Development and characterization of warp knitted spacer fabrics for helmet comfort liner application. Issue 2 (June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Muthu Kumar, N; Thilagavathi, G; Periasamy, S
• Is Part Of: Journal of industrial textiles. Volume 51:Issue 2(2022)Supplement
• Page Start: 2053S
• Page End: 2070S
• Publication Date: 2022-06
• Subjects: Air permeability -- comfort liner -- energy absorption -- spacer fabric -- warp knitting; Textile fabrics -- Periodicals; Textile industry -- Periodicals; 677.005
• DOI: 10.1177/1528083720939215
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1528-0837

Abstract

The inner padding layer of the motorcycle helmet is one of the important components that control the factors of comfort during wearing the helmet and provides a perfect fit and stability of the helmet on the head. The inner padding consists of a low-density flexible polyurethane layer attached to a soft fabric layer that is in direct contact with the head. The present study aims to replace foam in the comfort liner of a helmet with spacer fabrics to avoid the risk of heat stress during the use of the helmet. In this work, 9 warp-knitted spacer fabrics were produced by varying the course/cm (10, 12 & 14) and thickness (3, 3.5, and 4 mm). Air permeability, thermal, and water vapour resistance of the developed spacer fabrics were characterized along with compression properties and compared with commercially available standard liner. The results showed that warp-knitted spacer fabrics had better energy absorption compared to the standard liner. Also, the developed spacer fabrics had better breathability and evaporative heat transfer compared to the standard liner.