Thermoregulatory Performance and Thermal Comfort Analysis of Phase-Change Fiber Seamless Knitted Fabrics

The escalating climate change and extreme weather conditions have highlighted the limitations of conventional textiles in body temperature regulation Phase-change thermoregulatory fibers can maintain constant temperature when environmental conditions fluctuate, effectively meeting human comfort requirements. To investigate the temperature-regulating properties of TempSolution viscose/cotton thermoregulatory yarn in seamless knitted fabrics, this study examined three different knitted fabric structures along with varying blend ratios and linear densities of TempSolution viscose/cotton yarn as experimental variables. According to a full factorial experimental design, eighteen fabric samples and corresponding garment prototypes were produced on a seamless circular knitting machine. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal manikin tests were conducted to compare the thermoregulatory performance and thermal comfort of seamless knits with different yarn compositions and structures. The results demonstrated that among the fabric structures, the 1 + 3 mock rib configuration exhibited superior thermal resistance and comfort properties. Regarding yarn types, the 50/50 TempSolution blend with 50 s yarn count showed relatively superior performance across all test parameters, providing a theoretical foundation for developing phase-change knitted fabric.