Modification and Validation of a Dynamic Thermal Resistance Model for Wet-State Fabrics

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Reviewer Comments:

This research work aims to investigate the dynamic thermal resistance of woven fabrics in different wetting states ten commonly used clothing fabrics were selected and tested for fabric thermal resistance under different levels of water saturation. The suitability of the eight models in predicting the thermal resistance of fabrics in wet states was compared using sum of squared deviations (SSD), sum of absolute deviations (SAD), and correlation coefficient (R2). The predicted values of Model 5 were highly consistent with the experimental measurement values and can be used to approximate the thermal resistance of woven fabrics in wet states with some limitations. This work is interesting to predict the thermal comfort of woven fabrics. So, I would recommend this manuscript with minor corrections.

 Comments:

1.     As Author mentioned on line 62 that “In the past few decades, many researchers have studied the prediction of thermal resistance models for fabrics, both theoretically and experimentally. It is suggested to highlight the novelty of this work.

2.     Author must also mention the mechanism behind the change in thermal resistance due to moisture content? For mechanism schematic figure would be good tool to present your work.

3.     Have author check the thermal conductivity, thermal resistance and insulation properties directly or using any equation?

4.     How we can use the textile thermal resistance tester or on which principle does it work?

5.     Keep in view thermal comfort which other properties author feel to target to design a model, like in this case authors focused on moisture content weave structure porosity?

6.     The authors are suggested to double-check the whole manuscript for grammar errors and typos that need to be corrected.

  The authors are suggested to double-check the whole manuscript for grammar errors and typos that need to be corrected.

Author Response

Detailed Response to the Reviewers

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the reviewers for the constructive and positive comments.

Replies to academic Reviewer:

1. As Author mentioned on line 62 that “In the past few decades, many researchers have studied the prediction of thermal resistance models for fabrics, both theoretically and experimentally. It is suggested to highlight the novelty of this work.

Thanks for the suggestion of the reviewer, the novelty of this work was added to the revised manuscript

“In summary, previous studies mostly involved the prediction of thermal resistance of knitted fabrics, lacking the prediction of thermal resistance of woven fabrics as a large category. In order to more comprehensively analyze the thermal resistance changes of various types of fabrics under wet conditions, this study refers to national standards to test the thermal resistance values at each moisture level, and analyzes the effect of fabric humidity on thermal resistance by studying the thermal resistance changes of different fabrics after wetting. Based on the test results, the theoretical model of fabric thermal resistance is modified and verified more accurately.”

2. Author must also mention the mechanism behind the change in thermal resistance due to moisture content? For mechanism schematic figure would be good tool to present your work.

Thanks for the suggestion of the reviewer.

The mechanism of the change in thermal resistance due to water content mentioned in the paper is simply that the high thermal conductivity of water replaces the low thermal conductivity of air, and the overall thermal resistance of the fabric is weighted by its fiber polymer and the filler inside the void, therefore, the fabric absorbs water and shows more of the high thermal conductivity of water, and the corresponding thermal resistance is reduced.

In previous studies, the analysis of the mechanism of the decrease in the thermal resistance of moisture absorption of fabrics has been fully demonstrated, and will not be repeated in this paper.

3. Have author check the thermal conductivity, thermal resistance and insulation properties directly or using any equation?

Thanks for the comment of the reviewer.

In an earlier study, we compared the thermal resistance predictions of different models for wet fabrics and also demonstrated the validity of the Mangat model.

References:

Yang R, Wu, Z, Qian X, et al. Development of thermal resistance prediction model and measurement of thermal resistance of clothing under fully wet conditions. Text. Res. J. 0(0) (2022) 1–14.

4. How we can use the textile thermal resistance tester or on which principle does it work?

Thanks for the comment of the reviewer.

The operation steps of the textile thermal resistance tester is to lay the fabric flat on the surface of the instrument test board in the set environment, and wait for the air in the chamber to stabilize and then display the readings. The working principle is that the test board simulates a constant human skin temperature, and the thermal resistance of the textile can be calculated by recording the heating power of the test board during the test.

5. Keep in view thermal comfort which other properties author feel to target to design a model, like in this case authors focused on moisture content weave structure porosity?

Thanks for the comment of the reviewer.

The main study in this paper is the effect of moisture content on the variation of thermal resistance of fabrics. In addition to porosity and moisture content, wind speed also has a huge effect on fabric thermal resistance, which can carry away more heat in the form of convection. In the future, we can consider modeling both water content and wind speed as influencing factors, so that the effect of wind speed on the evaporation rate of the fabric and the evaporation heat absorption phenomenon need to be taken into account.

6. The authors are suggested to double-check the whole manuscript for grammar errors and typos that need to be corrected.

Thanks for the suggestion of the reviewer.

The revised manuscript has been carefully checked for grammatical errors and typos in the revised manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Congratulations on your interesting research. The test results are an added value to the issues related to the thermal properties of textile materials.

The selection of materials and research methods is very accurate. The analysis of the results, including verifying the models, is presented in a way that does not raise any doubts.

I suggest a small analysis extension. It would be worth attempting an additional analysis considering the type of fibre and their share in the mixtures on the thermal properties of wet materials. This aspect was marginalized in the discussion of the results

Author Response

Detailed Response to the Reviewers

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the reviewers for the constructive and positive comments.

Replies to academic Reviewer:

1. I suggest a small analysis extension. It would be worth attempting an additional analysis considering the type of fiber and their share in the mixtures on the thermal properties of wet materials. This aspect was marginalized in the discussion of the results.

Thanks for the suggestion of the reviewer, the analysis of the effect of hydrophilic/hydrophobic fiber share in blended fabrics on the thermal properties of the fabrics was added to the conclusion in the revised manuscript.

“For blended fabrics, due to the different blending proportions of hydrophilic and hydrophobic fibers, it can be found that the proportion of hydrophilic fibers is greater than hydrophobic fibers, such as NE (Nylon 85% + Elastane 15%), whose thermal resistance loss after complete wetting is 84.21% of the ultra dry state thermal resistance, while the proportion of hydrophobic fibers is greater than hydrophilic fibers, such as PC (Polyester 65% + Cotton 35%), whose thermal resistance loss was 68.70% of the ultra dry state thermal resistance, this finding may indicate that the thermal resistance loss after wetting is greater for blended fabrics with a higher percentage of hydrophilic fibers.”