Water Vapor Transfer of Outdoor Clothing System
Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 222-227,
Aug. 2019
10.12772/TSE.2019.56.222
PDF
Abstract
Water vapor transfer through a fabric, and subsequently a layered clothing system,
directly affects the human body’s thermal comfort. Clothing systems are essentially a
way of layering clothes together to ensure comfort during outdoor activities. The aim of
this study was to investigate the behavior of a clothing system’s water vapor transfer to
determine a comfortable clothing system combination for outdoor activities. A water
vapor transfer rate (WVTR) of 12 three-layer combinations of 100% wool and Coolmax fabrics
as the base layer, two polyester fleece fabrics as the mid layer, and three waterproof
breathable fabrics as the outer layer was tested. Our results show that when the clothing
system was applied, it worked together as a whole with the layers having some noticeable
influence on each other; it should be noted that every layer offered varying WVTR degrees.
The WVTR of a clothing system is mainly related to the type of waterproof, breathable fabrics
used for the outer layer. Therefore, a comparison of the WVTR of the outer layer to the
clothing system shows that the exact same trend is followed. The WVTR of the clothing systems
is significantly correlated with fabric treatments such as finishes, coatings, and film
membranes that are added to the outer layer fabrics.
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