X-ray tomographic investigation of water distribution in textiles under compression - Possibilities for data presentation

The distribution and transport of moisture in textiles and textile layer combinations plays an important role in the wearing comfort of clothes, especially in sportswear, working garment or protective clothing. X-ray tomography is an attractive research tool for such studies because it allows a multitude of possibilities for the analysis and visualization of the raw data: radial and vertical cuts, three-dimensional representations, quantitative evaluation, user-defined implementation of thresholds and their discrimination by colours, and comparison of different conditions of a material (such as dry and wet). A contrast agent is not necessary and the resolution is less than 100 mu m. We present some results obtained with a tabletop X-ray instrument used for the study of water transport in socks and shoe laminates. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.