Nowadays, as consumer expectations have increased worldwide, the importance of polymer materials performance has been raised to a new level. Efforts are required to produce a high-quality product ...that maintains its quality despite aging factors in certain geographical locations. In the experimental part of this study, polyester materials produced from conventional and recycled yarns, further intended for the production of sportswear, were exposed to natural weathering. Before and after the exposure, the following material properties were investigated: material surface appearance, material thickness, mass per unit area, horizontal and vertical density, surface roughness, tensile properties (force at break, elongation at break), water vapor permeability, liquid dispersion and drying of the material. The results indicate that the surface mass and thickness of all exposed polyester materials decreased after aging due to material shrinkage. The results indicated that prolonged aging negatively affected the values of elongation and force at break. The recycled material exhibited the highest overall decreases in elongation and force at break, but lower surface roughness. In addition, recycled material exhibited a shorter drying time than that of conventional material, both before and after aging.
Evaluating mechanical and thermal characteristics of garment systems or their segments is important in an attempt to provide optimal or at least satisfying levels of comfort and safety, especially in ...the cold environment. The target groups of users may be athletes engaged in typical sports that are trained in the cold, as well as football players that play matches and train outdoors during the winter season. Previous studies indicated an option to substitute the inner layers of an intelligent garment with polyurethane inflated chambers (PIC) to increase and regulate thermal insulation. In this paper, the authors investigate the mechanical properties of polyurethane material with and without ultrasonic joints. Furthermore, they investigate the potential of designed PICs in terms of efficiency and interdependence of air pressure and heat resistance. The results indicated that an inflated PIC with four diagonal ultrasonic joints has the highest ability to maintain the optimal thermal properties of an intelligent clothing system. The influence of direction and number of ultrasonic joints on the mechanical properties of polyurethane material is confirmed, especially in terms of compression resilience and tensile energy.
Active sportswear has certain functions that should meet the expected properties and improve the performance of athletes. In addition to functionality, an important aspect of sportswear is thermal ...and physiological comfort. By choosing the right clothing for athletes, the dynamic and thermal load can be significantly reduced because sports require unhindered mobility, and clothing must be adapted to the body and absorb sweat. Proper vapour and liquid flow in textile materials are important from a comfort point of view. Therefore, in this research, seven representative samples were selected that are used for clothing intended for sport and leisure. Using an infrared thermal camera, the transfer of liquid on the surface of the material was precisely monitored, until the final stage when the material is completely dry. The obtained results show that fabric made of 100 % polyester has the shortest drying time, while the highest vapour permeability was exhibited by fabric made of viscose and elastane yarn. Those fabrics should be considered as the most suitable for sportswear because they do not cause discomfort when worn. Infrared thermography is a very useful method in research because it provides reliable data, especially when it comes to the drying time of the material.
Over the years, the demands on the durability and quality of polyester fabrics used for sportswear have increased, as these fabrics contribute to athletes' performance. At the same time, the use of ...recycled polyester material is increasingly being promoted for environmental reasons. This study focused on investigating the properties of standard and recycled polyester fabrics before and after aging according to the developed aging protocol. The surface morphology, thickness, elongation at break, force at break, bursting force, mass loss due to abrasion and moisture management of the fabrics were tested. The results showed that the aging process had no influence on the surface changes in the fabrics. More specifically, there were neither surface cracks on the fibre surface nor chemical changes. The highest decrease in force at break for standard polyester fabrics with elastane was up to 26%, and up to 15% for fabrics made of recycled polyester. The loss of mass due to abrasion was greater for recycled polyester than for standard polyester fabrics. The average ability of the fabrics to absorb moisture decreased by up to 23% after aging, while the wetting time increased by up to 30%, with the highest increase observed in recycled fabrics.
With the increase in awareness of the importance of engagement in physical activities, high requirements have been placed on polymers intended for use in sports. A number of authors investigated the ...influence of aging factors on the performance of the polymer. Still, there is a lack of aging protocols that would be product-centered, especially when high performance is imperative. This paper presents a new approach to polymer aging and examines the change of the identified set of properties due to aging under different conditions, and the duration of each (topography, thickness, moisture management, elongation, and bursting force). The results of the testing revealed the increase in thickness due to exposure, especially to the sun-exposed materials. The ability of materials to elongate until the moment of rupture decreases due to exposure to the sun (strong relationship to the time of exposure; R
reaches 0.99) and the bursting force (up to 6.8%). Furthermore, results indicate the significantly impaired capacity of the polymer material to absorb moisture. The results of measurements indicated (derived) by spectroscopic studies, based on the ATR-FTIR (attenuated total reflectance) method, showed that there was no detectable influence of aging in the sun or shade on the chemical structure of polyester samples.
Comfort is an important quality criterion, especially for sportswear. It influences well-being, performance and efficiency. The necessary dissipation of heat and air flow, at high metabolic rates, ...must be designed and planned in advance. The influence of structure, density, mass and thickness of fabric were considered as well as yarn material composition, yarn linear density, yarn evenness and yarn hairiness. The influence of the mentioned parameters on thermal properties and air permeability was calculated. From the correlation analysis, it can be concluded that yarn's linear density, yarn short fibers hairiness, and mass per unit area of knitted fabric has the greatest impact on heat resistance. The yarn linear density, the yarn hairiness of the longer protruding fibers, and the thickness of the knitted fabric have the greatest impact on air permeability. A statistically significant model of multiple linear regression equations was offered to predict the thermal comfort of knitted fabric.
