Quantification of fundamental textiles properties of electronic textiles fabricated using different techniques

Electronic textiles (E-textiles) have experienced an increase in interest in recent years leading to a variety of new concepts emerging in the field. Despite these technical innovations there is limited literature relating to the testing of E-textiles for some of the fundamental properties linked to wearer comfort. As such, this research investigates four fundamental properties of E-textiles: air permeability, drape, heat transfer, and liquid moisture transfer. Three different types of E-textiles have been explored: an embroidered electrode, a knitted electrode, and a knitted structure with an embedded electronic yarn. All of the E-textiles have utilized the same base knitted fabric structure to facilitate a comprehensive comparative study. The study provides a useful point of reference to hose working in the field and highlights some limitations existing textile testing methodologies when applied to E-textiles.