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Moisture Management and

Wicking

By:  
Gunaseelan J. 
Moisture Management and Wicking 
 
By: Gunaseelan J. 
Introduction  
 
Comfort properties of textiles are extremely important. It is sometimes more
important than the aesthetic properties when the garments are next to skin.
Among all the comfort properties, good absorption and easy drying is one of the
major requirements. When we do some physical work, we sweat. Garments,
which are next to skin, should absorb this sweat quickly and transport it to the
outer surface of the garment. From the outer surface, sweat (or water to be
precise) should be evaporated quickly to keep the body dry and cool. All these
desired phenomena come under one technical term, called “moisture
management”. It is clear that absorption of water and its transport to different
parts of textiles followed by its evaporation is the major requirement. Transport of
water to different parts of fabric is called ‘wicking’.

Wicking  

Transport of water in fabric can take place in two different ways, one is along the
plane of the fabric and the other is perpendicular to the plane of fabric. Hence,
wicking can happen in two ways:

a) Longitudinal wicking (along the plane of the fabric)


b) Transverse wicking (perpendicular to the plane of the fabric)

To understand wicking properly we need to have a clear understanding of


surface tension and capillary action.

Surface Tension  

All liquids tend to adopt shapes that minimize their surface area. Droplets of
liquids, therefore, tend to be spherical, because, a sphere is the shape with the
smallest surface-to-volume ratio. Surface tension of a liquid is work done per unit
area. This work done is stored as energy on the liquid surface. We know that
more the energy of a system less is the stability. Also, more the surface area
more is the energy. That’s why, to achieve stability, liquids tend to have least
surface area. The effect of surface tension, therefore, is to minimize the surface
area, and that minimization of area may result in the formation of a curved
surface, as in case of bubbles. After having this basic idea in surface tension,
without going into further detail we will straightly arrive into a fundamental
equation called “Laplace Equation”:
Fig (1) Liquid film having pressure both inside and outside

p in = p out + 2ϒ / r ------------- (1)

Equation (1) says that, pressure inside a bubble or on the concave side is
always greater than the pressure outside or on the convex side by an amount (2ϒ
/ r), where, ϒ is the surface tension of the liquid in consideration and r is the
radius of curvature. This equation shows that, as the radius of curvature
becomes infinite, the pressure difference becomes zero (when the surface is
flat).

Capillary  Action  – this is defined as the tendency of liquids to rise up


capillary tubes. This phenomenon is a consequence of surface tension.

Let us consider what happens when a glass capillary tube is first immersed in
water or any liquid that has a tendency to adhere to the walls [this phenomenon
happens when the cohesive force (attractive force between like molecules)
between liquid molecules is less as compared to the adhesive force (attractive
force between unlike molecules, viz, glass molecules and water molecules)].

As this liquid creeps up the inside wall it has the effect of curving the surface of
the liquid inside the tube. This curvature implies that the pressure just beneath
the curving meniscus is less than the atmospheric pressure (P) by an amount (2ϒ
/ r), where ‘r’ is the radius of tube.
Fig (2) Equilibrium stage of a capillary dipped in a water bath

We know that the pressure exerted by a column of liquid of density ‘ρ’ and height
h is,

P = h. ρ. g ------------------- (2)

Where, h is the liquid column height


ρ is the density of liquids
g is acceleration due to gravity
P hydrostatic pressure due to liquid height h

The hydrostatic pressure matches the pressure difference 2ϒ / r at equilibrium.


So, for equilibrium condition, we can write,

h. ρ. g = 2ϒ / r

or, h = 2ϒ / ρ. g. r --------------(3)
It is evident from equation (3) that, higher the value of ‘r’; i.e.’ more the dia of
capillary, less will be the liquid height in capillary.

The discussion of surface tension and capillary rise will be incomplete without a
proper understanding of contact angle. Contact angle is basically the angle of
contact between different phases (like; liquid/vapour, solid/liquid etc.).

Fig (3) Different surface tensions at equilibrium at a point

At the point of contact between solid, liquid and gas the balance of forces should
occur at equilibrium condition. If the solid/gas, solid/liquid and liquid/gas surface
tension are denoted by ϒsg, ϒsl and ϒlg respectively, then the forces are in
balance only if,

ϒsg = ϒsl + ϒlg cosθ -------------- (4)

Where, θ is the contact angle between liquid and solid.