The physical and mechanical properties of knitted fabrics for sports swimsuits are analysed in this paper. The knitted fabrics were experimentally aged in seawater and exposed to the sun continuously ...for 100 hours. Data were processed for nine knitted fabrics with the same raw material composition, polyamide and elastane in different proportions. The physical-mechanical properties of all nine samples before and after aging, as well as the drying rate and water absorption capacity, were examined. The results show that the properties of the knitted fabric changed in all samples. The sample with a higher elastane content (59% PA and 41% EL) is less sensitive to changes in mass per unit area and thickness after aging (−0.89% and 0.40%). The results of maximum wetted radius absorption water on the top and bottom of the knitted fabric, spreading speed absorption and drying time are shown. The results show that the values of the maximum wetted radius of absorbed water and the spreading speed increase for all samples, while the drying time for the knitted fabrics show different results.
The mechanical properties of textile materials play a crucial role in determining their comfort, functionality, performance, safety, and aesthetics. Understanding and optimizing these properties is ...essential to meet consumer demands. Key aspects of mechanical properties, such as surface roughness, abrasion resistance, and compression, have a significant impact on the touch and durability of the material, as demonstrated by various research studies. This study focuses on analyzing the mechanical properties of materials produced of different polymer yarns and their changes under combined aging factors. The findings emphasize the significance of textile abrasion resistance and surface roughness measurement, particularly for aged materials. Although the use of recycled polyester yarn is sustainable and offers advantages such as higher tensile strength, the results have shown that the use of conventional polyester yarn is more advantageous overall as it has higher abrasion resistance, a smoother surface texture, and better elasticity retention after aging. The insights presented are vital for designing high-performance sportswear, which is crucial in today’s competitive environment.
The purpose of this study is to conduct an in-depth analysis of customer preferences for single jersey knit fabrics regarding the attributes of smoothness and softness, in order to build up a ...holistic picture of purchase preferences. A paired comparison test was conducted for the subjective human assessment of single jersey knitted fabrics which were designed to differ in a single factor only. A sample of 140 evaluators were recruited and assigned into seven demographic groups according to age, gender and education level, with 20 evaluators in each group. It was shown that fabrics produced of viscose and polyester or with addition of elastane yarn are perceived smoother than 100 % cotton fabrics without elastane. Regarding the gender groups, the discrepancy is seen between the results obtained for smoothness and softness, especially within the male evaluators. Also, it was shown that evaluators with completed secondary education do not make higher differences in the perception of attributes, both smoothness and softness.
Factors such as the growing popularity of sports, changing lifestyles and the increasing number of sporting events contribute significantly to the popularity of sports textiles. Sports textiles play ...an important role in the performance of athletes, as they need to provide freedom of movement and comfort to the wearer during activity. In this paper, seven conventional and high-performance polyamide and polyester yarns were selected for the development of knitted fabrics for sportswear. The fabrics were manufactured as single jersey and double jersey structures, both with and without incorporated elastane yarn. The fabrics manufactured were tested for mass per unit area, fabric thickness, fabric density, porosity, air permeability and water vapour permeability. The results of the study indicate that the air permeability of all four fabric groups shows a strong correlation with the measured porosity. The average water vapour permeability of single jersey fabrics is significantly higher than that of double jersey fabrics, and the addition of elastane leads to a further reduction. The correlation between the water vapour permeability and the thickness of single jersey, elastane-plated single jersey and double jersey fabrics is negative.
Dejavniki, kot so naraščajoča priljubljenost športa, spreminjajoči se življenjski slog in vse večje število športnih dogodkov, pomembno pripomorejo k priljubljenosti športnih tekstilij. Športne tekstilije igrajo pomembno vlogo pri športnih uspehih, saj morajo zagotavljati svobodo gibanja in udobje med športno dejavnostjo. V raziskavi je bilo pri razvoju pletiv za športna oblačila izbranih sedem konvencionalnih in visokozmogljivih poliamidnih in poliestrskih prej. Iz njih so bila izdelana enofonturna in dvofonturna pletiva z vpletenim elastanom in brez njega. Preskušane so bile naslednje lastnosti pletiv: površinska masa, debelina, površinska gostota, poroznost, zračna prepustnost in prepustnost vodne pare. Rezultati študije kažejo, da je zračna prepustnost vseh štirih skupin pletiv močno odvisna od izmerjene poroznosti. Povprečna prepustnost vodne pare enofonturnih pletiv je bistveno večja kot pri dvofonturnih pletivih, dodatek elastana pa vodi k zmanjšanju prepustnosti vodne pare. Korelacija med prepustnostjo vodne pare in debelino enofonturnih pletiv, enofonturnih pletiv z elastanom in dvofonturnih pletiv je negativna.
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