Tree-like Structure Increasing the Moisture/Liquid Transport of Textile Fabric

摘要

Moisture/liquid transport in textile fabric is one of the critical factors affecting physiological comfort. Here the water transport properties of a new textile fabric, which was formed by mimicking the tree structure, are investigated. In present paper, the structure of the new material is analogized to a tree-like network. Taking the textile fabric as a porous medium, the water transport properties are investigated by combining Hagen-Posieuille law and Darcy's law. The results show that the water transport properties of the new type of material depend on its geometrical structures, including the branching level and the diameter and length of the Oth branching level, and the structure fractal dimension. The longer the length and the more the branching level, the lower the water transport capacity. A comparison of the new textile fabric with the general fabric indicates that the new material can provide higher water transport capacity and its maximum water transport capacity approach 1.707 times higher than that of the similar general fabric.