Effect of layering outerwear on innerwear and air gap between the two layers on thermal comfort properties of knitted fabrics

Abstract

Purpose

In everyday life, people generally wear two layers of clothes (a knitted vest and a knitted t-shirt) during the summer. It is essential to understand which types of innerwear and outerwear maximize comfort. The primary objective of this research is to investigate the influence of layering outerwear on innerwear, as well as the air gap between two layers, on thermal comfort properties.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a total of 12 combinations were created from four vest fabrics and three T-shirt fabrics. The thermal properties (thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity, thermal diffusion and peak heat flow) were evaluated for the individual inner and outer layers. Each inner layer was layered with an outer layer to observe the effect of layering on the thermal properties. An air gap of 2 mm was introduced between the inner and outer layers to study the effect of air gap on thermal properties.

Findings

Tencel fibre exhibits higher thermal conductivity and absorptivity than cotton and polyester. Upon layering an outer layer on an inner layer, the thermal conductivity and thermal absorptivity increase to a slight extent, thermal resistance and diffusion increase drastically and the peak heat flow reduces. With an air gap between the two layers, the thermal conductivity did not improve, the difference in thermal resistance among all the combinations reduced, the thermal absorptivity of the combination textiles was lower than that of the innerwear alone, the thermal diffusion increased and the peak heat flow diminished for all the combinations.

Practical implications

In practice, this comprehensive thermal comfort analysis provides specific combinations of inner and outer articles of clothing that are most appropriate for enhancing comfort during the summer season.

Originality/value

Though there are many studies on the effect of multilayer fabrics on thermal properties, no extensive research analyses the influence of innerwear and outerwear combinations on thermal comfort properties.