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An investigation of thermal comfort properties of
Abaya woven fabrics
Salwa Tashkandi a b , Lijing Wang a & Sinnappoo Kanesalingam a
a School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
b Department of Fashion and Textiles, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia
Version of record first published: 10 Jan 2013.
To cite this article: Salwa Tashkandi , Lijing Wang & Sinnappoo Kanesalingam (2013): An investigation of thermal comfort
properties of Abaya woven fabrics, Journal of The Textile Institute, DOI:10.1080/00405000.2012.758351
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2012.758351
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An investigation of thermal comfort properties of Abaya woven fabrics
Salwa Tashkandi
a,b
, Lijing Wang
a
* and Sinnappoo Kanesalingam
a
a
School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia;
b
Department of Fashion and Textiles, King Abdul
Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
(Received 6 August 2012; final version received 10 December 2012)
Abaya is a traditional Muslim woman’s outer garment. It is black in colour, and must be worn over the normal
day-to-day clothing according to Islamic law. It is mandatory to wear Abaya in Arabian Gulf countries irrespective
of the outside environmental temperature, which can be up to 50°C. Having many layers of clothing including
Abaya makes it extremely uncomfortable for the wearer in a hot environment. Thermal comfort performance is,
therefore, essential for fabrics used for Abaya. This study investigated some commercially available woven Abaya
fabrics for thermal resistance, air permeability, thermal comfort, vapour resistance and fabric structural and surface
properties. The results indicated that the Abaya fabrics with different weave structures, fibre composition and
fabric weight have greater influence on the fabric thermal comfort performance.
Keywords: Abaya; thermal comfort; thermal resistance; air permeability; woven fabric
Introduction
Generally, garments provide protection from weather
and enhance aesthetics (Song, 2011). However,
garments may differ from region to region based on
tradition as well as the specific climatic conditions. In
the Arabian Gulf region, when a woman leaves home,
she must hide her body and contours by wearing
Abaya, which is in black and covers from the shoul-
der or from the top of head over the normal day-to-
day clothing, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Abaya can
be worn with scarf and veil (Figure 1) in order to
cover the hair and face, respectively (Huda, 2012). It
reflects the individual’s strong Arabian cultural heri-
tage and religious belief (Al-ajmi, Loveday, Bedwell,
& Havenith, 2008). Being the mandatory outermost
garment for women, Abaya is of significant interest
for research (Al-ajmi et al., 2008). Statistics showed
that 49.7% of women in Saudi Arabia aged over
10 years, corresponding to an estimated 9.5 million
females, wear Abaya (Central Department of Statistics
& Information, 2012). Saudi Arabian religious police
enforce the wearing of Abaya for all women, even for
women foreigners. Considering the extreme climate in
Arabian Gulf region, where in summer the day time
temperature sometimes exceeds 50°C, wearing Abaya
can be very uncomfortable.
Clothing restricts the evaporation of sweat from
the surface of skin by increasing the resistance
to water vapour flow from the skin surface to the
outside environment (Gwosdow, Stevens, Berglund,
& Stolwijk, 1986). To facilitate the sweat evaporation
for Abaya under specific weather conditions, the
selection of fibres, fabric structure and construction
is very important. Microclimate management between
the body and fabric next to skin plays an important
role in thermal comfort during day-to-day activities.
Physical properties of textiles related to thermal
comfort are moisture management, air permeability,
thermal conductivity, thermal resistance, thermal
insulation and water vapour permeability (Das &
Yadaw, 2012; Fan & Tsang, 2008; Troynikov &
Wardiningsih, 2010).
Many researchers worked on the improvement of
comfort performance in clothing. However, to date,
limited research has been undertaken to assess the
thermal comfort properties of Abaya. Therefore, the
present study aims to investigate the thermal comfort
properties of this type of garment. It is expected that
the results will help with selecting the right fabrics
for Abaya and using innovative fibres, fabric
construction and processing techniques to enhance
Abaya’s thermal comfort properties. In this paper,
four types of currently commercially available fabrics
for Abaya in Saudi Arabia were purchased and
analysed to determine their comfort performance for
Abaya garments.
