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1.1
The basic needs of human are food, clothing and shelter. After fulfilling
the first need of food, a person looks for the second important need, i.e.
clothing. In the present day society, we expect much more from clothing
than to satisfy our basic need. In most societies the clothing is for the
purpose of expressing wealth, status, occupation, age, occasion, gender,
etc [1]. There are various factors which influence the selection of clothing
type. Figure 1.1 illustrates the important factors which influence the
selection of clothing. It is evident from Figure 1.1 that the factors which
influence the selection of clothing can be divided broadly into four major
groups, i.e. social factor, economic factor, environmental factor and
physical factor. All these factors play significant roles in selection of
clothing of a person.
The social factors include the place where a person lives (urban or rural
area), cultural background of person, gender, occupation, occasion, social
status, etc. Depending on the place where a person lives, the clothing pattern
changes. In urban area, due to close cultural interactions between the
various sections of people, the clothing pattern becomes more cosmopolitan
in nature. But on the other hand the rural clothing is more influenced by
the regional factors. Similarly, clothing is also influenced by cultural
background and upbringing of a person. The upbringing influences the
taste of a person toward the clothing significantly. The modern society
does not believe in gender biasness and strongly oppose this. But, are we
ready to accept this to be applied while selecting clothing? Except few
exceptions, we are still comfortable in maintaining differences in male
and female clothing. In some cases a person selects his clothing depending
on the occupational requirement. For example, one can easily make out
the difference between a police and a common man depending on his
clothing, or in a hospital a nurse can be easily identified based on her
clothing. We generally prefer to wear different clothing depending on the
occasion, namely formal wear, casual wear, etc. A person generally prefers
Social factors
Socioeconomic
condition
Economic
factors
Economic
status of an
individual
Environmental
factors
Availability of
technology /
raw materials
Climatic
condition
Age of a
person
Rural /
Urban
1.1
Cultural
background
Gender
Physiological
factors
Protection from
extreme
conditions
Health
condition of a
person
Occupation
Physical
structure
of body
Occasion
Unusual
places (deep
sea, space,
etc.)
Thermophysiological
responses of
body
Activity
level
Social status
to wear formal clothing in office, but the same person prefers casual wear
in leisure trip. It is also very common that a person tries to show his social
status through clothing, this trend prevails in every society since the
beginning of the civilization. The kings always tried to differentiate
themselves from the common man by wearing royal clothing.
Among the economic factors the important components are economic
condition of society, economic status of individual and availability of
technology or raw material. When the economic condition of society
changes that also reflects through clothing. It is well-known fact that the
general clothing pattern of rich and poor sectors of society differs and it
is obvious. This is also true for individual. Each individual selects clothing
use smart clothing, that is, clothing that can sense the wearers condition
or situation and, in turn, modify its own structure to protect him or her, for
example to keep the body warm or cool.
A very well-known proverb says that There is no such thing as bad
weather, only bad clothing. Textiles always have played important roles
in well-being of a human being by protecting it from different adverse
environmental conditions and making him feel comfortable. Comfort
characteristic is an important functionality of clothing. Human thermophysiological comfort is associated with the thermal balance of human
body, which is highly dependent on metabolism rate, physical activities,
ambient temperature, and thermal and moisture transmission behaviour
of the worn clothing [2]. Clothing creates a microclimate between the
skin and the environment, which supports the bodys thermoregulatory
system to keep its temperature within a safe range, even when the
external environment temperature and humidity changes to quite an
extent.
1.2
1.3
1.4
Humanclothing interactions
1.4.1
all the metabolic heat produced should be carried to the inner body
surface (inner layer of skin) by the effective circulation of sweat;
the skin should be able to generate the necessary amount of sweat;
the generated sweat should get transmitted effectively (in liquid as
well as in vapour form) through clothing ensemble.
One cannot adjust or change the first two mechanisms, but can definitely
control the third mechanism by proper clothing. When someone wears
excess number of clothing than what is required, he may feel overstressed
or overheated with normal activity.
Helps to retain body heat
Except very hot environmental conditions and at very high activity levels,
most of the environmental temperatures are below the human body
temperature and clothing is required to hinder the flow of body heat to
the atmosphere. So, in all these environmental conditions the heat flows
out from the human body to the atmosphere due to the temperature
difference, i.e. human body temperature is higher than the environment.
In normal room temperature, i.e. approximately 272C, the wearer
requires minimum clothing layers to maintain the heat balance. The
wearer does not require too much thermal insulation in clothing as the
temperature difference between skin and the normal environment is low.
The heat, generated in the body, gets transmitted slowly through the
clothing and the open body surfaces (hands, arms, face, palms, etc.). As
the temperature of the atmosphere drops further (say below 10C) the
rate of heat loss from body to atmosphere increases rapidly and the wearer
feels cold due to thermal imbalance. The best and easiest way to prevent
this body heat loss is to have certain insulating layer around the body,
and that is done by wearing some additional layers of clothing (which
also provide insulating still air layer). Under this condition, loss of body
heat through clothing drops significantly and little amount of heat loss
still takes place through some opening of body surface. In extreme cold
conditions (say below 20C) the loss of body heat is prevented by
enhancing the thermal insulation of clothing and covering all the body
parts.
1.4.2
the thermal insulation of the surrounding air reduces. During activity the
clothing gets wet from sweat which also causes the drop in the thermal
insulation. This automatic reduction in thermal insulation of clothing during
activity level may not be always sufficient and in those cases the wearer
becomes over-heated and sweats. This is due to the fact that the clothing
layers actually hinder evaporation of sweat. Majority of the generated sweat
wets the clothing in normal environment or in cold environment condenses
in the outer layers. In either case the sweat removes less heat from the
body than it does when it is able to evaporate from the skin, and additional
sweat therefore has to be secreted to maintain the heat balance.
Consequently the wearer is too hot while he is active, and when he later
rests he becomes chilled because of the reduced insulation of wet clothing
and the continuing evaporation of water from it [19]. The over-heating of
body can also be reduced by proper clothing design, i.e. by providing
effective ventilation in the clothing. The changes in clothing design may
be effected by:
(i) creating openings, to allow natural convection by chimney effect, at
various places in the clothing, e.g. neck, wrists, ankle and waist.
(ii) designing loose fit clothing to have free convection of air and free
interchange with outside air by means of a bellows effect.
(iii) providing full-length zippers in the clothing for specific applications.
(iv) avoiding the use of impermeable materials, whenever possible, can
further facilitate evaporative cooling.
10
Thermal protection
Water
repellecny
Wind proof
Outer layer
Middle layer
Inner layer
Heat or Sweat (liquid or vapour)
1.5
1.5.1
The basic and universal need of consumers in clothing is comfort and they
look for good feel and comfort when they buy clothing and other textile
materials. Clothing is very important in our life that we use everyday to
obtain physiological and psychological comfort and also to ensure physical
conditions around our body suitable for survival. Therefore, it is extremely
important for the survival of human beings and improvement of the quality
of our life to have good understanding of the fundamentals of clothing
comfort. From the viewpoint of the manufacturers of clothing and textile
materials, understanding of clothing comfort has substantial financial
implications in the effort to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers in
order to obtain sustainable competitive advantages in modern consumer
markets. Consumer always expects some additional functional qualities
from the clothes they purchase. Clothing is manufactured in a wide range
of thermal, tactile and physical properties to meet consumer needs.
Depending on the needs and expectations of the consumers, the clothing
and textile manufacturers provide wide range of options to enhance human
comfort. For example, clothing made from blends and natural fibres are
preferred to man-made fibres for all comfort attributes except smoothness,
or woven fabrics are preferred to knits for smoothness, thickness and
openness. To understand the basics of clothing comfort, sensory tools as
well as the equipments to evaluate the comfort related characteristics of
textile materials have been developed. Large number of studies has been
carried out and many equipment are developed in the textile and clothing
area such as mechanical, thermal and surface testing, so as to evaluate the
related physical properties, but the links between measurement and the
consumer feeling of comfort are still difficult to establish.
11
Consumers want everything from the clothing, i.e. it should look good,
feel good, perform well, would like their clothing to match with their chosen
attitudes, roles and images. Consumers are now allowing touch, smell,
intuition, and emotion to influence their decision on clothing selection
more than their aesthetic sense. As a result, great importance is being
attributed to the wearing experience and thus comfort is being reinforced
as a key parameter in clothing. It is also true that requirements of consumers
on comfort changes with products and situations. Clearly, understanding
and satisfying the needs of consumer towards clothing products are crucial
for the long-term survival and growth of clothing and textile demand.
Understanding and enhancement of clothing comfort is definitely one of
the important issues.
1.5.2
Scientific approaches
12
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
COATES J . F .,
2
Psychology and comfort
2.1
The physiological factors of human body for expressing the human comfort
are average skin temperature, degree of skin wetness (indicated by electrical
conductivity at the body surface), rate of sweating, the amount of sweat,
sweat absorbed by clothing, and rate of heart beat. It is important to
correlate all the physiological parameters with contributing psychological
factors to predict the perceptions of comfort. Thermal effects contribute
extensively to the comfort of an individual, complex physiological and
psychological factors collectively play an important role in defining this
complex quality with reference to clothing [1]. In fact, clothing comfort is
the psychological feeling of wearer who wears the clothing under different
environmental conditions. The factors influencing the clothing comfort
sensations of wearer can be divided broadly into three groups: (i) physical
factors (deals with the humanclothingenvironment system); (ii) psychophysiological factors of the wearer; and (iii) psychological filters of the
brain. The comfort status of wearer depends on all these factors and their
complex interactions and synchronizations.
Figure 2.1 shows the interrelationships between the important physical
and physiological factors those control the clothing comfort. The figure
illustrates the process of how the subjective perception of overall comfort
is formulated. The physical processes provide different signals or stimuli
(e.g., warm/cool, touch, prick, pressure, wetness, etc.) to the sensory organs
of the human body. The human body receives all these stimuli and
subsequently generates neurophysiologic impulses. The neurophysiologic
impulses are then send to the brain to take corrective actions to adjust the
sweating rate, blood flow, and sometimes heat production, shivering, etc.
