Moisture management characteristics of knitted casein fabric

Abstract

In this research, thermal comfort and moisture management characteristics of knitted casein fabric have been evaluated and compared with cotton fabric for the application of undergarment. The fabric is analyzed for wicking, air permeability, thermal conductivity and water vapour permeability using physical test methods. The moisture management tester (MMT) was used to evaluate the parameters like wetting time, spreading rate, absorption speed, wetting radius, one way transport capacity and overall moisture management capacity (OMMC). It is observed that overall performance of casein fabrics is slightly better than that of cotton fabric. The thermal conductivity, air permeability and wicking values of the casein fabric are prominent as compared to the cotton fabric having same structural parameters, whereas the water vapour permeability values remain roughly same in both the fabrics. The MMT test results reveal that the casein fabric has an absorption rate of 66.2707 % on top side of the fabric and 70.6461 % on bottom side. For cotton fabric, the absorption rate is 50.046 % on the top and 43.6618 % at the bottom. The spreading rate of casein is found 5.0169 mm on the top and 5.0335 mm at the bottom surface, and for cotton it is 3.7921 mm on the top and 4.3019 mm at the bottom. The overall OMMC index of casein fabric is noted as 0.75, and for cotton it is found 0.7. The cotton fabric is found to be better than the casein fabric, based on the other parameters like maximum wetting radius and one way transport capacity values.