Superior Unidirectional Water Transport and Mechanically Stable 3D Orthogonal Woven Fabric for Human Body Moisture and Thermal Management

TLDR

Unidirectional water transport performance is vital for maintaining human thermal and wet comfort in garment materials. The study develops a 3D orthogonal woven fabric (3DOWF) with superior one‑way water transport and mechanical properties. The 3DOWF is constructed from successive polyester, cotton, and viscose layers, with Coolmax yarn core suction and plasma‑treated polyester to create a hydrophobic–hydrophilic gradient that drives spontaneous one‑way droplet penetration and accelerates water transport. The fabric achieves a water penetration rate of 25 µl s⁻¹, raises surface temperature by 2.6 °C relative to cotton, and exhibits weft and warp tensile strengths of 49.62 MPa and 18 MPa, representing the best insulation and mechanical performance reported for unidirectional water‑transport fabrics, and indicating promise for functional textiles such as watchbands and backpacks.

Abstract

Abstract Unidirectional water transport performance is vital for maintaining human thermal and wet comfort in the field of garment materials. In this work, a 3D orthogonal woven fabric (3DOWF) with excellent one‐way transport capacity and mechanical properties is developed via 3D weaving and plasma treatment. The 3DOWF consists of polyester yarns (first layer), cotton yarns (second layer), and viscose yarns (third layer) with successively enhanced water absorption capacity. This allows droplets to penetrate spontaneously from the hydrophobic layer to the hydrophilic layer but not vice versa. Moreover, the Coolmax yarn with the core suction effect in the Z ‐direction and the plasma‐treated polyester of the 3DOWF are shown to efficiently speed up the water transport process. In particular, the water penetration rate of the 3DOWF reaches 25 µl s ‐1 . In turn, the surface temperature after water absorption is increased by 2.6 °C compared with the cotton fabric, while the tensile strengths in the weft and warp directions of the 3DOWF are 49.62 and 18 MPa, respectively. These values represent the best insulation and mechanical characteristics thus far reported among unidirectional water transport fabrics. Therefore, the 3DOWF has great potential for use in watchbands, backpack belts, insoles, and other functional textiles.