Study on the Physical Properties of Three-dimensional Spacer Fabrics

Abstract

Spacer is a three-dimensional knitted fabric which consists of two outer textile substrates which are joined together and kept apart by spacer yarns. Spacer fabrics are used for environmental reasons, which can be used in different product groups such as mobile textiles (car seat covers, dashboard cover), industrial textiles (composites), medical textiles (anti-decubitus blankets), sports textiles and foundation garments (bra cups, pads for swimwear). In this study, fabric properties included low-stress mechanical properties, air permeability and thermal property of five different spacer fabrics were investigated. Low-stress mechanical properties obtained by KES-fabric evaluation system revealed that tensile, bending and compression properties of spacer fabric are greatly depending on the type of spacer fabric (warp knit or weft knit), the type of spacer yarn used (mono-filament or multi-filament), the yarn count of the spacer yarn, the stitch density and the spacer yarn configuration. Air permeability and thermal property of spacer fabric is closely related to the fabric density. This experiment work suggests that a careful selection of spacer fabric for its application is of primary importance.