Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of the Preparation of Multi-Lobe Multi-Hollow Profiled Fibers

A novel three-hollow eight-lobe profiled fiber was designed and prepared via melt spinning to simultaneously enhance moisture wicking, anti-adhesion performance, and structural stiffness for sportswear applications. The proposed in-line three-hollow arrangement increased the average moment of inertia by 50.8% and reduced the average deformation by 80.0% compared with the triangular arrangement. The eight-lobe structure increased the degree of deviation from roundness (DR) by 22.2% relative to a four-lobe design, from 38.3% to 46.8%. Finite element analysis guided the micro-hole design (slit width 0.05 mm, three unit divisions, gap 0.06 mm). Under optimized quenching conditions (air speed 1.76 m/s, initial height 20 mm, temperature 45.2 °C), the as-spun fiber exhibited a DR of 60.1% and a hollowness ratio of 0.9%. After simple drawing, the DR increased to 63.77%, the hollowness ratio was 8.5%, the tenacity was 2.19 ± 0.02 cN/dtex (approximately 302 MPa), and the elongation at break was 96.4 ± 5.1% (n = 10). In preliminary fabric-level tests, the three-hollow eight-lobe fabric showed a one-way transport index of 169.1, which was 20.7% higher than that of the eight-lobe hollow control; the adhesion force was 24.1% lower and the adhesion distance was 31.3% shorter; and the clo value was slightly higher (0.71 vs. 0.68). However, because the number of fabric specimens was limited and the two fabrics differed in thickness, these fabric-level results should be considered preliminary, and no statistical significance is claimed. These results demonstrate that the three-hollow eight-lobe structure can be successfully fabricated and has potential for moisture-wicking sportswear.