 
 
 
Wicking and Moisture Management in Textiles 

In textile structures, the spaces between fibres effectively form capillaries. The
closer fibres are packed together in yarns. It is evident from the basics of
capillary action that, the smaller the apparent capillary diameter, the more readily
wicking can occur. Hence, basic textile properties like, diameter, cross section,
crimp etc. all plays a role in capillary transport. So, it is evident that wicking
properties of different fabrics are bound to be different. Capillary action in textiles
will attract water from places where it is abundant and transport it to the places
where it is less abundant. When all parts of a garment are wet capillary action
ceases.

At this point, it should be made clear that there is an essential difference between
classical capillary and capillary formed in textile material. A classical capillary
system is a closed capillary; where as in textiles all capillaries are open capillary
system. In classical capillary, liquid doesn’t flow out in all directions, solid walls
oppose it. There are no firm walls in the textile material, the liquid in the system is
held by its surface tension.

Fig (4) Cross sectional view of a bundle of wetted fibres

Fig (4) is an illustration of cross-section of a wetted fibre bundle (or yarn). This
hypothetical situation corresponds to a situation, where, a cylinder has a surface
created by liquid and partially wetted fibres. Inside the cylinder all the fibres are
wetted.
Fig (5) General case of the liquid wicking into the vertical fibre bundle

In fig (5),

„
h the maximum height achieved by the liquid through the textile
max is
material. Hydrostatic pressure due to the liquid column of height h max is
balanced by the pressure difference (2ϒ / r) illustrated in equation number
(3), the Laplace equation.

„
(a) is the unwetted part of the textile material

„
(b) is the wetted part above the liquid surface.

„
(c) is liquid

„
(d) is magnified view of fabric surface.

„
(e) is transient region. As the liquid creeps up the wall of textile material, it
has the effect of curving up.
Moisture management in Polyester blended fabrics: 

Cotton is hydrophilic in nature while PES is hydrophobic in nature. When you


treat Polyester with hydrophilic agents, the hydrophobic property of Polyester
gets converted into partially hydrophilic.

Hydrophilicity of Polyester increases the wetting area by promoting wicking on


the fabric surface. This fosters absorption of perspiration and thus enhances
wearer comfort. Now in the case of polyester cotton blended fabrics, the cotton
part can absorb sweat and the water is transported to the surroundings by
wicking. Polyester, made hydrophilic, can also absorb water from the cotton and
transfer it directly to the atmosphere, faster than Cotton because drying rate of
polyester is four times greater than that of cotton.

However just taking in the moisture is not enough: this must then spread rapidly
within the fabric and evaporate quickly, so that the fabric dries as soon as
possible to become comfortable once more. Therefore Moisture management
plays an important role in Polyester blended fabrics than Cotton fabrics alone.

Factors influencing Wetting and Wicking 

It can now be easily concluded that wicking takes place only when there is a
possibility of wetting. There are several factors, which can change the wetting
and wicking properties of textiles. A few of them are listed below:

Different fabrics experience different process conditions during their processing.


Suppose, grey fabrics from same lot are divided into two portions and processed
separately. Incidentally, one portion is scoured for less time as compared to the
other. So, the less scoured lot will contain some hydrophobic matter, which will
inhibit ready absorption of water and will show less wicking height in a specified
time.

Fabrics which contain yarn having more interfibre spaces (less twisted yarns)
give wider dia capillary. This will result into poor wicking action.

If printed fabrics are not washed properly, they may contain some remaining print
paste. Also, in some type of printing, printed fabrics are associated with binders,
which are essentially hydrophobic in nature and hamper wetting and wicking of
textiles.

Fabrics treated with hydrophobic type of materials like conventional silicones will
inhibit wicking by imparting hydrophobic behaviour. This can be overcome by
treatment of fabric with nano emulsion of a silicone (like; Resil Nanocelle G6).
This gives good anchoring sites (with end amino groups) with fibres as well as
large number of hydrophilic groups like, polyethers. This result into good wicking
property as well as considerable hand feel. The nano behaviour of the product
ensures extreme penetration and hence most effective performance.
Products in Resil Range for Moisture management:

Polyester: Ultrafab UPE, Resil HPJC

Cotton: Innocelle SIIQ + Resiwick super, Nanocelle G6 + Resiwick Super

Conclusion 

Moisture management of textiles is dependent on wicking, wetting and drying of


textiles. Wicking is a property, which should be essentially good to get a
satisfactory moisture management effect. It depends on various factors, like; yarn
twist, fibre cross section etc. However, wetting and wicking behaviour of material
can be improved by chemical treatment. Although wicking is understood clearly
in a qualitative way, wicking of multidimensional textiles (not only a group of
parallel yarns) requires a quantitative approach.

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