MODELING HEAT AND MASS-TRANSFER IN FABRICS

A numerical model was developed for simulating the heat and mass transfer in fabrics during the wicking process. The model was applied to two different fabrics, cotton and polypropylene. The model shows that, as the water is wicked through the fabric specimens, two temperature zones are formed. Within each region the temperature gradient is small, but between the regions it is more significant. Unlike the temperature, the variation of the fractional saturation is continuous along the specimens. Experiments were also conducted to obtain the temperature distributions during wicking for the two fabrics and to validate the numerical model.