[2]. The brain, after receiving the sensory impulses, processes all these
impulses to generate the human subjective perception of various individual
sensations, and further evaluate and weigh them based on the past
experiences. The processes of evaluation and weighing are influenced by
13
14
2.1 Important physical and physiological factors controlling the clothing comfort.
2.1.1
The wearers consider the comfort as one of the most important attributes
in their clothing ensembles, so there is a need to develop an in-depth
scientific understanding of the psychological perception of clothing
comfort sensations. The physical comfort is greatly influenced by tactile
and thermal sensations arising from contact between skin and the immediate
environment [3]. Comfort may be defined as pleasant state of physiological,
psychological and physical harmony between a human being and the
environment [4]. Comfort can also be defined as a holistic concept, which
is a state of multiple interactions of physical, physiological, and
psychological factors [5]. All these definitions only identify the factors
influencing the human psychological perceptions. Wong et al. [6] developed
a linear model based on artificial neural network predictions using three
major factors which affect the comfort perceptions, namely moisture related
factor, tactile sensations and thermal-fit comfort, and their relative weights
15
2.1.2
16
2.2
2.2.1
Laws of psychophysics
R s = KlogSp
17
(2)
(3)
2.2.2
18
19
since some transformations that would not socially matter in ordinal scales
do matter in nominal. For example, giving more salary to manager than
the president would be forbidden, or it would indicate a change in status.
The transition from ordinal scale to interval scale results in a reduction
of symmetries. In the interval scales the numbers are used to rank the
objects or events in such a way that numerically equal distances on the
interval scale represent equal distances in the characteristics of the objects
or event being measured. But both zero and their unit of measurement
are not fixed and are arbitrary. Therefore, interval data can indicate both
relative position of objects and the magnitudes of differences between
the objects on the characteristics being measured. The entire range of
statistics can be applied to interval scales. On an interval scale, one unit
represents the same magnitude as any other. For example, in Box and
Behnken [14] three-factors and three-level model the factors (independent
variables) are coded with 1, 0 and +1 for their three levels. In the actual
data the intervals in the factors are numerically same. Another example
is the measurement of temperature in centigrade scale. One degree
centigrade is warmer than 0C degrees to the same extent as 2C is
warmer than 1C. Fiske [11] stated that Equality matching relationships
resemble an interval scale in that people can not only specify who owes
what to whom, but also how much they owe. On the basis of ordinal
scale, people keep track of imbalances or differences between each other
and try to maintain balance. Equality, following particular turn, strict
reciprocity is maintained strictly. Examples are voting, games that involve
equal turn-taking, and so on. There is less symmetry here than in the
case of ordinal scale. In interval scale, one must make sure that everyone
has the same thing, however, sameness is defined. This degree of
precision is lacking in ordinal scale [13].
A ratio scale is exactly like an interval scale, except that it has an absolute
0 point. For example, the kelvin temperature scale has absolute zero point
but the centigrade temperature scale measures the freezing point of water
defined as zero degrees Celsius and does not have absolute zero scale.
Ratio scales represent the numbers used to rank objects such that
numerically equal distances on the scale represent equal distances of the
characteristics measured and have a meaningful zero. Like interval scales,
entire range of statistics can be applied to ratio data. Ten degrees centigrade
is not twice as hot as 5C, but 10 K is twice as hot as 5 K. In ratio scale,
people order their interactions according to a system of ratios and
proportions such as salary, rents, taxes, etc. This allows each individual or
group of like-minded people to decide how to act and evaluate actions
according to cost-benefit analysis [13].
All the above four types of psychological scales are important for better
understanding of psychology of clothing comfort. The nominal scales
20
determine quality and have been used for categorization and classification
such as gender, age, and place of living. Ordinal scales determine equality
and relative position and have been used to obtain the rankings of fabrics
or clothing in consideration. The most frequently used scales are the interval
scales, which determine equality, relative position, magnitude of
differences and have been widely used to obtain the perception of various
attributes of clothing. The ratio scales are mainly applicable to the data
generated from physical instruments, which determine equality, relative
position and magnitude of difference with a meaningful zero.
2.2.3
21
cases, unless the verbal labels are chosen on the basis of extensive
evaluation process to verify that the differences between slightly
comfortable and moderately comfortable are the same as those between
moderately comfortable and extremely comfortable the scale cannot
be considered to be an interval scale, but merely an order of comfort
sensation. Another common problem with category scales is that the
normal tendency of a person is to avoid the end categories; this is called
category end effect. This category end effect results in seven-point
category scales being functionally reduced to five-point scales after
eliminating two end points; and similarly the five-point scales is reduced
to three-point scales, and so on.
The recent developments in psychophysical methodology that enable
better quantification of both the descriptive aspects of tactile sensations
and the scaling of the emotional attributes of handle helped the researchers
in applying well-established psychophysical approaches to study the
sensory and comfort characteristics of clothing. After the development of
Kawabata instrumental evaluation systems [8, 20, 21] for measuring lowstress mechanical characteristics of fabrics, it has now become relatively
simple to measure many subjective attributes objectively. Combining the
psychophysical sensory methodology with the established instrumental
methods of fabric characterization now makes it possible to develop better
predictive relationships among sensory, instrumental and comfort
characteristics of clothing.
2.3
Human being often uses hands to obtain tactile information, but much of
the tactile sensations come from parts of the body other than hands. This
suggests the necessity of study of the perception of clothing comfort in
actual wear situations. Therefore the wear trialing is an important technique
for clothing comfort research. Sensory clothing comfort perceptions are
primarily associated with skin sensory systems. In addition to this the
clothing comfort sensations involve various sensory channels from all the
five senses: visual, auditory, smell, taste and touch. A certain type of
clothing comfort sensation is generated under certain wear conditions with
a particular type of external stimuli and physical activity. The external
stimuli (heat, moisture, wind, etc.) and mechanical stimulation from fabric
to the skin (softness, scratchy, pricky, etc.) are normally generated under
specific combinations of physiological states (e.g. sweating rate), materials
used in the clothing, fitness of clothing and environmental conditions (e.g.,
temperature, humidity and air velocity).
Hollies et al. [22, 23, 25] proposed the wear trial technique to generate
reactions of wearer to any perceived discomfort sensations produced by
22
23
Wong et al. [26] used neural network technique in wear trial to predict
the human psychological perceptions of clothing sensory comfort. They have
selected twenty-two professional athletes as subjects to take part in the
psychological sensory cycling trial. The wear trials were conducted in an
environmentally controlled laboratory. Before the trial, athletes were
subjected to medical fitness examinations to ensure that they were able to
complete the experiment. They have chosen different commercial sportswear
in their study. Initially they invited the professional athletes for a pre-trial
before the formal trials to obtain training and understanding of the questions
and procedures involved. During each trial, each athlete was required to
shower upon arriving at the laboratory, then change into a test garment and
a pair of nylon shorts, and rest to equilibrium for 20 minutes. During the
wear trial the laboratory conditions were controlled at 15C, 65% RH, and
an air velocity varying between 0.15 and 1.50 m/s. At the end of the
equilibrium period the athletes were asked to ride ergonomic bikes for 90
minutes under work loads maintaining their heart rates at 70% of their
estimated maxima. The athletes were asked to rate the sensory perceptions
(e.g., clammy, clingy, sticky, damp, heavy, prickly, scratchy, fit, breathable
and thermal) of the sportswear at different time interval, i.e. at the beginning,
after 30 minutes, after 60 minutes and after 90 minutes. The ratings by the
athletes were subsequently converted into 0100 scales for all the sensory
perceptions except fit and thermal sensations. The fit and thermal sensations
were rescaled to the range from -50 to +50 because in these two perceptions
the wordings used in the scales two ends to describe the perception of fit
(from too loose to too tight) and thermal (from too cold to too hot) were
different from the other sensory perceptions such as damp (from not at all
to extremely). In their study, Wong et al. [26] developed the neural network
prediction model on the basis of a feed-forward back-propagation network.
The network model consisted of three layers, i.e. input layer, hidden layer
and output layer. A good agreement between predicted and actual clothing
comfort perceptions have been observed, which proved that the wear trial
technique is an effective technique for predicting the psychological
perceptions of clothing sensory comfort.
2.4
The physical attributes of the human body is directly related to the aesthetic
comfort characteristics of clothing. A large number of researchers [27
32] have studied the complex interplay between clothing aesthetics and
body attributes and the human body has been designated as the central
element in the aesthetic experience of clothing. The relationships between
the aesthetics of clothing and the physical attributes of the body is not the
matter of only textile and clothing discipline but many other fields of
24
2.4.1
All these concepts are generally described by how they are subjectively
perceived by common word pairs used to communicate their values (e.g.,
thickthin, roughsmooth, etc.). The physical or transmission
characteristics of fabrics, namely mass per unit area, thickness, thread
density, air permeability, thermal transmission, wicking, etc., can be easily
measured by objective test methods. But, due to significant subjectivity
the aesthetic characteristics cannot be measured accurately and there is no
standard method of measuring aesthetic characteristics of clothing. The
fabric aesthetics is entirely subjective and different people can rate same
fabric in different scales based on their own perceptions.
The main problem with the measurement of aesthetic attributes of
clothing is to gather useful and consistent information by questioning
people about the clothing or fabric. If this is done properly, then the
numerical data can be obtained using different mathematical techniques
and subjective test methods. The possible steps to measure the fabric
aesthetics are [34] as follows:
25
26
2.4.2
27
Drape
Body
28
Style
29
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
30
23.
and JACKSON
Improved comfort polyester, Part IV: Analysis of the four wearer trials,
Textile Res. J. 54, 544548, 1984.
YOO S . and BARKER R . L ., Comfort properties of heat resistant protective work
wear in varying conditions of physical activity and environment. Part II:
Perceived comfort response to garments and its relationship to fabric properties,
Textile Res. J. 75, 531539, 2005.
HOLLIES N . R . S ., Psychological scaling in comfort assessment, In Clothing
Comfort, editors Hollies N. R. S. and Goldman R. F.) Ann Arbor Science
Publishers Inc., Michigan, 1977.
WONG A . S . W., LI Y ., YEUNG P . K . W. and LEE P . W. H ., Neural network predictions
of human psychological perceptions of clothing sensory comfort, Textile Res.
J. 73, 3137, 2003.
RUDD N . A ., LENNON S . J ., Body image: linking aesthetics and social psychology
of appearance, Clothing and Text. Res. J. 19(3), 120133, 2001.
DELONG M., The Way We Look: Dress and Aesthetics, Fairchild Publications,
New York, 1998.
HILLESTAD R., The underlying structure of appearance, Dress 5, 117125, 1980.
DELONG M. R . and LARNTZ K ., Measuring visual response to clothing, Home
Economics Res. J. 8(4), 281293, 1980.
FIORE A . M ., MORENO J . M . and KIMLE P . A ., Aesthetics: A comparison of the state
of the art outside and inside the field of textiles and clothing. Part III:
Appreciation process, appreciator and summary comparisons, Clothing and
Text. Res. J., 14(3), 169184, 1996.
KUPFER J ., Clothing and aesthetic experience, editors DELONG M . and FIORE A . M .,
Aesthetics of textiles and clothing: Advancing multi-disciplinary perspective,
Monument, Intl Text. and Apparel Assoc. 97104, 1994.
CHATTARAMAN V . and RUDD N . A ., Preferences for aesthetic attributes in clothing
as a function of body image, body cathexis and body size, Clothing and Text.
