Analysis of thermal comfort properties of jacquard knitted mattress ticking fabrics

Purpose – Sleep is a vital and a basic activity of human life and it is a physiological need for human body. Sleep quality is directly influenced by the comfort conditions of sleep environment. The purpose of this paper is to define the role of textile materials utilized as bed fabrics on air and mass transfer from the human body. Design/methodology/approach – Thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thickness, water vapour permeability and air permeability properties of fabrics were analyzed and statistically evaluated. Thermal conductivity and resistance measurements were performed in Alambeta test instrument. Water vapour permeability tests were done according to the Rotating Platform method, and air permeability was measured in FX 3300 Textest air permeability tester. Relationships between comfort parameters were statistically evaluated with correlation analysis. Findings – Comfort is a major concept in the determination of overall life quality as well as sleep quality of a resting person. Therefore academic studies about thermal comfort prediction of sleep environment and bed surface fabrics are of great importance. This study investigates conventional mattress ticking fabrics in terms of comfort parameters and defines the important fabric properties on comfort parameters. Originality/value – Sleep comfort is a promising area in textile comfort studies with its dynamics different from body thermal comfort during daily life. However, in general comfort studies are about garment materials which are in direct contact with the skin. This study tries to define the comfort status of textile materials which have indirect contact with the human body surface during sleep duration.