Reveal the standards for textile breathability testing and let you understand it in seconds!

 Reveal the standards for textile breathability testing and let you understand it in seconds!

Breathability testing is a measure of how much gas can pass through a textile. However, there is no single "optimal" air permeability value, as it depends on the specific circumstances in which the textile is used. For example, if it is used to make sportswear, it is hoped that it has good breathability; if it is used to make insulating clothes or warm clothes, it is hoped that it can block the cold well. Therefore, when testing the air permeability of textiles, the purpose of using the textile must be clearly understood in order to obtain reasonable values. In order to accurately and quickly test the true breathability performance of a sample, specially designed and developed instruments must be used. Testing methods generally include: fabric thickness (Thickness), fabric density (Density), fabric water absorption rate (Water Absorption Rate), evaporation and mass transfer (Moisture Transfer Rate, MTR), moisture conduction (Wicking Performance), sweat smell (Odor Resistance) etc.

The air permeability of fabric refers to the air permeability of the fabric when there is a pressure difference on both sides of the fabric, that is, the volume of air flowing through the unit area of the fabric per unit time under a specified pressure difference on both sides of the fabric. Breathability will affect the microclimate zone formed by the human body surface and clothing. This microclimate directly affects the comfort of the human body. For example, general clothing is required to be cool, transparent, and not stuffy. This microclimate requires more exchanges with outside air, which is conducive to human body heat dissipation, so the fabric is required to have a certain degree of breathability; while winter clothing requires warmth, which requires The microclimate should be as stable as possible to reduce body heat loss. At this time, clothing must be windproof, that is, have low breathability. Therefore, for taking products, breathability is an important performance that cannot be ignored.

What are the testing principles and testing standards for breathability?

The test principle of air permeability is to measure the air flow rate vertically passing through a given area of the sample within a certain period of time under specified pressure difference conditions, and calculate the air permeability.

At present, the commonly used air permeability testing methods at home and abroad mainly include GB/T 5453-1997 "Determination of Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics", ISO 9237:1995 "Determination of Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics", ASTM D737-2018 "Test of Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics" Method" etc.