Res. J. 24, 4661, 2006.
B R A N D R . H ., Measurement of fabric aesthetics: Analysis of aesthetic
components, Textile Res. J. 34, 791801, 1964.
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25.
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32.
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3
Neurophysiological processes in clothing comfort
3.1
Neurophysiological perceptions
3.1.1
The structure of human skin is very complex. Figure 3.1 shows the structure
of hairy skin which covers most of the human body. The skin has several
layers. The overlaying outer layer is called epidermis, which consists of
several layers of dead cells on top of a single living cell. The layer below
epidermis is called dermis, which contains a network of blood vessels,
hair follicle, sweat gland and sebaceous gland. Beneath the dermis are
subcutaneous fatty tissues. The layers of epidermis are as follows: Stratum
Germinativum, i.e. growing layer; Malpighion layer, i.e. pigment layer;
Stratum Spinosum, i.e. prickly cell layer; Stratum Granulosum, i.e. granular
layer; Stratum Lucidum and Stratum Corneum, i.e. horny layer [1]. The
basic functions of human skin are [2]
To protect from external stimuli like light, heat, cold and radiation;
To check of body fluids and tissues;
Reception of stimuli like pressure, heat, pain, etc.;
Biochemical synthesis;
Metabolism and disposal of biochemical wastes;
Regulation of body temperature;
Controlling of blood pressure;
Prevent penetration of noxious foreign material and radiation;
Cushions against mechanical shock;
Interspecies identification.
Skin is the interface between the body and its environment and it is
highly stimulated and contains specialized sensory receptors to sense
different external stimuli. There are mainly three types of stimuli, i.e.
mechanical interactions with external objects, thermal interactions due to
heat flow to or from the body surface, and damaging (traumatic and
chemical) insults. In responding to these stimuli, the skin sensors generate
different sensations, like touch, pressure, pain, warm, cold, etc.
31
33
3.1.2
The sensory perceptions of human skin are governed by mainly two types
of nerve endings in the skin layers, i.e. corpuscular endings and free nerve
endings. Figure 3.3 illustrates the different types of nerve endings and
nerve fibres in the skin layers. Corpuscular endings have small swelling
on the nerve fibres and are responsible for different type of sensations,
like touch, pressure, cold, heat, etc. The different types of nerve endings
are Pacinis corpuscles, Meissner corpuscles, Merkles nerve ending,
Krauses end bulb, Ruffini endings, hair follicle nerve ends and free nerve
ends. The free nerve endings in subcutaneous fat are associated with pain
fibre, and those projecting in to the epidermis may be associated with cold
fibres or pain fibres [6].
Pacinis corpuscles
These mechanoreceptor nerve endings are responsible for pain and pressure
sensations and detect gross pressure changes and vibrations. These are
rapidly adapting receptors in the human skin. Due to any deformation in
the corpuscles the pressure sensitive sodium ion channels are opened, which
allow the sodium ions inflow and create a receptor potential. Pacinis
34
Pacinis corpuscles
Ruffinls endings
Meissner corpuscles
corpuscles are capable to vibration and can sense any vibration even from
few centimeters. Their optimal sensitivity is 250 Hz and this is the
frequency range generated at the finger tips by textures of size less than
200 ms [7]. These nerve endings respond when the skin is rapidly
indented, but do not respond when the pressure is steady [8].
Meissners or tactile corpuscles
These mechanoreceptor nerve endings are responsible for light touch.
These rapidly adaptive receptors have highest sensitivity (lowest threshold)
when sensing vibration of lower frequency. The tactile corpuscles are
distributed throughout the skin, but the concentration is very high to those
places where the sensitivity is high at light touch, e.g. palms, lips, face,
tongue, fingertips, etc. In case of any deformation, the Meissners
corpuscles cause an action potential in the nerve. As these are quickly
adapting mechanoreceptors, the action potential generated in the nerves
decreases rapidly and ultimately ceases. Due to this action the wearer stops
feeling his clothing after certain time. Due to their superficial location in
the dermis these mechanoreceptors are particularly sensitive to touch and
vibrations, but they cannot detect properly because they can only sense
that something is touching the skin [9].
35
36
3.2
3.2.1
37
skin frequently due to the body movement, which also induces new
mechanical stimuli frequently.
Prickle, itch and rashes
One of the very common types of discomfort sensations related to
mechanical stimuli is prickle. The wearers always complain about the
prickle for those clothing which are used next to skin. For example, a
person feels prickle sensation when he wears a woollen inner garment,
especially with coarser wool in hot and humid condition. Prickle is usually
described as the sensation of many gentle pinpricks. Its a common
perception that the prickle sensation associated with wool is related with
skin allergic response. The degree of discomfort caused by prickle varies
with person, skin type, humidity and temperature of atmosphere as well as
in the microclimate, type of fibre used in clothing, etc. The relationship
between prickle and itch sensation and human cutaneous small nerves have
been studied [13], where skin sensations were tested on the forearms of
different volunteers, in whom anoxia nerves blocks of the forearms were
produced by inflating a blood pressure cuff (about 270 mm Hg) on the
upper forearm, as shown in Fig. 3.4.
Pressure exerted by
blood pressure cuff
Sensation
detection point
The above study [13] reported that both touch and prickle sensations
change with time (Fig. 3.5) and the prickle sensations are associated with
small nerve fibres. It is observed from Fig. 3.5 that touch sensation dropped
consistently, initially at slower rate and then at very fast rate. On the other
hand the prickle sensation, evoked by pain, temperature and fabric, initially
increases and then drops rapidly. The touch sensation is completely lost
after about 20 min, but prickle sensation remained until about 40 min and
the point of complete anesthesia starts [5, 13].
38
A number of studies [14, 15] have been carried out to understand the
prickle characteristics of fabrics. Wills [14] reported that for the initiation
of pain sensation the summation of responses from the pain group of nerves
is necessary. Gransworthy et al. [15] carried out extensive study to
understand the causes of prickle and itch from the skin contact of fabrics.
They conclude from their results that fabric-evoked prickle is the result of
low-grade activity in nociceptors and that the stimuli are protruding fibre
ends exerting loads of approximately 75 mgf or more against the skin.
They have also observed that to have prickle sensation a minimum number
of high-load bearing fibre ends or certain minimum skin contact area with
fabric is required. Prickles from the fabrics could not be perceived if the
density of high load bearing fibre ends is less than 3 per 10 cm2 of the
fabric, or the skin contact area is below 5 cm2 [5, 15]. The fabric prickle
sensation depends mainly on the following important parameters [5]:
39
on fingers, palm of the hand or the sole of the foot. Due to absence
of nociceptors close to the skin surface the prickle sensation due to
fabric is not felt with figures, palms or feet.
It has been observed that in hot and humid environment a person
feels more prickle sensation. The outermost layer of the epidermis
consists of dead cells, which is known as stratum corneum. The
stratum corneum becomes soft in humid condition and the protruding
fibres from garments can easily penetrate through it, which results
prickle sensation. It has also been reported [15] that for constant
humidity the prickle sensitivity increased with the increase in ambient
temperature in the range of 1232C. This is due to increase in the
skin moisture content due to perspiration in hot and humid conditions,
which result in the increase in softness of stratum corneum.
40
persons have thinner skin than an old person, so generally the skin
sensitivity towards itching and prickle is more for younger person. The
itch sensation increases with temperature of the atmosphere and humidity
of the skin. Apart from the type of fibre, the physical characteristics fibres,
such as length and diameter, play role in causing skin discomfort. For
example, shorter fibres generates the perception of prickle, as there are
more fibre ends to be felt in any given surface area of a garment. Similarly,
coarser fibres are likely to intensify the prickling sensation than their finer
counterparts due to higher bending rigidity. So, a person can try to prevent
or reduce the prickle and itch sensations in their garments by proper
selection of materials.
Skin rashes or localized skin reddening or localized skin irritation occurs
in the small proportion of the skin. There are different causes of skin rashes,
and the garments with prickle and itch sensations are one of the causes of
generation of skin rashes. The mechanical stimulation of skin pain receptors
from prickly fabrics are the main causes of garment related skin rashes.
The probable mechanism of skin rashes due to prickle and itch is known
is axon reflex [19, 20], which is a response brought on by peripheral nerve
stimulation. Rashes due to clothing may occur very rapidly within minutes
or very slowly in hours and can be relieved quickly after fabric is removed
from the skin. But, in case the garment is in contact with skin for very
long time it may result a severe reaction.
Touch and pressure sensations
Human body can evoke the sensation of touch and pressure at any point
on the surface, but the sensitivity varies from one region of body to another.
In the process of fabricskin contact and mechanical interaction during
wear, clothing exerts pressure and dynamic mechanical stimulation to the
skin which in turn triggers various mechanoreceptors and generates a wide
range of touch and pressure sensations.
The mechanoreceptors, responsible for touch and pressure sensations,
are sensitive to stimuli that distort their cell membranes. The receptors,
responsible for touch and pressure sensations, contain mechanically
regulated ion channels, which open and close in response to mechanical
actions on the skin surface. The receptors responsible for touch and pressure
sensations are mainly tactile receptors (i.e., free nerve endings, root hair
plexus, Merkels discs, Meissners corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles and
Ruffini corpusles) and baroreceptors. The tactile receptors provide the
sensations of touch, pressure and vibration. Distinctions between all these
sensations are not very well defined. Fine touch and pressure receptors
are extremely sensitive and have relatively narrow receptive fields and
provide detailed information about a source of stimulation, including the
41
exact location, shape, size, texture and movement. On the other hand, the
receptors for rough touch and pressure provide poor localization and
information. The baroreceptors monitor changes in pressure exerted on
the body by clothing due to movement of a clothed person. The
baroreceptors consist of free nerve endings that branch within the elastic
tissues in the walls of organs. During activity the clothing exert different
levels of pressure on the skin which stretch or recoil tissues in the walls,
and the information is then passed on to centres in the brain.
Roughness and scratchiness sensations
Roughness and scratchiness sensations depend on the surface texture of
fabrics and the way the fabrics move over the human skin surface. During
activity of a clothed person, the fabric moves across the underlying skin
and the fabric to skin friction (both static and kinetic friction) resisting
that movement forces the skin to displace. This displacement of skin
stimulates the sensory receptors that are responsible for touch sensation.
As the surface roughness of fabrics increases, this displacement of skin
also become more and the sensory receptors detect this difference in
sensation. Higher fabric to skin friction results more skin abrasion [5, 21].
