Quick-drying clothes are also called moisture-wicking or moisture-wicking quick-drying products
1. Moisture-wicking mechanism
Moisture-wicking fibers are micro-grooves on the fiber surface The capillary phenomenon generated causes sweat to quickly migrate to the surface of the fabric and disperse through wicking, diffusion, transmission, etc., thereby achieving the purpose of moisture conduction and quick drying.
Capillary effect is the most commonly used method of moisture absorption and perspiration, which is manifested in the fabric's sweat absorption and diffusion capabilities.
Fibers with moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking functions generally have a high specific surface area, with numerous micropores or grooves on the surface. The cross-section is generally designed with a special shape, using the capillary principle to enable the fiber to quickly It absorbs, transports, diffuses and evaporates water, and can quickly absorb moisture and sweat from the skin surface and discharge it to the outer layer for evaporation.
In addition, the use of multi-layer fabrics for moisture absorption, moisture conduction and quick drying, hydrophilic finishing of fabrics and fiber surface modification are also common methods to produce moisture absorption and perspiration functions.
2. Development status of moisture wicking
Since the beginning of 1982, Teijin Company of Japan has been researching water-absorbent polyester fiber, and DuPont of the United States also launched Coolmax moisture-absorbent fiber for the first time in 1986. Dry polyester fiber. Because Coolmax has good moisture absorption and quick-drying properties, it can still keep the skin dry when worn in summer. Coupled with DuPont's good marketing and reputation, Coolmax fiber has become the most successful moisture-wicking fiber brand to date. Since then, In 1999, DuPont in the United States combined the newly developed patented technology of low-agent quick-drying fabric finishing and launched the upgraded Coolmax Alta fabric.
In China's Taiwan Province, moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking fibers are polymerized and spun by the upstream chemical fiber factories Zhongxing, Nanya, Shin Kong, Dongyun, Taihua, Hualong and Far East, and are produced by Hongyuan, Jiahua and other factories. Shuttle and knitting companies such as He, Daewoo, Taifu, Changhe, Honghe, Ruhong, Yuyuan, Jinwei, and Chongyi cooperate with downstream dyeing and finishing and garment factories to produce a series of sports, leisure and underwear products to show The product features of economy, comfort and functionality maximize the highest added value of chemical fiber and textile products.
3. Double-layer unidirectional moisture-absorbing and quick-drying products
The principles of moisture-absorbing and quick-drying fabrics can be divided into two categories: one is through the rapid diffusion of sweat in the plane of the fabric, increasing the The evaporation area of ??sweat realizes moisture conduction and quick drying of fabrics.
The other type is to use fabric design to weave hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers into double or triple layers of fabric. Through the capillary effect, sweat from the inner layer of the fabric is absorbed into the outer layer of the fabric. The outer layer of the fabric evaporates to achieve moisture conduction and quick drying of the fabric. The principle of multi-layer fabric is to use the characteristics of strong water-absorbent fibers to absorb sweat to the surface of the fabric, while the side closer to the skin uses the non-absorbent characteristics of hydrophobic fibers to make the skin feel dry.
In May 2011, US Cotton Company began to promote its functionally treated one-way moisture-conducting fabrics. In addition, NIKE's SPHERE series fabrics use a unique three-dimensional weaving structure and functional fiber yarn weaving. The internal shape is similar to a cell, and each independent unit can be round or hexagonal. It is made of fibers with excellent moisture absorption properties close to the skin, and the outside is made of microporous sweat-wicking fabric. When worn, the convex structure of the inner layer ensures that it never sticks to the body when sweating, providing extremely strong sweat-wicking and breathable functions. Li Ning's AT Dry Smart series of moisture-absorbing and quick-drying fabrics use unidirectional moisture-conducting technology to increase moisture-absorbing and sweat-wicking properties. Adidas' Climcool series not only discharges sweat from the body, but also adds the function of keeping clothing ventilated.
IV. Testing standards
The functional indicators of moisture-absorbent and sweat-wicking fabrics are currently mainly measured by testing three indicators: moisture absorption performance, wicking performance, and moisture permeability of the fabric. Moisture wicking effect.
In GB/T 21655.1-2008 "Evaluation of Moisture Absorption and Quick Drying of Textiles", the water absorption rate, dripping diffusion time, evaporation rate, evaporation time, wicking height and other indicators of the fabric were tested. The water absorption rate of a fabric, dripping diffusion time and wicking height are defined to characterize the fabric's adsorption capacity for liquid sweat; the moisture evaporation rate and moisture vapor permeability of the fabric in a specified air state are used to characterize the fabric's ability to absorb liquid sweat. Quick drying.
International standards corresponding to moisture permeability include ISO1 1092 Test method for heat and water vapor transmission resistance of textiles, Japan JIS L1099 Test method for water vapor transmission performance of textiles, and American ASTM E96 moisture permeability of materials Test method, Korean KS K0594 fabric water vapor permeability test method, etc.
Technical requirements for knitted fabric products
Project requirements Hygroscopic water absorption rate/%≥200
Drip diffusion time/s≤3 Wicking height/mm≥100
Quick-drying evaporation rate/(g/h)≥0.18
Moisture permeability/[g/(㎡·d)]≥10000