Review of heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics

Multilayer fabrics have been widely used for cold weather clothing and thermal protective clothing. The thermal and water vapor resistances provided by multilayer fabrics are of considerable importance in determining thermal comfort of clothing. Firstly, those studies on the steady-state heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics are summarized. There are three circumstances between thermal resistance of individual layers and the total thermal resistance of multilayer fabrics, that is, additive thermal resistance of individual layers, less resistance per additional layer, and more resistance per additional layer. Secondly, an overview on unsteady-state heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics is presented. Thirdly, the models on the heat and water vapor transfer through multilayer fabrics at both steady state and unsteady state are summed up. Finally, several research themes for the future are described.