3.2.2
The skin acts as a barrier between the organism and its environment. For
effective designing of comfortable clothing, it is essential to understand
the human thermal physiology, heat and moisture transfer from the skin
surface, and human thermal comfort. Humans maintain their core
temperatures within a small range, between 36 and 38C. Skin is the most
important organ of human body through which heat and moisture flow to
and from the surrounding environment to maintain the heat balance. The
skin also contains thermal sensors that take part in the thermoregulatory
control, and these affect the persons thermal sensation and comfort [22].
The complex vascular systems and sweat glands in the skin help to change
the conductance of skin in response to thermoregulatory demands of the
body. Many researchers have established that when the skin is touched
with small warmth and cold stimulators, some spots on the skin feel warm
and/or cold, others do not. The human skin contains four types of thermally
sensitive nerve endings (thermoreceptors), namely cold, warmth, hot pain
and cold pain [23, 24] and each thermoreceptor is activated in a specific
temperature range (Fig. 3.6).
42
All these nerve endings sense the temperature of skin and transmit the
information to the brain. Cold and warmth receptors in the human skin are
responsible for sensing normal environmental temperatures which are not
harmful to human body. The harmful temperatures (i.e. too hot or too cold),
which are likely to damage an organism are sensed by sub-categories of
nociceptors (i.e. cold pain and hot pain receptors) that may respond to
extreme cold or heat [25].
It can be observed from Fig. 3.6 that the warmth receptors start sensing
at the temperature around 30C and become inactive at around 50C with
highest impulse frequency at around 45C. Normally the hot pain receptors
are active at temperature beyond 50C and at that time the warmth receptors
are inactive. Similarly, the cold receptors are active within the temperature
range from 7C to 42C with highest impulse frequency at around 25C.
Normally the cold pain receptors are active at temperature below 10C
and at that time the cold receptors are inactive.
The warmth and cold receptors in the human skin are distributed in
different concentrations in the different parts of the body. In general the
numbers of warmth thermoreceptors are much less than the cold receptors.
Figure 3.7 shows the distribution of the cold and warm receptors in the
different parts of the human skin [22, 2628].
The cold thermoreceptors are located at upper layer of dermis, i.e.
immediately beneath the epidermis, at an average depth of 0.150.17 mm,
whereas the warmth thermoreceptors are located in the dermis and below
cold thermoreceptors. The location of the warmth thermoreceptors is within
the upper layer of the dermis at an average depth of 0.30.6 mm [26, 29,
30]. Due to the presence of higher numbers and shallower depth of cold
thermoreceptors as compared to that of warmth thermoreceptors, the
43
humans are more sensitive to danger from cold than from heat [22]. The
thermoreceptors are in general dynamic in nature which helps in adaptation
with different climatic conditions and determine the thermal sensation and
comfort responses of a person. Figures 3.8 and 3.9 show the static and
dynamic responses respectively of thermoreceptors (warmth and cold),
i.e. in constant temperature condition and under the abruptly changing
temperature conditions.
44
45
than when the temperature remains at the same level. For example, the
stronger sensation of cool or warmth felt upon entering a cold pool or a
hot tub [22]. The temperature of skin plays an important role for any
thermal sensation and a person feels comfortable within a narrow range
of skin temperatures. Figure 3.10 shows that different body parts have
different ranges of comfortable temperatures.
3.2.3
There are different types of receptors in the human skin, which sense
different types of physical stimuli including touch, pressure, thermal, cold
and pain. However, there is no receptor in the skin that responds for
moisture or dampness sensation [31].
3.3
46
The pressure applied below the two-point threshold distance feels like
one point, and beyond that one can feel distinct differences in pressure.
This value varies from 2.5 mm in the fingers, up to as much as 50 mm for
other body regions [37] as shown in Fig. 3.12 and Table 3.1 [32].
3.12 Mean two-point threshold distance (mm) at different body parts [32].
The two-point threshold for any part of the body is determined by the
size of the receptive fields and the extent of overlap. Tactile sensation
varies widely from person to person and depends very much on the nature
of the stimulus that is used and properties of the stimulus, such as frequency,
duration and amplitude [33, 34]. The two-point tactile sensations change
with the frequencies and amplitude of vibration [35]. In addition to twotype of stimulation can be measured by the minimum noticeable intensity
point threshold distance, the psychophysical thresholds for a particular
47
Mean threshold
distance (mm)
Little finger
Ring finger
Middle finger
Index finger
Thumb
Palm
Forearm
Upper arm
Shoulder
Forehead
Cheek
Nose
Upper lip
Breast
Back
Belly
Thigh
Calf
Sole
Hallux
4
2.5
2.5
2.5
3
10
38
43
36
17
7
7
5
32
40
35
45
50
21
9
(3.1)
3.3.1
48
tactile displays, like pressure, touch, prickle, etc. Basically the different
types of tactile displays transmit energy to the skin surface and then from
skin to different tactile receptors in the skin. There are different methods
of flow of tactile responses, namely (i) low frequency and low amplitude
mechanical deformation; (ii) vibrotactile stimulation; (iii) electrotactile
stimulation; (iv) force feedback displays; (v) thermal sensation; (vi) air or
liquid jets or currents [32].
The low frequency and low amplitude mechanical deformation is
responsible for sensing contact of any object with our skin, which may be
continuous or intermittent. By this method human is able to distinguish
between continuous contact with an object, and the intermittent contact,
in which an object is brought in and out of contact with the body part. The
human skin has high sensitivity to the intermittent contact [39].
The vibrotactile stimulation senses the matters when they are vibrating
against the skin, and can sense a frequency of about 250 Hz [32]. Vibrations
may be effectively transmitted through an air gap, again due to the high
intermittent contact sensitivity.
In the electrotactile stimulation, currents are passed through the skin,
which excite the sensory systems directly rather than the tactile receptors
themselves. Current may be supplied by electrodes of different types, or
by fine wires inserted into the skin. Different nerves can be excited
differently through the design of the drive signal and electrical contacts.
The force feedback displays are the kinesthetic tactile sensory systems
and they interact with the different types of sensations, like friction,
vibration, etc. The thermal sensations are related to inward or outward
heat flow through skin by conduction via a medium, convection, or
radiation. Heat is transferred to heat-sensitive receptors by conduction
through tissues [32].
The air or liquid in the form of jets or currents stimulate either hair
follicle receptors by moving hairs or by different types of mechanoreceptors
by exciting with forces or vibrating skin [40].
3.4
3.4.1
In unusual cases, if the core body temperatures drop below 32C or raise
above 43C there is a definite risk of life, but for normal activity of the
body still a narrow range, i.e. between 36C and 38C is required [41].
Human skin acts as the barrier between the internal body organs and the
external environment and it has important functions in keeping the body
temperature nearly constant. This is done mainly by controlling thermal
radiation, by adjusting the diameter of peripheral blood vessels and by
49
The human body requires about 40 kcal/h/m 2 body area for basic
activities. The heat production rate increases rapidly during heavy activity
and the produced heat has to be dissipated effectively. Figure 3.14 shows
the changes in body core temperature with time at different levels of
activity.
50
3.14 Changes in body core temperature with time at different levels of activities [44].
It can be observed from Fig. 3.14 that during rest the body core
temperature remains almost constant, i.e. approximately around 37C. In
case when a person is walking the body temperature initially increases
and after that in remains constant. But, in case of heavy activity the body
temperature increases very rapidly. The heat balancing is done by the
exchange of heat with the environment mainly by radiation and to some
extent by conduction [44]. Depending on the extent and direction of the
temperature gradient between the body and the surrounding object or
environment, a person may either gain or lose heat by radiation. The heat
exchange between the human body and the surrounding object or
environment by conduction is through a surrounding medium in contact
with the skin. Due to the lower thermal conductivity of air and most of the
clothing materials, the conductive heat flow is usually of rather small
quantitative importance. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of
the liquid medium (e.g. water) is very high. Due to this the insulation
characteristics is almost lost when the garment becomes wet.
3.4.2
51
evaporated, without wetting the skin surface, by the heat supplied by the
skin surface (insensible evaporation). No cooling effect is achieved and
the body temperature rises steeply. In case there is little wind blowing,
that helps in evaporation of sweat even in hot and humid climate. The
evaporative cooling in a given climatic condition depends on the fact that
whether a person gets used to that climate, which is known as
acclimatization. The higher temperature of the surrounding environment
does not ensure that the sweat will always evaporate. The sweat may start
dripping for a person who is not used to the hot climate and the body heat
transmission through evaporation becomes ineffective. On the other hand,
if the same person gets used to the same hot climate he will look drier and
feel cooler due to evaporative cooling.
The rate of sweating depends on the number of participating sweat
glands and the output of each active gland. The evaporative heat loss
becomes more effective if the sweat, coming out from the active sweat
glands, covers the body evenly. The number of sweat glands per unit area
is different at different parts of the body, e.g. very high concentration is in
the front and back of trunk, back of hand, forearm, upper arm, forehead;
medium concentration in arms, legs, cheeks; and very low concentration
in soles, palms, armpits, inside of thighs [22, 46]. The distribution of
number active sweat glands/cm2 in some of the human body segments is
shown in Fig. 3.15 [47].
52
References
1.
SHARMA S .,
6(5).
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
53
54
4
Tactile aspects of clothing comfort
4.1
4.1.1
54
55
sensations of clothing to a great extent. The Merkels discs and the Ruffini
endings play are mainly responsible for tactile sensations related to surface
texture and touch of fabric [7, 8]. Due to their location, receptive field
and response type, the Pacinian, the Merkel and the Meissner
mechanoreceptors can characterize the roughness of fabrics, whereas the
Ruffini and Meissner mechanoreceptors can characterize the friction
between skin and fabric [9]. The causes of the prickle from the skin contact
of fabric can be detected by the pain receptors [10].
4.1.2
57
58
4.2
59
Kawabata [28] related the different fabric properties with the individual
hand expressions. Figure 4.5 shows the different hand expressions (given
within oval) proposed by Kawabata [28] and related fabric characteristics
(given within the rectangles). The hand expressions proposed by Kawabata
are in Japanese terms. The equivalent English terms are given in
parenthesis.
4.3
4.3.1
Subjective assessment
60
Science in clothing comfort
61
gives a more reliable and accurate objective grading of fabric handle than
is possible from an individual judges grading. For the assessment of fabric
handle, researchers have adopted the factor analysis technique, where they
attempted to identify the underlying interrelationships in the handle
assessments of a range of fabrics. In the factor analysis the researchers
have isolated three important factors responsible for fabric handle, namely
smoothness, stiffness and bulk, where the fabric bulk is directly
proportional to area density and thickness of the fabric [31]. Attempts
have been made to assess the fabric handle characteristics subjectively
based on psychophysical concepts [3234]. Psychophysical concepts from
both decision theory and information theory have been used and proposed
the four different sensory attributes which correspond to the four fabric
characteristics, namely smoothness, stiffness, bulk properties and warmth.
