The Mechanical and Comfort Properties of Sustainable Blended Fabrics of Bamboo With Cotton and Regenerated Fibers

Abstract

The worldwide growing need of cotton but its lower production has boosted the production of regenerated cellulosic fibers. This work compares the thermal comfort and mechanical properties of bamboo rayon fiber blends with cotton and other regenerated fibers. So, bamboo rayon fibers were blended with cotton, tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon. One-hundred-percent pure fabrics of bamboo rayon, cotton, tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon were made. Also, 50:50 blends of bamboo rayon with cotton, tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon were prepared. Plain-woven fabrics were made by using yarns of 20 tex. The thermal comfort and mechanical properties were analyzed. It is found that 100% tencel lyocell fabrics give higher mechanical and comfort properties. Similarly, bamboo rayon:tencel lyocell (50:50)–blended fabric gives better thermal comfort and mechanical properties than bamboo rayon:cotton–, bamboo rayon:modal rayon–, and bamboo rayon:viscose rayon–blended fabrics.

Keywords

cotton regenerated fibers bamboo fiber comfort properties mechanical properties

Almost two thirds of the surface of Earth is covered up with water. Of this water, 2.05% is frozen water, 97.4% is salty seawater, and the fresh water that is healthy enough for plant, animal and human consumption is only 0.65% (Krenkel, 2012). Among various crops, cotton is one of the thirstiest and is responsible for damaging the freshwater ecosystems both locally and globally. Cotton is a major natural fiber consumed in the apparel industry due to its excellent properties (Morris, Prato, & White, 1984). Though cotton is a natural fiber but to produce 1 kg of cotton fiber, more than 20,000 L of water is required. Moreover, it shares 11% and 24% of the worldwide sales of pesticides and insecticides, respectively. Hence, cotton cultivation is a major cause of ecosystem damage in different regions of the world (Bellon-Maurel et al., 2015).

An alternative to cotton fiber may be regenerated fibers, as these possess the properties of both natural and synthetic fibers. Regenerated cellulose fibers, such as tencel lyocell, modal rayon, viscose rayon, and bamboo rayon, are widely considered the most important fibers with regard to textile and environmental aspects. Tencel lyocell is a regenerated cellulosic fiber made from dissolving bleached wood pulp. It shares many properties with other cellulosic fibers ramie, linen and cotton. It is absorbent, soft, very strong when wet or dry, and resistant to wrinkles. Tencel lyocell fabric can be hand-or machine-washed or dry-cleaned. Also, it is well draped, can be dyed in many colors, and can simulate a variety of textures such as silk, leather and suede. Furthermore, it can be used in clothes such as underwear, denim, casual wear, chino and towels (Lenzing, 2014).

Modal rayon is a regenerated cellulosic fiber made from the cellulose (beech trees). It is used either independently or with other cotton like fibers in house hold applications (e.g. underwear, bed sheets, bathrobes and towels). Modal rayon is an advantageous fiber that is around 50% more hygroscopic than cotton, it is dyed just like cotton, it is colorfast, and has better resistance against shrinkage and fading. Moreover, it is soft and smooth (Lenzing, 2014).

Viscose rayon is a regenerated cellulosic fiber that is structurally analogous to cotton but may be produced from various plants namely sugarcane, bamboo and soy. It is a soft fiber commonly used in linings, dresses, shirts, jackets, coats, shorts, and other outerwear. Also, it is used in industrial yarns (tire cord), carpets, and upholstery (Woodings, 2001).

Bamboo rayon is a regenerated cellulosic fiber made from the starchy pulp of bamboo plants. It is different from natural bamboo fiber. Natural bamboo fiber is extracted from the bamboo plant through mechanical and chemical treatments. The woody part of the bamboo plant is usually crushed, and natural enzymes are then used to prepare the mass from which short fibers are combed out. The extracted fibers have a round cross section and a small round lumen, similar to other vegetable fibers, with a length ranging from 2 to 5 mm. Bamboo fiber looks like cotton in its unspun form. Additionally, it is naturally antibacterial, green and biodegradable, ultraviolet protective, cool and breathable, soft, flexible, strong with a luxurious, shiny appearance (Xiaoling, 2006). Furthermore, the cross section of the bamboo fiber is filled with various microgaps and microholes, giving much better ventilation and moisture absorption than cotton. The bamboo fiber also provides warmth in cold weather because it maintains the same microstructure as the warm air gets trapped next to the skin. In addition, it is naturally antifungal and antistatic. It has a distinctive antibacterial and bacteriostatic bioagent named “bamboo kun,” which bonds firmly with the bamboo cellulose molecules during bamboo fiber growth (Yueping et al., 2010).

