Comfort properties of functional warp-knitted polyester spacer fabrics for shoe insole applications

Abstract

The use of cushioned insoles has been recommended as a method to reduce the impact forces on feet associated with running. This study is used to determine the influence of insole structure and thickness on the permeability and conductivity properties of air and temperature. The insoles are constructed with warp-knitted polyester spacer fabrics with 3D construction and have good cushioning, permeability, and conductivity properties. The middle layer is made up of polyester monofilament yarn which decides the thickness of fabric, and the two outer surfaces of the fabric were made from polyester multifilament yarns which is a closed and open structure. The comfort properties of spacer fabric have been studied by measuring air permeability, water vapor permeability, and thermal properties with respect to fabric porosity. One-way analysis of variance is used to analyze the significant of fabric thickness and surface structures. The experimental result shows that the vertical gap of the two outer surface layers and the horizontal pore size of the face surface decide the permeability and conductivity properties of spacer fabrics. The fabric with higher porosity show high permeability of air and water vapor. Depending on the fabric thickness and structure, the 4-mm thickness of spacer fabric with locknit structure resulted in low air and water vapor permeability. It is found that the 3.1-mm thickness spacer fabric with hexagonal net structure proves to have good air and water vapor permeability and comparatively lower thermal conductivity.

Preparation and filtration performance of the circular weft-knitted seamless weft-insertion fabric materials

“…Due to its good elasticity, knitted fabrics are prone to deformation during usage. In order to eliminate the inner-stress in the yarn and the stretching of the fabric during the knitting process, the knitted fabric was pretreated with a heat setting process to obtain the stable knitted structure [15]. Therefore, the grey fabric directly from the seamless circular knitting machine needed preshrink finish, and the samples were processed in oven under 130℃ for 60 s by the dry heat shrinkage setting method commonly used in the actual production process in the factory.…”

Evaluating the fabric performance and antibacterial properties of 3-D piezoelectric spacer fabric

“…1 was determined to be 68±1%. For an all-polyester warp-knitted 3-D spacer fabric of 3.1 mm thickness and an areal density of 491 g/m 2 , a porosity value of nearly 88% was reported by Rajan et al[26]. The air permeability of a fabric depends on structural factors such as surface finish of fabric, stitch density, thickness and type of spacer yarns while macroscopically, the number and size of pores affect the airflow through the structure.…”

“…Apparel or technical fabric, it is very likely that they will undergo some mechanical impacts which will affect the fabric wear and lifetime. Therefore, wear resistance of the fabrics should be investigated together with comfort properties [25,26]. For textile structures, either apparel or technical, their fabric performance is as much important as their underlying smart behaviour, such as piezoelectric behaviour in this case.…”

“…However, the fabric may still need to be in contact or closely located to the human body in applications such as shoe insole. Again, for such applications, the comfort properties of 3-D fabrics are as important as the functionally.The porosity of the spacer fabric itself is dictated by factors such as loop length, stitch density, thickness and structure of the fabric and consequently controls the permeability and thermophysiological properties[26]. For the 3-D piezoelectric spacer textile, the porosity, as evaluated by using Eq.…”

Three-Dimensional Deformation of Warp-Knitted Spacer Fabrics Under Tensile Loading

“…Warp-knitted spacer fabrics have a special three-dimensional (3D) structure, which makes them suitable for a wide range of applications, including for clothing, shoe material, cushion applications, filter material, as well as medical and health care products. Their utility is enhanced by virtue of their excellent water vapor permeability, compressive elasticity, sound insulation, and overall structural moldability [1][2][3]. Although warp-knitted spacer fabrics constitute a recent development as far as knitting technology is concerned, they have become popular materials for current research and development.…”