This psychophysical concepts theory is analogous to the Young-Helmholtz
theory [35], which proposes three colour receptors in the eye, one each
for red, green, and blue, for perceiving colour [36]. Kawabata [37, 38]
developed subjective assessment technique of fabric handle characteristics
based on two assumptions, i.e. (i) the assessment of fabric handle
characteristics was based on tactile sensations caused by fabric mechanical
and surface properties; and (ii) the final judgment of handle is based on
the suitability of the mechanical and surface properties for the particular
end use of the fabric. Kawabata subsequently developed a series of
instruments (KES-FB) for evaluating the objective assessment of fabric
handle characteristics by measuring various low stress mechanical
properties of fabrics. The WeberFechner law of psychophysics has been
adopted by Matsuo [32] during the subjective analysis of fabric handle
characteristics. The WeberFechner law intends to describe the relationship
between the physical magnitudes of stimuli and the perceived intensity of
the stimuli. Matsuo assumed that the WeberFechner law is applicable
when the fabric mechanical properties were used as the handle stimuli
and used a nonlinear combination of mechanical properties to explain fabric
handle assessments. In practice, the results obtained from this model depend
strongly on the values assigned to the minimum sensibility which a judge
can discriminate for each mechanical property.
4.3.2
Objective assessment
62
Figure 4.6 shows the principle of KESF-1 system. The fabric specimen
is clamped between two jaws (one attached with the drum for tensile force
application and other is attached with slide for shear force application)
and subjected to a constant tension of 10 gf/cm by a weight attached to the
drum on which one jaw is mounted. Tensile force is applied by allowing
the drum to rotate freely. The tensile force is measured by the tensile force
detector by measuring the torque and the tensile strain is measured by
tensile strain detector from the data of angle of rotation of the drum. The
shear force is measured by a transducer connected to the other jaw (attached
with slide) which moved sideways to apply the shear deformation. The
shear force is measured by the shear force detector by measuring the force
required to slide and the shear strain is measured by shear strain detector
from the data of the displacement of the slide.
63
Shear characteristics
Settings and loading conditions:
Speed of shearing
0.417 mm/s;
5 20 cm;
140 mrad;
0.1 N/cm.
64
Figure 4.8 shows the working principle of KESF-3 system. The fabric
specimen is compressed between two plates, i.e. anvil and the pressure foot.
The fabric specimen is placed on the anvil and pressure is increased with the
help of pressure foot, while continuously monitoring the sample thickness by
thickness detector. The compressive pressure is detected by the compressive
force detector. The pressure foot gets drive from the drive arrangement.
The typical instrument settings, loading conditions and parameters
measured for compression characteristics in KESF-3 system are [41]
Settings and loading conditions:
Rate of compression
0.02 mm/s
Area of circular pressure foot
2.0 cm2
Maximum compressive pressure 5 kPa
65
66
1.0 mm/s
0.1 N/cm
0.5N
3 cm
Surface roughness
Settings and loading conditions:
Traverse rate of fabric
Constant tension on fabric
Contact force
Maximum fabric movement
1.0 mm/s
0.1 N/cm
0.1N
3 cm
67
From all the above parameters, which are obtained from KESF
instruments the total handle value (THV) can be calculated, which is the
indicator of fabric handle behaviour of fabric.
Fabric assurance by simple testing (FAST)
The FAST system has been developed by CSIRO (Australia) primarily for
quality control and assurance of fabrics [4244]. It also gives the objective
indication of fabric handle characteristics. It consists of a series of three
instruments (i.e. FAST-1: Compression meter; FAST-2: Bending meter;
and FAST-3: Extension meter) and a test method (FAST-4: Dimensional
stability test) which are inexpensive, simple to use and robust in
construction. It measures properties which are closely related to the ease
of garment manufacturing, handle characteristics and the durability of
surface finishing.
FAST-1
Figure 4.10 shows the schematic diagram of FAST-1system, i.e.
compression meter. It measures the fabric thickness over a range of loads,
the variability and the durability of the thickness of the fabric surface
layer. It can measure fabric thickness to micrometer resolution at two
predetermined loads, and thereby enables the accurate measurement of
surface layer thickness. The fabric thickness (T) is measured at a pressure
of 2 gf/cm2. Surface thickness (ST) is the difference in thickness of a fabric
measured at pressures of 2 gf/cm2 and 100 gf/cm2. This gives information
about the hairiness or surface bulk of the fabric (closely related to surface
treatment like brushing, singeing, finishing etc.). Released surface
thickness (STR) is the measure of the surface thickness after the fabric is
exposed to steam or water. The increase in fabric surface thickness obtained
by this steaming process simulates the actual changes in surface
characteristics that occur during the actual use of garment.
68
FAST-2
The schematic diagram of FAST-2 system, i.e. bending meter, which
measures the bending length (BL) and bending rigidity (B) of fabric, is
shown in Fig. 4.11. The instrument measures the fabric bending length
according to BS 3356-1961. The fabric bending length simulates the
draping behaviour of fabric and the bending rigidity is related to the quality
of stiffness when a fabric is handled. The bending rigidity is particularly
crucial in the tailoring of lightweight fabrics as a very flexible fabric (low
bending rigidity) may cause seam puckering while a high bending rigidity
fabric can be more manageable in sewing and so produce a flat seam. The
operator error in aligning the sample is eliminated with the use of an optical
sensor. The bending length is displayed automatically, so chances of the
error due to the operators judgment are not there.
FAST-3
Figure 4.12 shows the schematic diagram principle of FAST-3 system, i.e.
extension meter, for measuring fabric extension. It measures extensibility
of fabric at various loads as well as its shear rigidity. It is capable of
measuring the fabric extensibility in warp, weft and bias directions over a
range of loads, with direct reading of extension as a percentage of the
initial gauge length. The fabric extension is displayed as a percentage with
a 0.1% resolution. Extensibility is measured at three loads 5 gf/cm (E5),
20 gf/cm (E20) and 100 gf/cm (E100). The difference in fabric
extensibilities at between E5 and E20 is used to calculate fabric formability,
which is a parameter related to the incidence of seam pucker. Fabric
extensibility is combined with bending rigidity to calculate the fabric
formability (F), which is a measure of the ability of a fabric to absorb
compression in its own plane without buckling. E100 is used in FAST
control chart (FAST fabric fingerprint) as the measure of fabric
extensibility. If the value is below approximately 2%, then the fabric will
be difficult to extend during seam overfeed.
70
Shrinkage (RS) and Hygral Expansion (HE), which can test these parameters
in less than an hour as compared to the conventional one-day test. The drying
is done in a forced convection oven. A template and a ruler are the only
equipments required to do the test. The results from this method simulates
the change in fabric dimensions that may occur during the actual wear as
the fabric is subjected to washing and changing humidity conditions. The
relaxation shrinkage is mainly due to the recovery of fabric structure which
got strained during manufacturing, while hygral expansion or contraction is
caused by the swelling or deswelling of hygroscopic fibres. Very high
relaxation shrinkage results in problem of change of garment size, puckering,
etc. Similarly, higher hygral expansion may result in seam pucker, fabric
waviness, buckling and overall poor garment appearance.
The testing is completed in following three different steps (Fig. 4.14),
Step-I
The relaxation shrinkage (RS) and the hygral expansion (HE) are
calculated from the above dimensions, using following relationships:
Relaxation shrinkage (RS) = [(l 1 l 2) 100] l1
Hygral expansion (HE) = [(l 2 l 3) 100] l3
(4.2)
(4.3)
71
The FAST data analysis software, which is included as part of the FAST
System package, automatically plots the appropriate values and joins the
various plotted points together to form a fabric FAST control chart or
FAST fingerprint, which is unique to each particular fabric. Figure 4.15
shows a typical FAST control chart. Each value has a separate scale showing
a graphical representation of the range of values in the appropriate units
that we expect for each of the various measurements. For example
relaxation shrinkage RS-1 represents the warp value and RS-2 that of
the weft. In addition to the values for the various measurements, each
scale contains one or more shaded zones. If the fingerprint falls into one
of these zones, a potential problem with the particular aspect(s) of fabric
performance influenced by that property is indicated.
72
The fabric sample should be free from wrinkles and creases. As the top
jaw, with which the connecting pin is attached, moves upward, it extracts
the circular fabric specimens through the nozzle. The force required to
extract the fabric specimen through the nozzle changes as more and more
of the specimen is introduced into the nozzle. The extraction force can be
recorded by the instrument. A typical extraction forcedisplacement curve
is shown in Fig. 4.17.
The fabric handle behaviour has been defined by two parameters:
(i) peak extraction force and (ii) traverse at peak extraction force. Traverse
at peak extraction force is the movement of the cross-head from where the
fabric sample starts exerting resistance to extraction till the force reaches
to its maximum. Both these parameters can be obtained from force
displacement curves. Higher peak extraction force indicates stiffer fabric
and higher traverse at peak extraction force value shows the fabric surface
become smoother. The extraction force is the combination of fabric
resistance to bending, compression, shear, extension and sliding.
73
4.4
76
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77
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mechanical and surface properties: Part III: Optimization of fabric properties
for mens suiting materials, Textile Res. J. 59, 448459, 1989.
WINAKOR G ., KIM C . J . and WOLINS L ., Fabric hand: tactile sensory assessment,
Textile Res. J. 50, 601610, 1980.
KAWABATA S . editor, The standardization and analysis of hand evaluation, 2nd
edition, HESC, The Textile Machinery Society of Japan, Osaka, Japan, 1980.
BINNS H ., A comparison between the judgments of individuals skilled in the
textile trade and the natural judgments of untrained adults and children, J.
Textile Inst. 17, T615, 1926.
BINNS H ., The discrimination of wool fabrics by sense of touch, J. Psychol.
1263, 7, 1926.
HOWORTH W. S . and OLIVER P . H ., The application of multiple factor analysis to
the assessment of fabric handle, J. Textile Inst. 49, T540, 1958.
MATSUO T ., NASU N. and SAITO M., Study of hand. Part 2: The method of measuring
hand, J. Textile Mach. 17(03), 92, 1971.
78
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
5
Thermal transmission
5.1
Introduction
5.2
79
80
Thermal transmission
5.3
81
Thermal distress
82
5.4
Thermal transmission
83
live in the thermal environments in which our body cannot cope up alone.
Therefore, thermal functional design of clothing is critically important for
human health and comfort, and in extreme cases, it can be a matter of life
and death.
The body continuously produces heat which must be transferred to the
environment. The release of body heat mainly takes place through the skin.
The body heat is transported to the skin through the circulation of blood
and from skin it is transferred to the environment. Our body always
generates metabolic heat due to the internal biological and physical
activities of the muscles and organs, the amount of which depends on the
intensity of the activities. Figure 5.2 shows that the thermal exchange
between body and environment takes place through heat conduction,
convection and radiation. In addition to heat transfer the exchange of body
moisture takes place through perspiration and sweating.
