorb moisture and sweat on the skin surface, and through diffusion, Pass to the outer band hair.
The development of moisture-absorbing and moisture-conducting fibers
The first domestic product to introduce the concept of moisture wicking or moisture absorption and quick drying is a functional textile product developed based on the characteristics of natural fibers.
In order to improve the uncomfortable feeling caused by the characteristics of cotton fibers that are easy to absorb moisture but not easy to dry, people have begun to consider whether it is possible to speed up the conduction and evaporation of moisture by changing the structure of the yarn or fabric, or even by finishing. To achieve the effect of moisture absorption and quick drying, the polyester hooded cotton product that was popular in those days is a typical example.
Later, with the development of fiber technology, moisture-conducting and quick-drying products based on differentiated synthetic fibers as the main raw material (domestic custom called moisture-absorbing and quick-drying) products have begun to enter the market.
Chemical moisture-wicking fibers mainly use the cross-section of the fibers to be shaped (Y-shaped, cross-shaped, W-shaped and bone-shaped, etc.) to form grooves on the surface of the fibers. With the help of the wicking moisture-conducting structure of the grooves, the skin surface moisture and moisture can be quickly absorbed. Sweat, and instantly excreted from the body, and then diffused and quickly evaporated by the fibers of the cloth surface, so as to achieve the purpose of moisture absorption and perspiration, regulating body temperature, and keeping the skin dry and cool.
At present, the most widely used and most effective ones are the moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking fibers produced by the use of cross-sectional specialization. Such as: Coolmax fiber from DuPont in the United States, Topcool fiber from Taiwan Far East Textile, Coolplus fiber from Taiwan ZTE Textile, etc.
weaving
During the weaving process, through the design of the jacquard process, the thickness of the fabric, the jacquard and the elastic area are reasonably arranged, which can meet the needs of the human body for ventilation, lifting and elasticity, and at the same time make the fabric itself have a certain function of moisture absorption and perspiration.
For example, using the RSJ5/1 EL warp knitting machine to design the appropriate jacquard weave, the fabric can form meshes of different sizes to ensure the smooth air circulation of the fabric, so that the fabric has excellent moisture conductivity and breathability.
Fabric organization structure
The unidirectional wet double knitted fabric is developed by the structural method. The fabric adopts single-sided plated jacquard weave, rib change weave or double rib change weave, and the inner layer is made of hydrophobic fibers such as fine denier polyester, polypropylene and other woven honeycomb or mesh points Organization structure, the outer layer is made of hydrophilic fibers such as cotton, wool, viscose, etc. woven with a high-density structure, which increases the differential capillary effect of the inner and outer fabrics, and can also achieve a unidirectional wet-conducting function.
one-way wet
In addition, the use of multi-layer structure fabrics to develop moisture-wicking fabrics generally uses polypropylene, polyester and other ultra-fine filaments as the inner layer, the middle layer is a moisture-absorbing layer composed of cotton yarn, and the outer layer is composed of fibers with high strength and good permeability. The double rib composite weave is woven, which can also achieve the sweat-wicking, breathability and soft feel of the knitted fabric.
Moisture-wicking fabric with three-layer structure (1 is the outer side of the outer layer of the fabric, that is, the moisture-absorbing moisture-storage and moisture-release layer of the fabric; 2 is the middle part of the outer layer of the fabric, that is, the wicking and moisture-conducting layer of the fabric; 3 is the outer layer of the fabric The inner side of the fabric is the strong moisture-absorbing moisture storage layer of the fabric; 4 is the middle layer of the fabric, which is the elastic film of the fabric (the polyurethane fiber is formed after being melted and shaped); 5 is the inner layer of the fabric, which is the moisture-absorbing and quick-drying layer of the fabric)