*Corresponding author. Email: lijing.wang@rmit.edu.au
The Journal of The Textile Institute, 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2012.758351
Copyright Ó2013 The Textile Institute
Downloaded by [RMIT University] at 15:27 10 January 2013
Experimental
All samples were tested according to Australian ISO
or BS standards, if applicable, under the standard
testing conditions, i.e. temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and
65 ± 2% relative humidity (RH), and all samples were
conditioned for at least 24 h before tests.
Fabric analysis
The physical parameters, such as fabric materials type,
construction, mass per unit area (AS 2001.2.13-1987),
fabric thickness (AS 2001.2.15-1989), thread count
(ends & picks per unit length) (AS 2001.2.13-1987),
yarn linear density (yarn count) (AS/NZS
2001.1.2:1998), cover factor, drape coefficient (DC)
and test parameters related to comfort characteristics
including air permeability, thermal resistance, vapour
resistance and surface properties of Abaya fabrics,
were tested. The constituent fibre content in each
fabric was either analysed or obtained from the fabric
specifications.
Cover factor was determined using the procedure
described by Booth (Booth, 1968), which is based on
woven fabric count and yarn linear density. Total
cover factor (K
C
) is calculated from Equation (1):
KC¼K1þK2K1K2
28 ;(1)
where
K1¼Ends=cm
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Count of warp in tex
p
10 ;
and K2¼Picks=cm
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Count of weft in tex
p
10
Fabric drape
Objective assessment of fabric drapeability was car-
ried out using Cusick Drape Tester (Shirley Devel-
opments Limited, Stockport, UK) to measure the
DC values of the commercial fabric samples investi-
gated. The testing method involves measuring drape
from the deformation by gravity of an initially hori-
zontal annular ring of fabric (BS 5058: 1973). The
DC can be defined as the percentage of the area of
the annular ring covered by the projection of the
draped sample (Booth, 1968). Since uniform paper
rings, as ordered, were used for area measurement,
the shaded area of the paper ring is proportional to
the paper weight. Therefore, the DC can be calcu-
lated from Equation (2).
Figure 1. Abaya worn from the shoulder. Figure 2. Abaya worn from top of the head.
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Drape coefficient (DC)¼M2100
M1
;(2)
where M
1
= total mass of the paper ring and M
2
= mass
of the shaded area of the paper ring.
The standard 36-cm diameter template was used to
prepare all fabric samples for testing, and the 18-cm
diameter top template (an accessory of the Cusick
Drape Tester) was positioned over the specimen to
hold the fabric, i.e. the annular ring in the fabric drape
test was consisted of 18-cm diameter inner circle
and 36-cm diameter outer circle. The face, back and
overall average DC values were calculated. Each face
and back value was the average of six readings from
three test samples for each fabric.
Air permeability
Five specimens from each fabric sample with a test
area of 5 cm
2
each were used for air permeability tests
and the mean air flow was calculated from the five
results. Air permeability was measured with 50 Pa
pressure difference across the fabric; because for
some fabrics, the instrument did not generate 100 Pa
pressure difference as suggested by the testing
standard (EN ISO 9237:1995).
Thermal resistance
An M259B Sweating Guarded Hot Plate instrument
(conforming to ISO 11092: 1993) from SDL ATLAS
Ltd. (Stockport, UK) was used for fabric thermal
resistance measurements. The test apparatus consisted
of a guarded hot plate assembly enclosed in a climatic
chamber, and the air speed generated by the air flow
hood was set to 1 ± 0.05 m/s. The test section was in
the centre of the plate, surrounded by the guard and
lateral heater that prevented heat leakage. The temper-
ature of the guarded hot plate was kept at 35°C (i.e.
the temperature of human skin). For the determination
of thermal resistance (R
ct
) of the fabrics, the standard
atmospheric conditions of 65% RH and 20°C tempera-
ture were set. Data from three replications of the tests
were averaged to determine the mean value for each
fabric (Bedek, Salaün, Martinkovska, Devaux, &
Dupont, 2011).
From each Abaya fabric, three specimens were cut
in 30 30 cm size and conditioned in an environment
having 35°C temperature and 65% RH for a minimum
of 24 h. For the R
ct
test, the fabric sample was placed on
a porous metal plate surface and the heat flux from the
plate to the environment was measured. After the sys-
tem reached the steady state, the total thermal resistance
of the fabric was calculated using Equation (3):
Rct ¼RcRc0¼TpTa
HcRc0;(3)
where Rc0is thermal resistance without sample; H
c
(W m
2
) is the heating power supplied to the plate to
maintain a temperature of 35°C; T
p
is the plate
temperature in the test enclosure (35°C); and T
a
is the
air temperature in the test enclosure (20°C).
