Simulating adhesion of wet fabrics to water: surface tension-based theoretical model and experimental verification

Wet fabric clinging to human skin brings physical and mental discomfort. In order to characterize the adhesion force sticking the fabric to human skin, a theoretical model is developed by analyzing the configuration of the liquid bridge between a fabric and large volume of liquid beneath. A new testing method is proposed to evaluate the adhesion force of different fabric materials and the testing results show a reasonably good match with the theoretical prediction. The adhesion performance of a fabric depends on its hydrophilicity, deformability, surface morphology, internal structure and surface tension of the liquid, resulting in different radii and heights of the liquid bridge. The theoretical model and the proposed testing method can predict and evaluate the adhesion force of different kinds of fabrics, and may facilitate design and development of fabrics with minimized skin/fabric adhesion in the wet state.