FABRIC

SCIENCE -
II

ASSIGNMENT –2
By
Poushali Khan(BFT/17/52)
Ravikant(BFT/17/
THERMAL INSULATION VALUE
One of the chief properties of a fabric is its thermal insulation, which prevents excessive heat-
loss from the body. The effectiveness of a fabric as a thermal insulator depends upon its ability
to hold as large an amount of still air as possible and then to retain this during use. It its
resistance to compression and its ability to recover after compression are high, the still air is
retained, and the fabric continues to provide good thermal insulation. Studies on heat-transfer
characteristics indicate that thickness is the most important factor in determining the thermal
resistance of textile materials. Good thermal insulation is obtained with thick fabrics
irrespective of the fibre material. Smooth continuous-filament yarns are not suitable for making
bulky fabrics, so it would appear that the natural staple fibres, particularly wool, are to be
preferred. But, if synthetic-fibre yarns are used in the crimped-staple form instead of as
continuous-filament yarns, fabrics of good thermal insulation will be obtained.

An ideal clothing fabric, in terms of thermal comfort, should have the following attributes:
 high thermal resistance for protection from cold
 low water-vapour resistance for efficient heat transfer under a mild thermal-stress
condition
 rapid liquid-transport characteristics for transferring heat efficiently and eliminating
unpleasant tactile sensations due to water under high-thermal-stress conditions
To develop a material with the insulating properties of still air, it should possess the following
attributes:
 be a porous solid
 have a low density (2.0 lb ft "SUP -3" (3.2kg m "SUP -3" ) maximum)
 have low surface emissivity
 Have its cell-wall thickness small in comparison with the cell diameter
 be permeable to air
 be permeable to water vapour
 In designing fabrics to provide thermal insulation, we must balance the effect of fibre and
construction on the different modes of heat transfer and take into account the other properties
required, such as wind and rain resistance.
Factors Affecting Thermal Insulation Properties of Garment
ROLE OF AIR IN THERMAL INSULATION
 Textile fibers differ in their ability to conduct heat but it is the thermal resistance of
trapped pockets of air, not the conductivity of fiber which determines the thermal
properties of textiles. Greater the ratio of air to the fiber in the fabric structure, the
greater the insulation of fabric. Cassie opined that the air is not entrapped but clings to
the fiber surface. This fact probably explains the excellent insulating property of wool
fabrics as wool yarns are open yarns so expose maximum surface.
 Air provides little resistance to passage of heat by radiation. Fibers do obstruct the flow
of radiant heat, some more than the others and a minimum amount of fibers must be
used to effectively accomplish this. As air movement causes heat loss by convection,
total fabric assembly such as to reduce air flow as much as possible.
 There are many fabric structures which can trap still pockets of air and so act as
insulators under still air conditions. They may be pile/napped fabrics, milled or quilted
fabrics and more flexible knitted and brushed fabrics. Synthetic fibers are crimped to
increase the amount of air space within the fabric. The crimp prevents the fiber packing
tightly in the fabric and so creates pockets of air.

FABRIC PARAMETERS AFFECTING THERMAL INSULATION

 Result of studies on the thermal properties of fabric has concluded that the thickness
and density of the fabrics are two chief factors which determine the insulation property.
The thickness of fabric strongly affects amount of heat insulation. In general the greater
the fabric thickness, greater the thermal insulation.
 The nature of weave also affects thermal insulation property. There is slow increment in
the coldness of fabric with increase in the closeness of weave. The warmer materials are
produced in twill and crepe constructions.
 It has also been found that the thermal insulation is also related to the weight and
compressional properties of fabric. To make an insulating material effective it should
have low compression set/high resiliency to make the still air entrapped into the
material.
 EFFECT OF WATER ON THERMAL INSULATION
 Water molecules are much closer together than air molecules so water conducts heat
far more rapidly than does air. If a garment becomes wet whether from perspiration or
from rain its thermal resistance drops dramatically. As little as 15% moisture can halve
the insulation value of clothing.
 The transmission of water through a fabric is very critical parameter from comfort point
of view. In winter it is possible that water vapour produced by perspiration at the skin
can be condensed to the liquid, which may subsequently freeze to ice as the water
molecules move towards the cold air at the external surface. If a fabric cannot permit
sufficiently rapid disposal of water to occur, perspiration related discomfort may be felt.
The movement of water can be increased by either increasing water vapour
permeability or enhancing the ability of the fabric to transport liquid water to the
surface.
 Some of the items of clothing for cold climate are made of two or more layers. Thermal
resistance of two layers of fabric is greater than the sum of the resistance of the two
fabrics. This is because of the air trapped between the layers. Fabric in garment can be
used as free layer or joined together by stitching or by fusion.

Measurement:

Transmission of heat through a fabric mainly occurs both by conduction through the fibre and the entrapped air
and by radiation.
Thermal Conductivity: Total heat transmitted through fabric per unit time with unit temperature difference
Thermal Resistance: Reciprocal of thermal conductivity
In practice it is very difficult to measure the rate of heat flow in a particular direction, as the heater
dissipates heat in all direction.
Two methods are in use to overcome this problem:
  (a) To compare with a sample with known thermal conductivity value (Togmeter)
  (b) To reduce the heat loss (Guarded hot plate method)
Togmeter:
(i) Two-plate method:
Specimen is placed between heated lower plate and an insulated top plate.

Top plate has low mass, so that it does not compress the fabric.
T1,T2,T3 are measured.

(ii) Single-plate method:

The specimen under test is placed on heated lower plate as two-plate method, but is left uncovered
Air temperature just above the test specimen is T3

The air above the test specimen has a considerable thermal resistance itself, so that the method is in fact
measuring the sum of the specimen thermal resistance and the air thermal resistance. A separate experiment is
therefore performed without the specimen to measure the resistance of the air (R air)

To determine the air resistance:

In a single plate system, the heater is switched on and the apparatus is switched on and the apparatus is allowed
is to reach thermal equilibrium with no specimen present
The temperature should remain steady at each thermocouple for 30min.
Rair = R stand [(T2 –T3) /(T1—T2)]
R stand is the thermal resistance the standard plate
To determine the thermal resistance of specimen:  
Rsample = R stand [(T2 –T3) /(T1—T2)] – Rair
   
In the plate method Rair ~ 0
Gaurded Hot Plate Method:
Works on principle “b” i.e., by reducing the changes of heat loss.

It is measures the “thermal transmittance” which is reciprocal of thermal resistance

Consist of three plates:  

Heated test plate

Surrounded guard plate &

Bottom plate

Therefore, the test is repeated without any fabric samples present to give the bare plate transmittance.
Combined transmittance of specimen and air, U1
U1 = P/[A.(Tp – Ta)] W/(m2 0C)

Where

Tp & Ta are temperature of test plate and air respectively

P= power loss from test plate (W)

A= Area of the test plate (m2)

The bare plate transmittance Ubp is calculated similarly.
The intrinsic transmittance of the fabric alone, U 2 is calculated as,
  1/U2 = 1/U1 – 1/Ubp