Development of 3-D warp knitted fabrics with enhanced performance properties designed for seat upholstery

In this thesis, it is aimed to develop 3-D warp knitted spacer fabrics with enhanced performance and comfort characteristics designed for car seat upholstery. For this purpose, initially, a survey was performed in order to specify the customer expectation from the seat upholstery. Besides, the properties of the foams that are used widely in automobile seat upholstery on the market were also determined. Then, 3-D warp knitted fabrics were produced with different production and heat setting parameters. Finally, the performance characteristics like weight, thickness, compression resistance, dimensional stability, permanent deformation and comfort properties such as air permeability and thermal resistance of these fabrics were investigated. According to the test results and statistical evaluations, 3-D warp knitted fabrics with enhanced performance and comfort characteristics were determined.