Enhanced Wicking and Absorbency Performance of Reusable Period Underwear Using Functional Gusset Development for Reusable Menstrual Underwear
Yoga Matin Albar1*, Yeni Sesnawati1, Gusman Santika2 , Vina Bekti Utami3 and Yoel Santo Andrianus Sormin4

1 Fashion Education Study Program, Faculty of Engineering Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
2 Chemistry Education Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
3 Physics Education Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
4 Garment Manufacturing Engineering Study Program, Akademi Komunitas Industri Tekstil dan Produk Tekstil Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Reusable menstrual underwear has emerged as a sustainable alternative to disposable menstrual hygiene products- however, commercially available products still exhibit limited absorbency and insufficient leakage protection. This study developed a multilayer functional gusset integrating weft-knitted spacer fabrics and electrospun sodium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol (NaAlg/PVA) nanofibrous membranes to improve absorbency, moisture transport behavior, and leakage resistance. Fifteen three-thread spacer fabric structures were engineered using a computerized 14-gauge flat knitting machine and characterized through moisture management and absorbency analyses. Electrospun NaAlg/PVA nanofibrous membranes were fabricated under optimized electrospinning conditions and integrated into multilayer gusset assemblies together with polyurethane-laminated waterproof barrier layers. Moisture transport properties were evaluated using the AATCC 195 method, while absorbency capacity and rewet behavior were assessed using a modified FEMTECHMAS-6513-1:2023 protocol. Results demonstrated that all developed spacer structures achieved effective one-way moisture transport behavior, with Group B structures exhibiting superior directional liquid transfer performance. Among all evaluated structures, specimen B2 demonstrated the best overall performance, achieving a one-way transport capacity index of 477.72, maximum wetted radius ratio of 2.31, and absorbent capacity of 20 mL despite lower thickness and GSM than commercially available reference materials. Integration of electrospun membranes into gusset assemblies further increased absorbency capacity to 51 mL while maintaining rapid moisture transfer and low rewet characteristics. Overall findings confirmed synergistic interaction between spacer knitted fabrics and electrospun nanofibrous membranes in enhancing fluid management efficiency for reusable menstrual underwear applications.

Keywords: Textile material engineering, Electrospinning technology, Fluid transport performance, Multilayer absorbent structure, Sustainable wearable materials

Topic: Material Physics