Likewise, bamboo rayon is also a beneficial fiber. It is a regenerated cellulosic fiber extracted from bamboo pulp and processed from bamboo culms. The yield of bamboo culms is 10 times that of cotton, without using any fertilizers or pesticides. In addition, even organic cotton uses a massive amount of water for growing, however bamboo grows without any irrigation, normally on hill slopes where nothing else can be grown. It is produced through a method similar to processing viscose rayon. The production of bamboo rayon significantly less affect the environmental in which it not only use less land but also gives reduced amount of carbon emissions.

The production process to obtain bamboo rayon fibers from bamboo pulp can be more sustainable if bamboo–viscose is produced through a closed loop system where no harmful substances will enter into the ecosystem. Also, the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA) has certified bamboo rayon fiber as an organic fiber that can be degraded under the action of microorganisms and sunshine. Hence, it can be a remarkable alternative for ecofriendly development for those producing bamboo, bamboo textiles and other products (Brady, 2014). Furthermore, same shade depth is obtained with less dye with better appearance (Xufeng, 2003) as well as it quickly dries and has silk like texture. Thus, using bamboo rayon fiber as a replacement of cotton can be better for the environment, as it requires less amount of dye and consequently less waste would be obtained (Erdumlu & Ozipek, 2008; Filiz, 2011; Prakash, Ramakrishnan, & Koushik, 2011a, 2011b, 2013).

Several authors have studied the thermal comfort properties of fabrics made from bamboo rayon fibers. In an investigation, Mady (2017) found that the blended knitted fabric of 70% bamboo rayon and 30% cotton showed medium results between 100% bamboo and 100% cotton. The regenerated bamboo and tencel fibers blended single jersey knitted fabrics were analyzed for their comfort properties. It was observed that the air permeability and water vapor permeability were increased with the increase of tencel lyocell. One-hundred-percent tencel lyocell fabrics gave more thermal resistance and air permeability compared with bamboo rayon/tencel lyocell–blended fabrics (Karthikeyan, Nalankilli, Shanmugasundaram, & Prakash, 2016). Moreover, the cotton and bamboo rayon blended knits using rotor-spun yarns were examined, which showed that 50/50 cotton and bamboo rayon blended knitted fabrics had comparable comfort properties with respect to 100% bamboo rayon fabrics (Majumdar & Pol, 2014; Ramakrishnan, Umapathy, & Prakash, 2015).

Furthermore, it was revealed in an investigation that pure bamboo rayon–knitted fabrics give more air permeability than pure cotton–knitted fabrics (Prakash, Ramakrishnan, Mani, & Keerthana, 2015). Polyester and bamboo rayon blends have been found to give better thermal comfort properties than polyester cotton–blended fabrics (Hussain, Younis, Usman, Hussain, & Ahmed, 2015; Tausif, Ahmad, Hussain, Basit, & Hussain, 2015). Prakash and Ramakrishnan (2014) reported that air permeability and water vapor permeability of bamboo/cotton-blended single jersey fabrics increased with an increase in bamboo rayon fiber content. The thermal conductivity of the single jersey knits was reported to decrease with an increase of bamboo fiber made from cotton/bamboo-blended yarns while studying its thermal comfort properties. The relative air permeability and water vapor permeability of the fabrics were found to increase with increasing bamboo fiber content (Prakash & Ramakrishnan, 2013). In a research work, how the blend ratio affects the moisture management properties of cotton and bamboo fibers single jersey–knits was explored (Prakash & Ramakrishnan, 2013). It was established in a further research analysis that bamboo rayon fabrics were more breathable, soft, and flexible than cotton-knitted fabrics (Mishra, Behera, & Pada Pal, 2012). The thermal comfort properties of bamboo-knitted fabrics were deliberated in a research study relating to yarn linear density and loop length. It was established that thermal resistance and thermal conductivity tended decrease with an increase in loop length however increase with an increase in yarn linear density (Chidambaram, Govind, & Venkataraman, 2011).