The thermal protection characteristics of clothing are essential function
in most of the environmental conditions in various parts on the earth. The
general clothing assemblies approximately covers around 90% of a human
body. Therefore, the thermal transmission characteristics of clothing are
extremely important, as our body responds to the external thermal
environment through clothing.
The thermoregulation mechanism through clothing depends primarily
on the thermal behaviours in human body and transmission characteristics
of clothing and can be summarized as [15, 16],
84
Thermal transmission
85
Activities
5.4.1
Resting
Sleeping
Seated quietly
Standing
3535
5565
6575
110120
150160
210220
Indoor activities
Reading
Writing
Working on computer
Filing, seated
Filing, standing
Lifting/packing
5060
5565
6070
6575
7585
120130
Miscellaneous work
Cooking
Dancing
Playing tennis
Playing basketball
90110
140200
200300
300450
Human as blackbody
86
Human body can also be considered as black body. For example, some
of the persons energy is radiated away in the form of electromagnetic
radiation, most of which is infrared. The net power radiated is the difference
between the power emitted and the power absorbed [18]:
Pnet = Pemit Pabsorb
(5.1)
The total energy radiated by an adult male in one day is about 2000
kcal (food calories). Primary metabolic rate for a 40-year-old male is about
35 kcal/(m2h), which is equivalent to 1700 kcal per day assuming the 2
m2 area. However, the mean metabolic rate of an adult without any activity
is about 5070% greater than their basal rate [19].
There are other important thermal loss mechanisms, including
convection and evaporation. Conduction is negligible since the Nusselt
number (i.e. the ratio of convective to conductive heat transfer) is much
greater than unity. Evaporation (perspiration) is only required if radiation
and convection are insufficient to maintain a steady state temperature.
The heat loss by radiation is 2/3 of thermal energy loss in cool, still air.
Given the approximate nature of many of the assumptions, this can only
be taken as a crude estimate. Ambient air motion, causing forced
convection, or evaporation reduces the relative importance of radiation as
a thermal loss mechanism [20].
5.5
Thermal transmission
87
5.5.1
(5.2)
(5.3)
where f cl, clothing area factor (clo); hc, coefficient of convection heat
transfer (W/m2K); Tcl, clothing surface temperature (C) and Ta, ambient
air temperature (C).
88
The heat transfer coefficient (hc) depends on the air velocity across the
body and also upon the position of the person and orientation to the air
current [25]. An approximate value of hc during forced convection can be
evaluated from the following empirical equation [27]
hc = 12.1Va 0.5
(5.4)
where Va is the air velocity (m/s). The clothing area factor (fcl) can be
evaluated by the following empirical equation [30]:
f cl = 1.05 + 0.1 Icl
(5.5)
4
R = cl f cl Fvf (Tcl + 273.15 ) + (Tr + 273.15 ]
(5.6)
Thermal transmission
5.5.2
89
Newtons Law of Cooling states that the rate of change of the temperature
of an object is proportional to the difference between its own temperature
and the ambient temperature (i.e. the temperature of its surroundings).
Newtons Law makes a statement about an instantaneous rate of change
of the temperature. It states that the rate of change of the temperature
(dT/dt) is proportional to the difference between the temperature of the
material (Tt) and the ambient temperature (Ta) [31]. This means that
dT / dt (Tt Ta)
(5.7)
(5.8)
=
= k (T Ta ) = ky
dt dt
dt
dt
dt
(5.9)
(5.10)
Therefore,
T(t) Ta = (To Ta)ekt
(5.11)
(5.12)
or,
90
(5.13)
K1 =
1
1
=
R1C ( R0 + R) C
(5.14)
1
C
1
1
K1 K 0
(5.15)
1 d
R S
(5.16)
1
dQ
S T dt
(5.17)
where dQ/dt (W) is the measured heat transfer rate from the system through
the fabric to the ambient surroundings, S (m 2) is the area of the fabric
sample and T (K) is the difference between the average temperature of
the system and the ambient temperature [32].
Newtons cooling rate law is applied in order to evaluate the thermal
properties of textile fabrics. The procedure of thermal resistance
determination is based on Newtons cooling rate law [32]:
91
Thermal transmission
1
dQ
Q =T =
R
C
dt
(5.18)
where C (J/K) is the thermal capacity of the body, Q (J) is amount of heat,
T (K) is the temperature of the body, dQ/dt is the amount of heat passing
through the body per unit time and R (K/W) is the thermal resistance of
the body.
5.6
92
Thermal transmission
93
94
5.7
5.7.1
Togmeter
Thermal transmission
95
Single-plate togmeter
In this method the specimen under test is placed on the heated lower plate
as above, but it is left uncovered as shown in Fig. 5.6. In place of top
plate, the air temperature (T3) is measured. The air above the test specimen
has a considerable thermal resistance itself so that the method is in fact
measuring the sum of the specimen and air thermal resistance. A separate
experiment is therefore performed without the specimen (i.e. a bare plate
test) to measure the resistance of the air Rair.
(5.19)
where
R air = Thermal resistance of the air
R stand = Thermal resistance of the standard material.
To determine the sample resistance, the above experiment is repeated
with the sample placed on the bottom plate and the apparatus is again
allowed to reach the equilibrium.
The thermal resistance of the sample:
(Rsample) = Rstand (T2 T3) / (T1 T2) Rair
5.7.2
(5.20)
96
Top view
Side view
(5.21)
where
TP and Ta are temperature of test plate and air, respectively
P = power loss from test plate (W)
A = area of the test plate (m2)
The bare plate transmittance Ubp is calculated similarly.
The intrinsic transmittance of the fabric alone, U2, is calculated as,
1/U 2 = 1/U 1 1/Ubp
(5.22)
5.7.3
Thermal transmission
97
from BT-Box to the Water Box through the fabric samples. The sample is
kept on the Water Box at the room temperature (20C). The temperatures
of the BT-Box and Guard are kept at 30C. The amount of heat flowing
through the fabric sample per unit area (W/m2) is measured from the power
consumption of the test plate heater. The thermal conductivity (W/mK) of
fabrics can be calculated using the following equation [38, 39]:
Thermal conductivity ( k ) =
k =
Q
L
t
A T
(5.23)
(5.24)
5.7.4
Thermal manikin
98
It can simulate the human body (the whole body and local) heat
exchange.
It can measure the 3-dimensional heat exchange from human body.
It can integrate the dry heat losses from human body in a realistic
manner.
It can measure the clothing thermal insulation objectively.
Thermal manikin such as the one shown in Fig. 5.8 provides a useful
and valuable complement to direct experiments with human subjects. In
situations where the heat exchange is complex and transient, the
measurements with a thermal manikin produce relevant, reliable and
accurate objective values for whole body as well as local heat exchange.
Such values are useful for:
Thermal transmission
5.8
99
5.8.1
The heat exchange between human body and the environment can be
quantified in terms of Met and clo units [42, 43]. One Met is used to
quantify the metabolism of a man resting in a sitting position under
conditions of thermal comfort [42]. One Met is equivalent to 50 kcal/m2h
(i.e., 58.2 W/m 2). The term clo is the measure of clothing insulation and
one clo is defined as the insulation of a clothing system that maintained a
sittingresting average male comfortable in a normally ventilated room
(0.1 m/s air velocity) at the air temperature of 21C and relative humidity
less than 50%. It is assumed that on an average 24% of the metabolic heat
is lost through evaporation from the skin and remaining 38 kcal/m2h should
be transmitted through the clothing assembly by conduction, convection
and radiation. The comfortable mean skin temperature is 33C. The total
insulation of the clothing plus the ambient air layer is given by [41]:
It =
33 21
= 0.32 m 2 C h/kcal
38
(5.25)
100
of tog value and the heat flux. Also, the heat flux can be calculated by
dividing the temperature drop by one-tenth of the tog value, if the
temperature drop is known.
5.8.2
Permeability index
im =
Rt
LR Ret
(5.26)
where Rt is the total thermal resistance of the clothing plus surface air
layer (m2 C/W), and Ret is the total evaporative resistance of the clothing
plus the air layer (m2 kPa/W). The ratio Rt/Ret represents the effectiveness
in transmitting evaporative heat as compared to the dry heat transmitted.
Lewis Relation (LR) is the ratio of evaporative mass transfer coefficient
to convective heat transfer coefficient. For typical applications it can be
treated as a constant equivalent to 16.65C/kPa [47]. Theoretically the
value of permeability index ranges from 0 (i.e., completely water vapour
impermeable) to 1 (completely water vapour permeable). As the
permeability index is a dimensionless quantity, it offers the same value no
matter what unit is used.
5.9
Thermal transmission
101
102
absorbency. The fabric made of parent yarn (normal yarn) shows the
maximum thermal conductivity and fabric with hollow yarn shows
minimum thermal conductivity values (Fig. 5.9). The fabric with twistless
yarn shows intermediate thermal conductivity value. The minimum thermal
conductivity of fabric with hollow yarn is due to very bulky structure of
hollow fibrous assembly in weft works as an insulating medium. It entraps
air in the hollow spaces and does not allow heat of inner layer to transmit
to outer layer [51].
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Parent yarn
Twistless yarn
Hollow yarn
It has been reported that as the yarns in knitted fabrics become finer the
thermal resistance and thermal conductivity decrease. In fact there is an
inverse relationship between thermal resistance and thermal conductivity
(R = h/; R is thermal resistance, h is fabric thickness and is thermal
conductivity). However, the study revealed that as the thermal resistance
decreases the thermal conductivity decreases as well. This contradiction
has been explained by the fabric thickness. When finer yarn was used in
fabric, yarn diameter and therefore fabric thickness was lower. If the amount
of decrease in thickness is more than the amount of decrease in thermal
conductivity, thermal resistance also decreases. Thermal absorptivity value
decreases while the yarn is getting finer. An increase in yarn twist
coefficient results in decrease in thermal resistance. This may be due to
the fact that as the twist coefficient increases the yarn becomes finer, as a
result the fabric thickness decreases [52].
The decrease in hairiness increases the surface area between the fabric and
skin; this causes cooler feeling. The thermal resistance of the fabrics made of
carded yarns is higher than the fabrics from combed yarns. This is due to the
fact that the fabrics produced from carded yarns have more hairiness. As the
yarn hairiness increase, the amount of static air that prevents the passage of
heat also increases. Another reason for this is fabric thickness [52].
Thermal transmission
103
With the increase in microclimate thickness the total heat flux from
human body decreases. This is due to increase in air layer which behaves
like an insulating material. The contribution of radiation in total heat flow
increases with the increase in microclimate thickness. This is due to the
fact that the heat transmission due to radiation is independent of
microclimate thickness. The lesser effect of fabric thickness variation
compared to the variation in microclimate thickness has been reported.
