Thermal comfort properties of knitted fabrics produced from bamboo/polyester core-spun yarns

The influence of polyester content, twist and loop length on the comfort properties of single jersey knitted fabrics produced from 100% bamboo, 80:20 bamboo/polyester and 60:40 bamboo/polyester core-spun yarns has been studied. Comfort properties, such as air permeability, moisture vapour transmission, thermal conductivity and thermal resistance properties have been analyzed with three different twist levels and loop lengths. Box-Behnken, a three level three factorial design software, has been used to study the interactive effect of core-sheath ratio, twist and loop length on the comfort properties of single jersey knitted fabrics, response surface equations are derived and the design variables are optimized. It is found that the increase in bamboo content in the core yarns having high twist and loop length increases the moisture vapour transmission and thermal conductivity of the knitted fabrics. The air permeability and thermal resistance of the knitted fabrics are found to be higher as the polyester component is increased. High twist and loop length increase the thermal comfort properties of knitted fabrics.