Many experts investigated the bamboo fiber and its yarns (Erdumlu & Ozipek, 2008; Hengshu, 2004; Lizhen, 2005; Yongmei, Qi, & Guohe, 2006). Some of them evaluated the bamboo-blended fabrics, mostly with cotton (An, Gam, & Cao, 2013; Chidambaram et al., 2011; Hatua, Majumdar, & Das, 2013; Prakash et al., 2011a, 2011b, 2013; Yongmei et al., 2006), tencel (Karthikeyan et al., 2016), and polyester (Tausif et al., 2015). However, bamboo rayon blended with other regenerated fibers (tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon) and compared with cotton is not reported. In this work, bamboo rayon fiber with the production flow bamboo–thick pulp–fine pulp–bamboo cellulose fiber–bamboo fiber (Hebei Jigao Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., 2014) is used. The purpose of this research was to investigate the woven fabrics of bamboo rayon fiber blended with cotton and other regenerated fibers (tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon) so as to explore the comfort and mechanical properties of bamboo-blended fabrics that may be used as an alternative to cotton.

Materials and Method

Materials

Current study was conducted by using cotton as the natural cellulosic fiber and bamboo rayon, tencel lyocell, viscose rayon, and modal rayon as regenerated fibers. The specifications of cotton as well as other regenerated cellulosic fibers are placed in Table 1. Bamboo rayon fiber was imported from Hebei Jigao Chemical Fiber Company Limited, China. Tencel lyocell, modal rayon, and viscose rayon fibers were imported from Lenzing, Austria.

Table 1.

Specifications of Fibers: Cotton, Tencel Lyocell, Modal Rayon, Viscose Rayon, and Bamboo Rayon.

Parameters	Cotton	Tencel Lyocell	Modal Viscose	Viscose Rayon	Bamboo Rayon
Denier (dtex)	—	1.3	1.3	1.3	1.3
Staple/cut length (mm)	27.3	38	39	39	38
Tenacity conditioned (cN/tex)	27.9	36	35	25	21
Elongation conditioned (%)	6.6	14	13	20	17
Moisture (%)	8.5	13	11	11	11
Micronaire	4.6	—	—	—	—
Uniformity	83.6	—	—	—	—
Short fiber index	33.4	—	—	—	—
Rd value	73.3	—	—	—	—
+b value	8.6	—	—	—	—

Method

Yarn production

Nine yarn samples of different blends of 20 tex were produced. The different blends, their blend ratios, and their IDs are elaborated in Table 2. The mixing/blending was conducted in blow room, and yarns were prepared through ring-spinning route. The ring-spinning line consists of blow room machines of Rieter and Truzschler, carding machine of MK-5 Crosrol, drawing machines of DX8 and RSB D 30, comber machine of Toyoda VC-5A, simplex machine of Toyoda FL-16, ring machine of Toyoda RY-4, and autowinder machine of Muratec 21-c.

Table 2.

Blend Ratios.

Blends	Ratio	Sample ID
Cotton	100	Cotton
Bamboo rayon	100	Bamboo
Tencel lyocell	100	Tencel
Modal rayon	100	Modal
Viscose rayon	100	Viscose
Bamboo rayon:tencel lyocell	50:50	Bamboo:tencel
Bamboo rayon:modal rayon	50:50	Bamboo:modal
Bamboo rayon:viscose rayon	50:50	Bamboo:viscose
Bamboo rayon:cotton	50:50	Bamboo:cotton

Fabric manufacturing

Plain-woven fabrics (one by one) with ends and picks of 76 and 68 per inch respectively of 120 (g/m²) were prepared on a CCI loom (model SL 8900 S) from Taiwan. The loom had a reed of 35, speed (36 picks/min), and two ends per reed dent. The prepared fabric was of length and width of 55 and 15 inches respectively with 1120 warp ends.

Pretreatment

All fabric samples were firstly desized, scoured, and then bleached. The recipes and process conditions of desizing, scouring, and bleaching are given in Table 3.

Table 3.

Desizing, Scouring and Bleaching Recipes, and Their Process Conditions.