This is mainly due to the fact that the thermal conductivity of fabric is
more than the microclimate, and hence, the result is less sensitive to fabric
thickness than microclimate thickness. The effect of fabric thickness will
be larger when the thickness of microclimate is smaller [53].
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
NIELSEN R .,
104
18. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body
19. http://www.complore.com/black-body
20. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_body#column-one
21. Thermoregulation, 2005. Harvard University, Division of Engineering and
Applied Sciences: web site, http://www.deas.harvard.edu/courses/es96/
spring1997/web_page/ health/thermreg.htm, 20.07.2005.
22. THRELKELD J . L ., Thermal Environmental Engineering, 2nd edition, PrenticeHall Inc., New Jersey, 1970.
23. LAYTON J . M ., The science of clothing comfort, Textile Progress 31(1/2), 2001.
24. Thermal comfort (2005a). Environmental Engineering Science 1, http://
www.esru.strath.ac.uk/Courseware/Class-16293/6-Comfort.pdf, 21.07.2005.
25. STOECKER W. F. and JONES J . W., Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, 2nd edition,
McGraw-Hill, Singapore, 1982.
26. OGULATA R. T., The effect of garment on mans thermal comfort, Association
for the Advancement of Modeling & Simulation Techniques in Enterprises
70(1,2), 1526, 2001.
27. ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc, New York, 1977.
28. HAN T. and HUANG L., A model for relating a thermal comfort scale to EHT
comfort index, SAE Technical Paper Series, 2004.
29. ENGLISH M . J. M ., Physical principles of heat transfer, Current Anesthesia &
Critical Care 12, 6671, 2001.
30. ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc, New York, 1993.
31. http://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math100/notes/diffeqs/cool.html.
32. SNEANA B STANKOVI, DUAN POPOVI and GORAN B POPARI Thermal properties of textile fabrics made of natural and regenerated cellulose fibers, Polymer
Testing 27, 4148, 2008.
33. SCHNEIDER A. M . and HOLCOMBE B. V., Properties influencing coolness to the touch
of fabrics, Text Res J 61, 488, 1991.
34. KAWABATA S . and AKAGI Y., J. Text. Mach. Soc. Japan 30, T13, 1977.
35. YONEDA M ., KAWABATA S., Analysis of transient heat conduction in textiles and
its applications, Part II, J Text. Mach. Soc. Japan 31, 7381, 1983.
36. BS 4745 Method for the determination of thermal resistance of textiles.
37. ASTM D 1518 Thermal Transmittance of textile materials.
38. KAWABATA S. and NIWA M ., Modern Textile Characterization Methods, Marcel
Dekker, New York, 329354, 1996.
39. YIP J . and NG S.-P., Study of three-dimensional spacer fabrics: Physical and
mechanical properties, J Matl Processing Tech 206, 359364, 2008.
40. HES L., Thermal properties of nonwovens, in Proceedings of Congress Index 87,
Geneva, 1987.
41. HUANG J ., Thermal parameters for assessing thermal properties of clothing,
Journal of Thermal Biology 31, 461466, 2006.
42. GAGGE A. P., BURTON A. C. and BAZETT H. C., A practical system of units for the
description of heat exchange of man with his environment, Science 94, 428
430, 1941.
43. GOLDMAN R. F ., Thermal comfort factor: concepts and definitions, editors Hollies
N R S and Goldman R F. Clothing comfort: interaction of thermal, ventilation,
construction and assessment factors, Ann Arbor Science, 1977.
Thermal transmission
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
105
6
Moisture transmission
6.1
Introduction
Moisture transmission through textiles has a great influence on the thermophysiological comfort of the human body which is carried out through
perspiration both in vapour and liquid form. The clothing to be worn should
allow this perspiration to be transferred to the atmosphere in order to
maintain the thermal balance of the body. Diffusion, absorptiondesorption
and convection of vapour perspiration along with wetting and wicking of
liquid perspiration play a significant role in maintaining thermophysiological comfort. The scientific understanding of the processes
involved in moisture transmission through textiles and the factors affecting
these processes are important to designing fabrics and clothing assemblies
with efficient moisture transfer in different environment and workload
conditions. The processes which play the major role in moisture
transmission in a particular situation are dependant on the moisture content
of the fabric, the type of material used, the perspiration rate and the
atmospheric conditions, such as humidity, temperature and wind speed.
In a regular atmospheric condition and during normal activity level, the
heat produced by the metabolism is liberated from body to atmosphere by
conduction, convection and radiation and body perspires in vapour form
to maintain the body temperature. At higher activity levels and/or at higher
atmospheric temperatures, the production of heat is very high, which
activates the sweat glands to produce liquid perspiration as well [1]. The
vapour form of perspiration is known as insensible perspiration and the
liquid form as sensible perspiration. When the perspiration is transferred
to the atmosphere, it carries out heat (latent as well as sensible) thus
reducing the body temperature. The fabric being worn should allow the
perspiration to pass through; otherwise it will result discomfort. The
perception of discomfort in the active case depends on the degree of skin
wetness. During sweating, if the clothing moisture transfer rate is slow,
the relative and absolute humidity levels of the clothing microclimate will
increase suppressing the evaporation of sweat. This will increase rectal
and skin temperatures, resulting in heat stress. It is also important to reduce
the degradation of thermal insulation caused by moisture build-up. If the
106
Moisture transmission
107
ratio of evaporated sweat and produced sweat is very low, moisture will
be accumulated in the inner layer of the fabric system, thus reducing the
thermal insulation of clothing [2] and causing unwanted loss in body heat.
Therefore, both in hot and cold weather and during normal and high activity
levels, moisture transmission through fabrics plays a major role in
maintaining the wearers body at comfort. Hence, a clear understanding
of the role of moisture transmission through clothing in relation to body
comfort is important [3]. The textile parameters which are affecting the
clothings moisture transmission properties should be identified to achieve
the required functionality of the clothing by engineering the fabric.
The concept of clothing comfort and the factors influencing the same
have been investigated by various researchers since 1930s till present date.
Researchers have worked to understand the effect of environmental
conditions on the moisture transmission properties of textile assemblies.
Moisture transmission through textile materials can be divided into two
basic principles, namely moisture vapour transmission and liquid water
transmission. The mechanisms involved in transmission of vapour and
liquid moisture through textile materials are quite different. Experimental
work has been conducted by number of researchers to determine the
influence of different material parameters, i.e., surface modification, fibre
and fabric finish, fibre type, thickness and porosity of the material as well
as ambient temperature and pressure on moisture vapour transmission
characteristic of textile materials [49]. The liquid moisture transmission
behaviour of a textile material is generally characterized by different
methods, namely horizontal wicking, transplanar or transverse wicking
and vertical wicking [10, 11]. The effects of different textile parameters,
namely yarn twist, yarn tension, fibre cross-sectional shape, spinning
technologies and texturing on the wicking behaviour of yarn have been
reported by different researchers [1216].
6.2
Moisture transmission
109
cos
Rc
LV
(6.2)
L=
Rc cos 1 2
t
2
(6.3)
Where, L is the capillary rise of the liquid in time t and is the viscosity
of the liquid. The amount of water that wicks through the channel is directly
proportional to the pressure gradient. The capillary pressure increases as
both the surface tension in the solidliquid interface and the capillary radius
decrease. A textile material consists of open capillaries, formed by the
fibre walls [21]. From the Washburn-Lukas equation, it is expected that
capillary rise at a specific time will be faster in a medium with larger pore
size. However, Miller [22], using a comparative wicking study, showed
that this is not always the case. He found that higher initial wicking through
the capillaries with bigger diameter has been overtaken with time by the
capillaries with smaller diameter. A larger amount of liquid mass can be
retained in larger pores but the distance of liquid advancement is limited.
This may be explained by the Laplace equation, as the radius of the capillary
decreases, the pressure generated in the capillary will be higher, causing
faster flow through the capillary. The model developed by Rajagopalan
and Aneja [23] also predicts that at a constant void area increasing the
perimeter of the filaments increases the maximum height attained by the
liquid. Conversely, increasing the void area at a constant perimeter
110
decreases the final height attained but increases the initial rate of liquid
penetration.
With the increase in the packing coefficient of the yarn, the fibres come
closer to each other introducing a greater number of capillaries with smaller
diameter likely to promote liquid flow. In any system where capillarity causes
relative motion between a solid and a liquid, the shape of the solid surfaces
is an important factor, which governs the rate and direction of liquid flow
[24]. The shape of the fibres in an assembly changes the size and geometry
of the capillary spaces between the fibres and consequently the wicking
rate. With an increase in the non-roundness of a fibre, the specific area
increases, thus increasing the proportion of capillary wall that drags the
liquid. The tortuosity [25] of the pores has a great influence on the wicking
process. It depends on the alignment of the fibres as well as on irregularities
in the fibre diameter or shape along the pores. With the increase in the
tortuosity of the pores the wickability reduces [15, 16, 26]. For instance,
yarns spun with natural fibres have very irregular capillaries due to various
factors such as fibre roughness, cross-sectional shape and limited length,
which interrupt the flow along the length of the yarn. In the case of textured
filament yarns, as the number of loops in the yarn increases, the continuity
of the capillaries formed by the filaments decreases as the filament
arrangement becomes more random. Under these conditions wicking is
reduced. The same explanation is also applicable to the slower wicking found
in twisted yarns. During the spinning process, at higher twist levels, slow
migration of fibres takes place along the yam structure, changing the packing
density and resulting in disruption of the continuity, length and orientation
of the capillaries. The twist direction has no significant effect on the yarn
wicking performance. The presence of wrapper filament retards the wicking
as the volume of liquid in the capillaries reduces [13].
The density and geometry of fabric pores, which can be varied according
to woven fabric structure, has a significant influence on the liquid flow
pattern, both in the interstices and downstream. Darcys law is used to
describe a linear and slow steady state flow through a porous media and
is expressed by the following equation [18].
SV
SL
LV
cos
(6.4)
The rate of flow (Q) changes directly with the pressure head (P) and
is inversely proportional to the length of the sample (L0) in the direction
of flow. K is the proportionality constant, known as the flow conductivity
of the porous medium with respect to the fluid. K is dependent on the
properties of the fluid and on the pore structure of the medium [27].
Hydraulic conductivity can be written more specifically in terms of
permeability and the properties of the fluids:
Moisture transmission
K=
111
(6.5)
112
microdenier fibre fabrics, the water up take is high and due to the high
number of capillaries a large amount of moisture can pass very quickly
through them to the atmosphere, thus providing a dry and comfortable
feeling to the wearer [18].