Water vapour resistance
Fabric water vapour resistance was also tested using the
sweating guarded hot plate (Bedek et al., 2011) for
determining the resistance to evaporative heat transfer
(R
et
). The instrument measures the “latent”evaporative
heat flux across a given area in response to a steady
applied water vapour pressure gradient (ISO 11092:
1993). The air temperature was set to 35°C and the RH
was controlled at 40%, and the air speed generated by
the air flow hood was set to 1 ± 0.05 m/s. The total
vapour resistance of the fabric was measured and calcu-
lated after the system reached a steady state.
The resistance to evaporative heat transfer,
R
et
(m
2
Pa W
1
), which simulated the moisture transport
through textiles when worn next to human skin, was
determined using the sweating guarded hot plate. It is an
indirect method of measuring the vapour transmission
properties of a fabric. To ensure only water vapour con-
tact with the fabric sample, a polytetrafluroethylene
(PTFE) membrane supplied by the instrument manufac-
turer was placed on the plate. R
et
was calculated from
Equation (4):
Ret ¼ReRe0¼PpPa
HeRe0;(4)
where P
p
is the water vapour pressure (Pa) at the plate
surface; P
a
is the water vapour pressure (Pa) of the air;
H
e
is the heating power for measuring water vapour
resistance (W m
2
) by the instrument; and Re0is the
evaporative resistance measured for the air layer.
Fabric surface properties
The fabric’s roughness and frictional properties were
measured on a Kawabata fabric evaluation system
(KES-FB4). The sample size was 20 20 cm. Initial
fabric tension was 400 g and testing speed was 1 mm/s.
Three readings in warp and weft directions were taken
for each sample.
Results and discussion
Basic properties of Abaya fabrics
Fibre specifications and analyses revealed that the
commercial fabrics purchased were polyester (P1),
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Table 1. Measured properties of experimental fabrics.
Fabric code P1 P2 P3 P4
Weave structure Satin weave 3/1 1/3 mixed twill weave Plain weave Crepe weave
Weave diagram
Fibre composition 100% Polyester 100% Polyester 65/35 Polyester/cotton 80/20 Viscose/polyester
Yarn structure Filament Filament Spun yarn Filament
Fabric thickness (mm) 0.17 0.63 0.20 0.50
Fabric weight (g/m
2
) 81 215 94 145
Warp yarn count (tex) 4.4 12.9/12.5 13 8.5
Weft yarn count (tex) 5.0 15.4 13.2 17.2
Ends/cm 110 64 44 62
Picks/cm 45 40 31 53
Total cover factor 25.8 26.7 20.8 27.5
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polyester (P2), polyester/cotton (P3) and viscose/
polyester (P4) (see Table 1). The fabrics made of
polyester and polyester blends have high strength and
resistance to stretching and less susceptible to wrinkle
and shrinkage. In addition, these kinds of fabrics do
not require much ironing after washing. It seems that
polyester and polyester blend fabrics are currently
commonly used materials for Abaya.
The fabric images from an electron scanning micro-
scope were used to observe the fabric microstructure at
100magnification for all fabrics. Figure 3 illustrates
that all Abaya fabrics are woven structures, and there
are notable differences in all fabrics under the same
magnification and similar imaging conditions. Different
weave structures, such as plain weave, twill weave,
satin weave and crepe weave (Table 1), can be used
for Abaya fabrics. Since knitted fabrics are normally
not dimensionally stable for Abaya and could take
body contours, most women in the Arabian Gulf
region prefer Abaya to be made from these kinds of
woven fabrics and perhaps feel more psychologically
comfortable with the woven fabrics than knitted ones.
Abaya fabric property results, in Table 1, show
that Abaya fabrics can have a wide range of engineer-
ing properties. Fabrics P1, P2 and P4 were made of
filament yarns, and fabric P3 was constructed using
spun yarns. Figure 3 shows that except the warp yarns
of fabric P4, all yarns are in high twist, resulting in
the fabrics having a crepe handle.