Recipes	Parameters	Values
Desizing	Desizer	5 g/L
	Detergent	2 g/L
	Temperature	40°C
	Time	6 hr
Scouring and bleaching	NaOH	10 ml/L
	Stabilizer	5 ml/L
	H₂O₂	35 ml/L
	Wetting agent	2 g/L
	Temperature	90°C
	Time	40 min

Testing

Before testing, all samples were conditioned. For each type of test, three replications were performed. The different standard methods American society for testing of materials (ASTM) and American association of textile chemists and colorists (AATCC) were followed to perform different tests. ASTMD2256/D2256M—10e1 was followed to test the tenacity and elongation percentage of yarns by using Yarn Tensile Tester (Tensojet, 2000). For the tensile strength of fabrics (150 × 50 mm²), ASTM D5035—11 was followed by using tensile strength tester. Similarly, for tear strength of fabrics (100 × 63 mm²), ASTM D1424—09, 2013 was followed. Likewise, ASTM D737—04, 2012 was followed to analyze air permeability of fabrics (20 × 20 cm²) by using air permeability tester M-021A SDL Atlas, UK. Similarly, AATCC test method TM (195) was followed to know the liquid moisture management properties of fabrics (8 × 8 cm²). In the same way, ASTM D1518—14 was followed for measuring the thermal resistance of fabrics (30 × 30 cm²) by using thermal resistance tester M-259B SDL Atlas, UK.

Statistical analysis

Using Minitab 17 software and considering cotton as the controlled sample, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett’s test with a 95% confidence level were used to find the significance of the results.

Results and Discussion

Mechanical Properties of Yarns

From Figure 1, it is obvious that 100% tencel yarn has the highest strength (27.38 cN/tex) as well as greater elongation (17.68%). This is due to the higher tenacity of tencel fibers. Similarly, bamboo and cotton yarns have strengths of 19.31 and 19.06 cN/tex, respectively. Bamboo yarns give an elongation of 13.87%, and cotton yarns give an elongation of just 4.19%. The strength of modal and viscose yarns is 19.68 and 19.17 cN/tex, respectively. In the case of blends, bamboo:tencel and bamboo:modal have higher strength and elongation percentages. Bamboo:cotton-blended yarn has lower strength and elongation percentages, as cotton fibers have lower strength and elongation percentages. Considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) shows that the tensile strength of only tencel and bamboo:tencel yarns is significantly higher, whereas bamboo:cotton has values significantly lower than cotton. This is due to the higher strength of tencel fiber. Moreover, the elongation percentages of all yarns are significantly higher than cotton, as it is a stiff fiber.

Figure 1.

Mechanical properties of yarns.

Mechanical Properties of Fabrics

Tensile strength

The tensile strengths of fabrics are summarized in Figure 2. A 100% tencel fabric has higher strengths in warp and weft directions than a 100% modal fabric, as tencel yarn has higher strength. Bamboo fabric has lower strength than tencel and modal but higher strength than viscose and cotton fabrics. Similarly, in the case of blends, bamboo:tencel has higher tensile strength in both directions. This is owing to more strength of tencel fibers. Also, the bamboo:modal blend has higher strength than bamboo:viscose and bamboo:cotton. Considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) shows that the values of tensile strength for all fabric samples except bamboo:modal, viscose, and bamboo:cotton are significantly different from cotton. This is due to the fact that bamboo, cotton, and viscose fibers give comparable tensile strength to each other.

Figure 2.

Tensile strength of woven fabrics.

Tear strength

Tear strength of fabric primarily relies on the tensile properties of the yarns and their mobility in the fabric structure. Yarn mobility facilitates the grouping or buckling of yarns during tearing and therefore improves the tearing resistance, as more than one yarn has to be broken at a time (Schwartz, 2008). Tear strengths of all the fabrics are given in Figure 3. One-hundred-percent tencel fabric has higher tear strength in warp and weft directions owing to more strength of the yarns, their smooth surface, and fewer imperfections. The yarn with fewer imperfections will have greater mobility. Therefore, tencel fabric has higher tear strength. Among the other regenerated fabrics, modal and viscose fabrics have higher tear strengths than bamboo and cotton fabrics. Cotton fabric has lower tear strength since cotton yarns have lower tensile strength, and the surface of fibers is relatively rougher than the regenerated fibers. In addition, cotton yarns have more imperfections due to the difference in staple length of cotton fibers. In the case of blends, bamboo:tencel fabric has higher tear strength, whereas bamboo:cotton has lower tear strength. Bamboo:modal and bamboo:viscose fabrics have tear strengths lower than bamboo:tencel fabric, but higher tear strengths than bamboo:cotton fabric, as tencel fibers are stronger than modal, viscose, and cotton fibers. Furthermore, considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) shows that the values of tear strength of all the samples are significantly different from cotton.

