Review of heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics

What is it about?

Those studies on the steady-state heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics are summarized. There are three circumstances between thermal resistance of individual layers and the total thermal resistance of multilayer fabrics, i.e., additive thermal resistance of individual layers, less resistance per additional layer, and more resistance per additional layer. An overview on unsteady state heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics is presented. The models on the heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics at both steady-state and unsteady state are summed up.

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Why is it important?

The heat and water vapor transfer through fabrics play a predominant role in determining their suitability for use in protective clothing. The thermal resistance of fabrics is a primary determinant of the body heat loss in cold environments. Multilayer fabrics are chosen for cold weather conditions, which provide adequate thermal insulation. Multilayer fabrics have been widely used for thermal protective clothing, which is important in hot environments to protect the wearers from solar radiation or reflected radiation.

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