Quantification of Fundamental Textile Properties of Electronic Textiles Fabricated Using Different Techniques
Arash M. Shahidi,
Kalana Marasinghe,
Parvin Ebrahimi,
Jane Wood,
Zahra Rahemtulla,
Philippa Jobling,
Carlos Oliveira,
Tilak Dias,
Theo Hughes-Riley
Affiliations
Arash M. Shahidi
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Kalana Marasinghe
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Parvin Ebrahimi
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Jane Wood
The Department of Materials, The University of Manchester, Engineering Building A, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Zahra Rahemtulla
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Philippa Jobling
Department of Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 INS, UK
Carlos Oliveira
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Tilak Dias
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Theo Hughes-Riley
Advanced Textiles Research Group, Nottingham School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Bonington Building, Dryden Street, Nottingham NG1 4GG, UK
Electronic textiles (E-textiles) have experienced an increase in interest in recent years leading to a variety of new concepts emerging in the field. Despite these technical innovations, there is limited literature relating to the testing of E-textiles for some of the fundamental properties linked to wearer comfort. As such, this research investigates four fundamental properties of E-textiles: air permeability, drape, heat transfer, and moisture transfer. Three different types of E-textiles were explored: an embroidered electrode, a knitted electrode, and a knitted structure with an embedded electronic yarn. All of the E-textiles utilized the same base knitted fabric structure to facilitate a comparative study. The study used established textile testing practices to evaluate the E-textiles to ascertain the suitability of these standards for these materials. The study provides a useful point of reference to those working in the field and highlights some limitations of existing textile testing methodologies when applied to E-textiles.