Figure 3.

Tearing strength of woven fabrics.

Comfort Properties

Air permeability

Air permeability is a main parameter in determining the comfort properties of fabrics. Air permeability relies on fiber, yarn, as well as fabric properties. The fiber cross section also plays an important role as it directly affects the surface area. For a woven fabric, yarn twist is a critical factor. The increase in twist decreases the yarn diameter as well as cover factor of fabric, hence increasing air permeability. When twist is increased, yarns density increases and they become more circular which are closely packed in a tightly woven structure with a significant reduction in air permeability. Moreover, other factor that may affect the surface of the fabric is the flattened yarn. Ideally, yarn is not circular, so flattened yarn covers more spaces among the yarns in a fabric which further reduces the air permeability. Furthermore, another factor that may affect air permeability is the fabric porosity. The fabric porosity is further influenced by the intra-yarn gaps. The intra-yarn gaps are affected by the cross-section of the fibers.

Considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) shows that air permeability of all samples except bamboo:viscose has values significantly different from cotton. The air permeability of all other samples is higher, whereas bamboo:cotton has lesser air permeability. Figure 4 shows the air permeability in pure and blended form that tencel fabric has higher air permeability (667 mm/s) when compared to cotton fabric (391 mm/s) as well as other cellulosic regenerated fabrics (401–557 mm/s). This is due to the fact that tencel fiber has a round cross section, which leads to a lower surface area with more fabric porosity. On the other hand, bamboo fiber, as well as viscose fiber, has a grooved structure, which provides a large surface area that leads to lower porosity. Likewise, modal fiber also contains a circular structure, but yarn flattening might have occurred; this could lead to some blockage of pores, resulting in a reduction of air permeability. Tencel yarns might have maintained their integrity owing to the more strength of tencel fiber. In the case of blends, bamboo:tencel fabric has higher air permeability (516 mm/s), whereas bamboo:cotton has lower air permeability (262 mm/s). Bamboo:tencel, bamboo:modal, and bamboo:viscose fabrics have higher air permeability than their pure fabrics. Cotton in pure form and blended with bamboo has lower air permeability, which may be due to yarn hairiness and a greater number of yarn imperfections induced by variation in the staple length of cotton fibers.

Figure 4.

Air permeability of woven fabrics.

Moisture management

Figure 5 elaborates the results of moisture management properties of woven fabrics. The moisture management of tencel fabric (.7082) outperforms all pure and blended fabrics. While comparing bamboo blends with cotton as well as regenerated cellulosic fibers, it is observed that bamboo:tencel (.6586) has higher values than bamboo:cotton (.6443). One-hundred-percent bamboo fabric shows a decrease in moisture management as compared to its blend with tencel and cotton. Bamboo:tencel has higher moisture management due to the structure of bamboo and tencel fiber. The fiber structure of bamboo (Figure 6) has micropores, gaps, and voids (Erdumlu & Ozipek, 2008; Xu, Lu, & Tang, 2006). Water is absorbed in these voids, enabling the fiber to absorb moisture while microchannels aid in wicking moisture and releasing it to the atmosphere (Carrillo, Colom, Sunol, & Saurina, 2004; Yueping et al., 2010).

Figure 5.

Moisture management properties of woven fabrics.

Figure 6.

Scanning electron micrographs of bamboo rayon fiber (Xu et al., 2006).

Tencel fiber consists of structural subunits (fibrils) in the micro- and nanometer range. Different porous zones are eminent, partially validating the crystallization model. The foremost zones of the skin surface may have a higher porosity. A porous middle zone increases a fiber’s porosity. Pores, cellulose domains, and a network of pore clusters surround the cellulose bodies, making the whole structure more compact (Carrillo et al., 2004).

Bamboo:cotton shows superior moisture management properties. The ability of cotton to absorb moisture is owing to the lumen in the middle of fiber. The lumen is developed after the collapse of the cell wall at fiber maturity. Lumen not only enhances water absorption but it also helps the cotton fiber to draw more water by capillary action, hence making it a more comfortable fiber. Bamboo:modal and bamboo:viscose have lower moisture management properties than bamboo:cotton. Considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) demonstrates that only the moisture management of tencel (higher) and bamboo:viscose (lower) varies significantly different from cotton. This is due to the better moisture management of tencel fibers and lower moisture management of viscose fibers. Moreover, all samples except tencel and bamboo:tencel have the same moisture management as cotton fibers do.

