In this research, eight different 3D weft-knitted fabrics were developed and evaluated. 3D fabrics have been knitted on circular weft-knitting machines with two different gauges: 20E gauge and 28E gauge. Three different raw materials were used for the fabric’s production: high molecular mass polyethylene (HPPE) yarn and 0.05 mm diameter steel wire in the outer layers (for the front and reverse) and polyamide yarn in the binding layer. The experiments were conducted on the developed 3D knitted fabrics to determine the fabric’s resistance to mechanical risks such as circular blade cut, puncture, abrasion, and also to evaluate the comfort parameter, such as air permeability. It was defined that 3D weft-knitted fabrics best results on tests: circular blade cut, puncture and abrasion resistant were achieved using HPPE yarn twisted with steel wire, higher mass per unit area with more significant amount of steel wire. According to the standard EN 388:2003, three samples of developed 3D weft-knitted fabrics had the highest 5th blade cut and the highest (4th) abrasion resistance level. All of them had the highest (4th) level of puncture resistance. 3D fabrics knitted on a circular weft-knitting machine of gauge 28E ensured 1.3–2.1 times greater blade cut and 4.9–12.1 times greater abrasion resistance result, than fabrics knitted on gauge 20E, due to a higher stitch density, higher mass per unit area, density and fabric’s thickness. But on the other hand, these parameters lowered air permeability by 20.2–43.0%.

This study investigates the resistance of three-dimensional (3D) weft-knitted fabrics to mechanical risks in order to determine the impact of the percentage content of raw materials in the knits on mechanical loads. For this purpose, 3D weft-knitted fabrics, consisting of a front side, binding, and back side layers, were designed and produced on an E20 circular weft-knitting machine using organic multifilament yarns (high molecular weight polyethylene, HMWPE) and inorganic multifilament (basalt, BS) yarns for the front and back side layers and conventional polyamide yarns for the binding layer. The cut, puncture, abrasion, and tear resistance tests were performed to assess the resistance of 3D weft-knitted fabrics to mechanical risks. According to the testing results, basalt in the structure of 3D weft-knitted fabrics significantly increases the cut resistance, even in cases of a small basalt content in the knit. The puncture, abrasion, and tear resistance testing results showed that the highest HMWPE percentage content in the knitted structure provided the highest resistance to these risks, while increasing the basalt content in the knit did not improve the resistance testing results. Based on the testing results and the assessment of the protection levels provided by the knitted fabrics, the conclusion can be made that the use of HMWPE multifilament yarns and basalt multifilament yarns in the structure of 3D weft-knitted fabrics contributes to the achievement of the highest levels of performance. All the designed 3D weft-knitted fabrics provide complex protection against different mechanical risks (cut, puncture, abrasion, tear). The tests performed may be useful for further development of knitted fabrics designed to provide protection against mechanical risks.

This study examines the resistance of three-dimensional (3D) weft-knitted fabrics to mechanical risks to determine the influence of varying percentage contents of high molecular weight polyethylene and basalt on cut, puncture, abrasion, and tear resistance. The three-dimensional weft-knitted fabrics are designed by separating functional layers: the outer (protective) layer contains varying percentage contents of high molecular weight polyethylene and basalt; the inner layer (suitable for contact with the skin) contains polyester; both layers are connected using polyamide. The strength properties of knits in response to mechanical impact were evaluated by performing cut, puncture, abrasion, and tear resistance tests. Basalt was found to improve the cut resistance of knits significantly, even with its content as low as 5% in the outer layer. The knit with the highest high molecular weight polyethylene content in the outer layer demonstrated the best puncture and tear resistance. No correlation was established between the varying percentage contents of high molecular weight polyethylene and basalt and the maximum number of abrasion cycles, as the three-dimensional weft-knitted fabrics showed no noticeable wear. The test results show that the structure of three-dimensional weft-knitted fabric with the outer layer designed to withstand mechanical impact and the inner layer suitable for direct contact with the skin protects against a wide range of mechanical impacts. This applies even when varying percentage contents of high molecular weight polyethylene and basalt are used only in the outer layer.

Eight different 3D weft-knitted fabrics, consisting of outer, binding, and inner layers, were designed and produced on E20 and E28 circular weft-knitting machines. First, in the outer layer, high molecular weight polyethylene multifilament yarns and steel wire (0.05 mm diameter), twisted with high molecular weight polyethylene multifilament yarns, were used because of their exceptional properties to resist the mechanical risks. Second, in the inner layer, hydrophobic polyester spun yarns were chosen for their suitability to be used in contact with skin. Finally, in the binding layer, synthetic elastic textured polyamide yarns were used to connect the outer and inner layers. Following the standard EN 388, diverse tests were conducted to determine the resistance of the developed 3D weft-knitted fabrics to mechanical risks, i.e., circular blade cut, puncture, abrasion, and tear. The analysis showed that the quantity of steel wire in knitted structure highly influences circular blade cut and abrasion resistance, and moderately influences tear resistance for all the investigated knitted fabrics. While a strong positive correlation between the quantity of steel wire and the puncture force was defined only for 3D fabrics knitted on an E20 circular weft-knitting machine. The findings of the research lead to the conclusion that the designed 3D weft-knitted fabric structures, where the outer layer ensures protection against mechanical risks, while the inner layer is designed for contact with skin, provide complex protection against diverse mechanical risks.