Novel design of integrated thermal functional garment for primary dysmenorrhea relief : the study and customizable application development of thermal conductive woven fabric

Abstract

Thermal garments applied with thermal woven technology especially targeted to relieve primary dysmenorrhea (PD) can hardly be found in the current commercial market. This study had successfully designed, fabricated and studied seven types of thermal conductive woven fabrics woven with two different kinds of silver-coated conductive yarns in three structures, three weft densities and three weft conductive yarn design arrangements, thereby developing a customizable application–an integrated thermal functional garment for PD relief. Appearance, mass, thickness, air permeability, water vapour permeability, thermal conductivity, maximum heat flux, electrical resistance, heating temperature and power efficiency were evaluated to guide the development of an application prototype. On the basis of the results, an optimized design and fabrication were conducted to create a practical and customizable thermal functional garment for PD with successful relief, which can be well industrialized and fill in the commercial gap in the future.