Table 1 also shows that fabric P1 is lighter (fabric
weight), thinner (fabric thickness) and higher in warp
thread count than fabrics P2, P3 and P4. Among the
four fabrics studied, the yarn count ranges from 4.4 to
17.2 tex, and the finest filament yarns were used for P1.
Fabric P2 is heavier, thicker and higher in cover factor
than other samples. Fabric analysis revealed that fabric
P2 consisted of two types of warp yarns. One is high in
twist (18.5 t/cm) and slightly low in yarn count
(12.5 tex) and another is in low twist (3.4 t/cm) and
slightly high in yarn count (12.9 tex). This arrangement
allows the low-twist coarse yarns to cover the fabric
better and fill the gap between the yarns, while the
high-twist fine yarns form the fabric surface feature.
The warp of fabrics P2 and P3 is coarser than the other
two fabrics. Though the yarn count of fabric P3 is
nearly three times that of P1, it is only slightly heavier
and thicker than fabric P1. This is because fabric P3 has
the lowest thread count among the fabrics, which also
means it has the lowest cover factor. In addition, unlike
the satin structure of fabric P1, fabric P3 is a plain
weave, which maximizes the fabric yarn coverage and
makes the fabric dimensionally and structurally stable.
Fabric drape
The average values of fabric DC are given in Figure 4.
It can be seen that the range of the DCs was from 26
to 51%. This means that the drape of the fabrics is
between limp and medium fabric category, which is
suitable for Abaya, as such fabrics would collapse and
hang away from the body and disguise its contours.
From Figure 4, fabric P1 has better drapeability than
other fabrics. This is due to the satin weave structure
and fine yarn count of fabric P1, which make the
fabric more drapeable. On the other hand, fabric P3 is
made from spun yarns and has higher DC, which
make the fabric stiffer than the other fabrics. This
could be due to the coarser yarn count and plain
weave structure used for the fabric. Subjective assess-
ment also revealed that compared to other fabrics,
fabric P1 was softer and had better drapeability.
Air permeability
Figure 5 shows that all tested fabrics are highly air
permeable. As a matter of fact, fabrics P1 and P3
Wef t
(a) P1 (b) P2 (c) P3 (d) P4
Figure 3. The woven fabric images from a scanning electron microscope.
Figure 4. Comparison of DC of Abaya woven fabrics.
The Journal of The Textile Institute 5
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cannot produce 100 Pa pressure drop as suggested by
the testing standard (EN ISO 9237:1995) for clothing
fabric air permeability measurement. Fabric P1 has the
highest air permeability value with the smallest error
bar. This is due to the fact that fabric P1 is made from
finer yarns and satin weave structure with fine pores
(Karaguzel, 2004). It has been reported that fabrics of
satin weaves are more air permeable than other type
of weaves (Backer, 1948; Epps & Song, 1992).
Though fabric P3 has lower cover factor and lower
fabric weight (Table 1), it only showed slightly higher
air permeability than fabrics P2 and P4. This is also
mainly due to the different weave structures used for
the fabrics.
Air permeability plays an important role in trans-
porting moisture vapour from the skin to the outside
atmosphere. The assumption is that vapour travels by
diffusion in air from one side of the fabric to the other
mainly through fabric spaces (Karaguzel, 2004). In
hot climates, higher air permeability allows more air
to circulate around the skin, facilitating the removal of
moisture in hot weather and reducing perspiration dis-
comfort (Slater, 1986). Though all the fabrics studied
are highly air permeable, the preferred fabric structure
among the fabrics studied for Abaya is probably the
satin weave because it is a lightweight fabric and
provides better mobility for yarns in their structure,
which allows air flow more easily than other weave
structures.
Thermal resistance
The thermal resistance of a fabric represents a
quantitative evaluation of how good the fabric is in
providing a thermal barrier to the wearer. Results in
Figure 6 show that the thermal resistance of fabric P1
has the lowest value among all the sample fabrics.
This is due to fabric P1 being thin, light and having a
low cover factor. Since the air permeability of fabric
P1 is high, it also helps to reduce the thermal
resistance due to the air flow removing the heat. On
the other hand, though the plain weave fabric P3 has
the lowest cover factor, it has the highest thermal
resistance. This could be due to cotton fibres present
in the blended fabric, as cotton has a higher thermal
resistance value than polyester and viscose. When the
human body is hot, low thermal resistance is neces-
sary to allow the heat from the body to dissipate to
the outside environment (Das, Kothari, & Sadachar,
2007). For extremely high environmental temperatures
(i.e. above 35°C), further research is being conducted
to understand the mechanism for maintaining thermal
comfort.
