This study examines the wicking behavior of blood drops placed on textile surfaces.
This research investigating the wicking and drying behavior of placed blood drops on customized fabric surfaces found that artificial bloodstains have a larger area than porcine bloodstains due to the absence of blood-cell-like particles in artificial blood. Both yarn structure and fabric structure affect bloodstain patterns. Blood wicks faster on jersey knit fabric than on plain-woven fabric. For the same fabric structure, the more uniform yarn structure, the more easily that blood wicks. For the same yarn type, blood wicks more easily on balanced woven structure than unbalanced structure. An equation was derived to calculate blood volume according to the yarn packing factor and bloodstain area. This equation is valid on plain-woven fabrics made of ring spun yarns and open-end spun yarns, and on jersey knit fabrics made of ring spun yarns, open-end yarns and Murata vortex yarns. The interactions between yarn structure, fabric structure, and bloodstain patterns were examined. Two types of human blood simulants were used in this study, artificial blood and porcine blood. The artificial blood was made according to a modified ASTM method with adjusted viscosity and surface tension that referenced the value of porcine blood. The fabrics used for experiments were produced with 100% cotton yarns. These yarns were provided by Cotton Incorporated and were spun with ring spinning, open-end spinning and Murata vortex spinning methods. A piece of fabric was mounted in a hoop and placed on balance, then a blood drop was placed onto the fabric. The real-time weight was continuously recorded as it dried. Meanwhile a digital camera was used to record the blood wicking process and the videos were analyzed using ImageJ software to measure stain area and circularity on each time point. Yarn and fabric structures were characterized. Blood viscosity, surface tension, and hematocrit values were measured.