The effect of weave pattern on the thermal properties of woven fabrics

Purpose Fabric structural parameters play an important role on the thermal comfort of clothing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of weave pattern and also the length of warp float in each weave pattern on the thermal properties of woven fabrics. Design/methodology/approach Cotton woven fabrics with 23 different weave patterns were produced with identical linear densities of warp and weft yarns as well as constant warp and weft nominal densities. Thereafter, their thermal properties were studied. Findings Statistical analysis demonstrated that the weave pattern significantly influences on the thermal properties of woven fabrics. Plain fabric exhibited the lowest thermal resistance and the highest thermal conductivity, and hopsack 2/2(4) weave fabric demonstrated the highest thermal resistance and the lowest thermal conductivity. Moreover, except hopsack (4) weave fabric, in all weave patterns, the length of warp float had a significant effect on the thermal characteristics of the fabrics, as increasing the warp float led to increase in the thermal resistance of the fabrics. Originality/value Weave pattern as one of the structural parameters of the fabric has a determinant role on the thermal properties of fabric and subsequently, the comfort of clothing produced from it. Owing to the lack of investigation in this area, this research considers the effect of weave pattern and the length of warp float in each weave pattern on the thermal properties of woven fabrics.