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In recent years, the studies of thermal characteristics have gained importance since it is directly related to clothing comfort. One of the ways of achieving clothing comfort is through moisture management of textiles. Moisture management refers to the controlled movement of water vapor and perspiration from the surface of the skin to the atmosphere through the fabric. The aim of this research is to study the thermal comfort characteristics of selected knitted fabrics by analyzing the thermal behavior of moisture management finished (MMF) fabrics, in order to find the suitability of the product for different climatic conditions. The knitted fabrics made from yarns of micro-denier polyester filament, spun polyester, polyester/cotton, filament polyester, and 100% cotton were used for the study. Thermal characteristics such as thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal absorptivity, relative water vapor permeability, and water vapor resistance were analyzed for the MMF fabrics. The test results indicated that the knitted fabrics produced from different nature of yarns have greater influence on thermal characteristics, when they were converted into fabrics. The MMF treatment have significant effect on thermal behavior of micro-denier polyester knitted fabrics with respect to thermal conductivity, thermal absorptivity, water vapor permeability, and water vapor resistance. Among the five fabrics, it was observed that micro-denier polyester fabrics gives faster heat transfer, quicker evaporation of sweat from the skin through the fabric, and also cooler feeling at initial touch.

The garment stretch and recovery characteristics due to body movements can be indirectly assessed by the dynamic elastic recovery (DER) value of the fabrics at different extension levels. In order to study DER of elastic fabrics, a comparative analysis was made between spandex-plated cotton fabric and spandex core cotton spun (SCCS) fabric. It was found that the spandex-plated cotton fabric has higher DER value than that of SCCS fabric. The results of this study show that this phenomenon is due to the residual energy of the elastane unraveled from these fabrics. The stress values of these fabrics have no significant effect at 95% confidence level. It is concluded that the spandex-plated cotton fabric is suitable than SCCS fabric, for the tight fit garments meant for the sports like Javelin, shot-put, and athletics.KEY WORDS: dynamic elastic recovery, elastane, elastic fabric, spandex back-plated cotton fabric, spandex core cotton spun fabric.

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