Sweating Rate-Adaptive Knitted Fabric with Janus and Skin-Like Functions

Sweat management functional clothing typically employs one-way water transport fabrics or “skin-like” fabrics, but achieving both functionalities simultaneously is challenging due to their distinct water transfer mechanisms. This study developed a self-adaptive water-transporting fabric using wool/acrylic blended yarns with different wettability, which exhibited the two functionalities. Using plasma pretreatment technology and yarn surface coating method, the controlled wettability of wool/acrylic blended yarn is achieved. Yarns with moderate-hydrophobicity showed a 523% increase in wicking length compared to raw yarns within 270 s, while yarns with enhanced hydrophobicity exhibit superhydrophobic characteristics, with a maximum contact angle of 150° and good wash durability. The sweating rate-adaptive knitted fabric (SRAF) demonstrates distinct water transfer behaviors at different sweating rates: at 3 mL h⁻¹, liquid is transported from the back to the face side and spread over a large area; at 15 mL h⁻¹, part of the liquid is transported to the face side and dripped off. Finally, yarn permeability is used to predict wicking length of fabric, with an error of less than 5%. The integration of theoretical modelling and finite element simulation bridged the gap between yarn-level properties and fabric performance, offering a scalable approach for multifunctional textile development.