Investigating Waterproofness and Breathability of a Coated Double-Sided Knitted Fabric

The demand for waterproof breathable fabrics is increasing globally and so are efforts to develop such garments. In this paper, the development of a waterproof breathable textile by coating a double face knitted fabric is described. The applied polymeric coating is a mixture of an acrylic paste and a fluorocarbon resin. The aim of this study was the investigation of the breathability and waterproofness of the coated samples. The coating was made of industrialized chemical products and did not require water use. The screen coating process wastewater was also reduced. Three parameters related to the coating process were analyzed and optimized. These parameters were the fluorocarbon resin quantity (%), acrylic paste quantity (g·m−2), and reticulation time (min). The analyzed responses were the air permeability, windproofness, water vapor permeability, and resistance to water penetration. The optimized values of air permeability and water vapor permeability were equal to 154.81 L·m−2·s−1 and 83.852%, respectively. These values were judged acceptable when compared with commercialized products. The windproofness and the resistance to water penetration were equal to 161.81 L·m−2·s−1 and 78.51 Schmerber, respectively. Thus, both responses still need to be improved in order to obtain waterproofness properties. Based on the obtained results, the coated fabric can be used as a laminate outer layer for producing waterproof breathable fabrics.