Water vapour resistance
It can be observed from Figure 7 that the vapour
resistance of fabric P1 has a lower water vapour resis-
tance value than other fabrics. This is due to its lower
fabric thickness and weight, in addition to higher air
permeability. A lower water vapour resistance value is
desirable for better moisture transport to pass through
the fabric and into the environment, resulting in drier
skin and, thus, improved thermal comfort (Fan &
Tsang, 2008). The water vapour resistance of fabric P2
is higher than P3 and P4 due to the fact that it is
0
20
40
60
80
100
P1 P2 P3 P4
Air permeability (mL/cm2/s)
at 50 Pa
Fabric
Figure 5. Comparison of air permeability. Figure 6. Comparison of thermal resistance R
ct
of the
tested fabrics.
Figure 7. Comparison of water vapour resistance R
et
of the
tested fabrics.
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the thickest fabric among the four fabrics studied
suggesting that the fabric P2 is lower in vapour
transmission from the body to the outside (Fan &
Tsang, 2008). In other words, fabric P2 may not be the
best choice for a summer Abaya from the vapour
transmission point of view.
Surface property
The surface properties of a fabric influence the handle,
comfort and aesthetic properties of the clothing made
from it (Behera, 2007). Two parameters, MIU, the
coefficient of friction of the fabric surface, and SMD,
the geometrical roughness of the fabric surface, are
indices of fabric surface properties. The MIU is a
function of the fibre properties, yarn structure, fabric
geometry and finish applied to the fabric (Behera,
2007). The Abaya fabric MIU and SMD results are
given in Figures 8 and 9, respectively.
In the present study, the highest coefficient of
friction was found in P4 with an average of 0.22
(Figure 8). This is due to P4 having a crepe weave
structure, which decreases the contact area and results
in more surface friction. In Figure 9, the surface
roughness SMD of sample P1 is the lowest among all
the fabrics. Sample P1 is made from very fine count
yarns, and a satin weave structure. This makes the
fabric smooth, which results in low fabric roughness
and enhanced sensory comfort for the wearer. In
addition, due to the structure of fabrics P2 and P4 and
their surface unevenness, their error bars are larger
than fabrics P1 and P3 in Figures 8 and 9.
From the fabric properties presented in this paper, it
appears that fabric P1 is better in terms of thermal
comfort management than other fabrics investigated for
Abaya. The price of fabric P1 was higher than that of
fabrics P2 and P3, but lower than fabric P4. However,
fabric sales results from Abaya fabric shops indicated
that fabric P1 is not the highest in demand. The reasons
might be that the fabric is very thin and non-opaque,
and the Abaya made from the fabric does not suit for
all purposes rather than occasional wear. Though
thermal comfort is very important to Abaya, other
factors also influence the choice of Abaya fabrics.
Conclusion
The main objective of the study was to understand the
fabrics for Abaya and investigate their comfort proper-
ties. In this study, four commercially available fabrics
for Abaya were studied. Results showed that Abaya
fabrics are mainly woven structures and made from
polyester and polyester blends. Abaya fabric weave
structure, fibre composition and other fabric properties
significantly affect the fabric comfort performance.
The 100% polyester satin weave fabric made from
fine yarn count has better air permeability, drapeability
and surface smoothness than the 100% polyester 3/
11/3 mixed twill weave, 65/35 polyester/cotton
plain weave and 80/20 viscose/polyester crepe weave
fabrics. It also has the lowest thermal resistance and
low water vapour resistance among all the sample fab-
rics. It is evident that the lightweight satin fabric is
most suitable for Abaya to provide better handle and
thermal comfort in a hot environment. Despite all that
the thermal comfort performance of fabrics may not
be the first factor to be considered for Abaya com-
pared to the Arabian cultural heritage and religious
belief of Abaya.
Acknowledgements
We express our sincere gratitude and thanks to the
Government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing
Ph.D. Scholarships through the King Abdul Aziz
University to the first author.
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