Thermal resistance

Thermal resistance is a heat property which measures the capacity of a material to resist heat flow through it. Lower thermal resistance in a garment results in a gradual loss of heat from skin to the outer environment under a certain set of climatic conditions, thus providing a cooler feeling to wearer.

The thermal resistance of fabrics is shown in Figure 7. It is obvious from the figure that bamboo (.0039 m²K/W) and viscose (.0043 m²K/W) fabrics have lower thermal resistance than all pure fabrics. However, tencel (.0232 m²K/W) and modal (.0169 m²K/W) fabrics have more thermal resistance, that may be owing to the lesser wicking of bamboo and viscose compared to modal and tencel, which are nanostructured and thus conduct less heat. Consequently, heat is retained in the body (Abu-Rous, Ingolic, & Schuster, 2006). In Figure 8, it can be clearly observed that tencel has a true nanostructured pore. Unique among all regenerated cellulosic fibers, tencel is comprised of numerous, much hydrophilic, crystalline nanofibrils, which are positioned in a regular pattern. The repeating units of fibrils and pores in sizes of 20–60 nm in the cross section of tencel fibers can be clearly seen in Figure 8 (Schuster, Suchomel, Männer, Abu-Rous, & Firgo, 2006).

Figure 7.

Thermal resistance of woven fabrics.

Figure 8.

Model of the tencel fiber structure. Left inset: scanning electron micrograph of a broken dry fiber inside (bar: 1 mm); Right inset: transmission electron micrograph of a wet, water-swollen fiber (bar: 0.5 mm; Schuster et al., 2006).

The thermal resistance of modal fabrics is higher due to their micropore structure. Cotton fabrics have intermediate thermal resistance as cotton fibers have longer glucose molecules in the form of twisted chains of cellulose. Air is trapped in the spaces created by the twisted chains. When the fibers consisting of these long glucose molecules are woven into cloth, they become more twisted, capturing more air. The air gaps get the body heat that is slowly released in the form of heat radiation into a cooler environment (Abu-Rous et al., 2006).

The lower thermal resistance of bamboo fibers decreases the thermal resistance of fabrics when blended with cotton and other regenerated fibers. Bamboo:tencel (.0199 m²K/W) and bamboo:modal (.0188 m²K/W) have higher thermal resistance, whereas bamboo:viscose (.0085 m²K/W) has lower thermal resistance. Bamboo:cotton (.0127 m²K/W) provides intermediate thermal resistance, while bamboo:viscose has lower thermal resistance as both fibers have lower wicking properties. Cotton fiber has strong thermal insulation due to the convolutions present at its surface trapping air in the gaps. The trapped air creates an insulating shield to hold body heat, but compared to tencel, this effect is lower due to the nanofibrils on the surface, which keep body temperatures at constant levels by regulating heat. Considering cotton as the controlled sample, the statistical analysis (one-way ANOVA and Dunnett’s test) shows that the thermal resistance of tencel, bamboo:tencel, and bamboo:modal is significantly higher than cotton, whereas bamboo and viscose have values significantly lower than cotton. Bamboo:tencel has higher thermal resistance; however, it gives better moisture management and air permeability than cotton, so it can compensate its higher thermal resistance with better moisture management properties and air permeability.

Conclusion

100% woven fabrics of cotton, bamboo rayon, modal rayon, viscose rayon, and tencel lyocell were made in current work. Additionally, 50:50 fabric blends of cotton, bamboo rayon with viscose rayon, tencel lyocell, and modal rayon, were prepared. The comfort and mechanical properties of these fabrics were analyzed and compared. It was established that 100% tencel lyocell fabric has excellent mechanical and comfort properties. After that, modal rayon fabrics have better comfort and mechanical properties. However, bamboo rayon and viscose rayon fabrics have relatively lower mechanical and comfort properties than pure tencel lyocell and modal rayon fabrics. The bamboo rayon:tencel lyocell blended fabric has similar or better comfort and mechanical properties than 100% cotton and other blended fabrics. Bamboo:cotton has lower mechanical and comfort properties than all other blends. Therefore, it can be concluded that bamboo rayon:tencel lyocell–blended fabric is a more suitable blend for summer clothing applications and thus can replace 100% cotton fabrics.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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