A Research on the Comfort Properties of Linen Fabrics Subjected to Various Finishing Treatments

The study is aimed to investigate the thermophysiological comfort properties of shirt linen fabrics subjected to various finishing treatments such as enzymatic, softening and wrinkle-resistant treatments. After finishing treatments, thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal absorbtivity, maximum heat flow, water vapor permeability, and air permeability measurements were carried out. All test results were evaluated statistically in terms of the effects of enzyme and treatment types. According to the findings, all finishing processes provided improvements on the thermal conductivity and thermal resistance values of the linen fabrics and caused higher thermal absorbtivity values and cooler feeling at the first touch to the fabric. The enzyme and treatment types had important effects on maximum heat flow. When the enzyme, softener, and crosslinker were applied to the fabric together, the highest water vapor permeability values were obtained. However, the finishing treatments affected air permeability values negatively due to the high shrinkage feature. As a result, the effects of mostly applied finishing processes on the thermophysiological comfort of shirt linen fabrics were found to be favorable especially for the usage in the summer season.