Thermo-physiological comfort of compression athletic wear

Thermo-physiological comfort aspects of compression athletic wear have been studied. Core-spun elastane-cotton blended yarns with different elastane proportion, elastane stretch and twist multiplier have been spun and single jersey knitted fabrics are prepared. A three-level thee-variable factorial design technique proposed by Box and Behnken has been used to study the interaction effects of the variables on the characteristics of fabrics. The influence of these variables on physical and comfort properties of fabric is studied, the response surface equations for all the properties are derived and the design variables are optimized for various fabric properties. The fabrics become heavier and thicker, and show improved thermal resistance, lower air and water permeability and poor moisture management properties, with the increase in proportion of elastane and level of elastane stretch. Higher twist results in better air and water vapour permeability but lower thermal resistance and wicking.