Design of weft-knitted spacer fabrics: impact of fabric structure parameters on thermal-wet comfort and cushioning performance

Weft-knitted spacer fabrics are characterised by their lightweight nature, thermal insulation, air permeability, and elasticity. To explore their application potential in garment fabric development, this study proposes a novel weft-knitting process based on traditional spacer fabric knitting techniques, which incorporates functional yarns into the spacer layer. Based on this process, the influence of varying fabric structures, including the spacer layer structure, the number of spacer layers, and the type of reinforcing yarn, on the thermal-wet comfort and cushioning properties of weft-knitted spacer fabrics is analysed. A three-factor, three-level orthogonal experiment was designed to produce 9 fabric samples, which were tested for compressibility, air permeability, moisture permeability, and thermal insulation. Variance analysis of the test data reveals the relative significance of the three factors. Experimental results indicate that the structure of the spacer layer has the most significant impact on fabric performance, followed by the type of reinforcement yarn, while the number of spacer layers has a relatively minor effect. Furthermore, during the compression tests, the compression stress-strain curves were fitted and differentiated to analyse the cushioning performance of the spacer fabrics based on the trends observed in these curves. The experimental findings reveal that the compressibility of the fabric is inversely proportional to its cushioning properties.