Moisture and Thermal Transport Properties of Different Polyester Warp-Knitted Spacer Fabric for Protective Application

Warp-knitted spacer fabrics are generally used for sportswear, functional clothing, protective clothing, and other applications. This article studied the heat and mass transfer properties of polyester warp-knitted spacer fabrics from low thickness (2 mm) to high thickness (20 mm), from low mass (247.34 g/m2) to high mass (1,585.9 g/m2), and surface structure in plain or mesh construction. Water vapor permeability, air permeability, water absorption, and thermal insulation property were conducted to evaluate the spacer fabrics. The results revealed that with increasing volume density the water vapor permeability of spacer fabrics decreased, but the water absorption ratio increased. The water vapor permeability of fabrics increased when thickness decreased and volume density increased. It was further found that spacer fabrics with mesh worn nearby the skin and plain structure worn far from the skin could facilitate water vapor and air transmission. The difference of 8.82% for water vapor permeability and 14.19% for air permeability were found between testing mesh side up and down for the spacers (2.56 and 3.37 mm), respectively. Thermal insulation ratio was highly and significantly correlated with heat transfer coefficient at −0.958 and with thickness at 0.917. Thermal insulation ratio is highly and significantly correlated with air permeability at 0.941.