6.2.1
Wettability
The wettability of textile materials is tested to evaluate the wetting
performance. This can be measured by the following methods.
(i) Tensiometry Tensiometer is an instrument used to measure the
wettability of the fabric by measuring the wetting force by Wilhelmy
method. In this method the wetting force (force applied by the surface,
when liquid comes in contact with the surface) is measured. The contact
angles are calculated indirectly from the wetting force when a solid is
brought in contact with the test liquid using Wilhelmy principle [11].
(ii) Goniometry In this method the wettability of a material is measured
by measuring the contact angle between the liquid and the fabric by image
processing method [32]. Automated Contact Angle Tester (ASTM D 572599), HTHP contact angle tester, drop analyzer tester have been developed
based on this principle. Two processes are used, namely static wetting
angle measurement and dynamic wetting angle measurement [33]. The
dynamic contact angle is required as a boundary condition for modelling
problems in capillary hydrodynamics, including certain stages of the droplet
impact problem. The dynamic contact angle differs appreciably from the
static advancing or receding values, even at low velocities. The dynamic
contact angle can also be measured directly through low-power optics,
but it leads to manual error. The dynamic contact angle depends on the
spreading velocity of the contact line. To investigate the dynamic contact
angle of impacting liquid droplets, a series of experiments were conducted
by Sikalo et al. with individual droplets impacting onto dry and smooth
solid surfaces [34]. To observe the spreading of a droplet, high resolution
CCD camera (Sensicam PCO 1240 1024 pixels) equipped with a
magnifying zoom lens was used. The magnification can be manipulated
so that the image can accommodate the maximum spread of droplet [34].
Kamath et al. [35] have developed an apparatus to measure wettability of
filament specimen using liquid membrane technique. The force exerted
by the liquid membrane on the filament specimen as the ring with liquid
membrane moves up or down the filament specimen is measured in this
instrument, thus measures the wetting force. Manchester University
developed UMIST wettability tester which gives the idea of wettability as
well as initial wicking rate of the fabric.
Moisture transmission
113
E sw
E max + 0.06
(6.6)
where Esw is the regulatory sweat evaporation rate, Emax is the maximal
evaporation rate possible in the ambient climate with the present clothing
and skin temperature for a totally wet skin and 0.06 being the minimal
skin wetness (or moisture evaporation) due to diffusion through the skin.
ISO 7730 is used to determine skin temperature, sweat rates and ambient
temperatures for comfort at various metabolic rates. In ISO 7730, required
sweat evaporation at comfort is given as a function of metabolic rate [37]:
E sw Wm 2 = 0.42 (M 58)
(6.7)
where M is the metabolic rate and the sweat evaporation (W/m 2).
Scheurell et al. [30] have developed a technique to measure the fabric
dynamic wetness. In that method they made it possible to observe the
dynamic moisture change in the fabric by treating the fabric with cobaltous
chloride before the experiment and to observe the change in the colour
due to the absorption of moisture during the test.
The general terms and units used for measuring absorption of fabrics
are as follows:
(a) Bulk Material Absorption (BMA) (g g 1 ) it records the total
absorption capacity of the fabric.
(b) Bulk Absorption Rate (BAR) (g g1s1) it calculates the amount of
water absorbed vertically by 1 gm of fabric.
(c) Bulk Absorption Time (BAT) (s) it records the time in seconds it
takes for the water to be absorbed vertically into the fabric.
Wicking
Liquid used for wicking test
The liquid which generally used for testing the wicking (for fabric comfort
evaluation purpose) of a fabric or yarn should represent close to human
sweat. Research suggests that for clothing physiology studies, the test
should employ with a liquid with surface energy properties similar to human
perspiration and heated to human skin temperature of around 35C.
Literature says [38] that the principle electrolytes in sweat include sodium,
chloride (sodium chloride is table salt) and potassium, potassium chloride
114
(is often marked as a table salt substitute). Most human sweat contains at
least 700 mg of sodium per liter, and probably averages around 1000 mg
of sodium per litre. In an experiment, conducted by Simile [39], saline
solution was produced using sodium chloride and water in order to simulate
sweat. Sodium chloride (NaCl) has an atomic mass of 58 g/mol with the
sodium atom occupying 40% of that mass; therefore, 1 g of sodium per
litre equals 2.5 g of NaCl per litre. Converting volume to millilitres, the
solution becomes 0.0025 g NaCl/ml or a 0.25% solution. This solution
was used in a horizontal-downward wicking test with a fabric sample (7
1.5 cm). Comparing the results obtained by the perspiration simulant,
distilled water and tap water, using the same test method, it has been
observed that testing with distilled water can give a good indication of
how a fabric would act when in contact with liquid perspiration [39].
Hernett and Mehta also found very minor differences in their results
comparing heated human perspiration and distilled water [20].
Methods of measurement
After wetting of the fibre, when the liquid reaches in the capillary, a
pressure is developed which forces the liquid to wick along the capillary.
Capillary penetration of a liquid can occur from an infinite (unlimited) or
finite (limited) reservoir [40]. The different forms of wicking from an
infinite reservoir are transplanar or transverse wicking, in-plane wicking
and vertical or longitudinal wicking. A spot test is a form of wicking from
a limited reservoir [11]. In case of vertical capillary rise gravity acts to
slow down the flow rate before the equilibrium is reached [41], this
phenomenon is not there in case of in-plane wicking.
Different published standards propose wide range of test conditions for
evaluation of a particular parameter. For example, BS 3424:1996, Method
21, specifies a very long time period (24 hours) and is intended for coated
fabrics with very slow wicking properties. Whereas DIN 53924, 1978,
specifies much shorter time (5 minutes maximum) and is therefore more
relevant to the studies of clothing comfort involving the transfer of
perspiration.
The terms and units generally used for measuring wicking of fabrics
are as follows:
(a) Amount of Water Wicked (AWW) (g g1) it determines the wicking
capacity of the fabric away from the absorption zone.
(b) SurfaceWater Transport Rate (SWTR) (gg1s1) it calculates the
amount of water wicked by 1 g of fabric per second.
(c) Wicking Time (WT) (s) it is the time in seconds for water to wick
across a specified distance (3.25 cm).
Moisture transmission
115
Moisture transmission
117
been mounted above the plate to record the spreading of the liquid. This
instrument is placed on a compression load cell and is connected to the
bottom of a plate using a plastic tube. This instrument replaces the
electronic controls with an A/D interface card and appropriate software,
which automatically maintains the platform height at the same level,
maintaining a constant pressure head for the testing. They have developed
new types of plates to eliminate the extra capillaries and determine intrinsic
wicking ability of the fabric. In the middle of the plate there is a cylinder
where the liquid enters the system and that is the initial point of absorption/
wicking and is also the only point at which the fabric is touching the plate.
Liquid spreading distribution was determined by analyzing the image
captured by attached camera.
Several techniques have been developed for measurement of vertical
wicking characteristics. In visual observation method the movement of
the liquid along the sample is observed (Fig. 6.4). Sample is hung from a
horizontal fabric hanging attachment and lowered vertically into a reservoir.
The sample comes into contact with the contents of the reservoir at a
perpendicular direction. A little amount of dye is added in the water, which
can enhance the clear observation of the liquid. The movement of the liquid,
in terms of height wicked by the water, is measured with time. Microscopic
observation has also been used by some researchers [25, 46, 47]. A certain
amount of load should be hung at the lower end of the sample to keep it
straight.
Scale
Fabric
Clamp
Reservoir
6.4 Fabric vertical wicking tester.
118
Moisture transmission
119
Diffusion of the water vapour through the air spaces between the
fibres.
Absorption, transmission and desorption of the water vapour by the
fibres.
Adsorption and migration of the water vapour along the fibre surface.
Transmission of water vapour by forced convection.
6.3.1
Diffusion
In the diffusion process, the vapour pressure gradient acts as the driving
force in the transmission of moisture from one side of a textile layer to the
other. The diffusion of moisture vapour through the fibrous assembly is a
mass transfer phenomenon which occurs on a molecular level at lower
speed. The moisture vapour is transported from the higher concentration
zone to the lower concentration zone. Ficks law [52] proposed the relation
between the flux of the diffusing substance and the concentration gradient
with the help of following relationship:
J Ax = DAB
dC A
dx
(6.8)
120
WVT = DS
( p1 p2 ) / l
(6.9)
where, (p1 - p2) = partial pressure gradient between the two surfaces;
l = thickness of the polymer; D = diffusion constant; and S = solubility
coefficient.
Moisture vapour can diffuse through a textile medium by two principles,
namely simple diffusion through the air spaces within the fibrous structure
and diffusion along the fibre itself [53, 54]. In the case of diffusion along
the fibre, moisture vapour diffuses from one surface of the fabric to the
surface of fibre and then travels along the interior of the fibres and its
surface and finally reaches the other surface of fabric. At a specific
concentration gradient the diffusion rate along the textile material depends
on the porosity of the material and also on the water vapour diffusivity of
the fibre. The diffusion coefficient of water vapour through air is 0.239
cm 2s 1 and through cotton fabric is around 107 cm 2 s 1. The moisture
diffusion through the air portion of the fabric is almost instantaneous
whereas through a fabric system it is limited by the rate at which moisture
can diffuse into and out of the fibres, which is due to the lower moisture
diffusivity of the textile material [55]. In the case of hydrophilic fibre
assemblies, vapour diffusion does not obey Ficks law. It is governed by a
non-Fickian, anomalous diffusion [56, 57]. In this case the diffusion process
completes in two stages. The first stage corresponds to Fickian diffusion
but the second stage is much slower which follows an exponential
relationship between the concentration gradient and the vapour flux
[5860]. This diffusion process can be explained by swelling of the fibres.
Due to the affinity of the hydrophilic fibre molecules to water vapour, as
it diffuses through the fibrous system, it is absorbed by the fibres causing
fibre swelling and reducing the size of the air spaces, thus delaying the
diffusion process [61]. According to Li et al. [62] this phenomenon is
mainly due to the fact that the heat of sorption, produced during absorption
of moisture vapour, increases the temperature of the fibrous assemblies,
which in turn affects the rate of moisture transmission. The moisture
diffusivity of a textile material is influenced by a number of factors. It
decreases with an increase in the fibre volume fraction of the material.
With the increase in fibre volume fraction the proportion of air within the
fibrous assembly decreases, this in turn reduces the total diffusivity. The
moisture diffusivity through the fabric decreases with an increase in the
flatness of the fibre cross-section [63]. With an increase in fabric thickness,
the porosity of the material is reduced, thus reducing the diffusion rate.
Moisture transmission
121
P
D = 2.20 10 0
0 P
5
(6.10)
6.3.2
Sorptiondesorption
122
cotton, viscose, wool) the moisture sorption is dependent not only on the
moisture regain and environmental humidity, but also on the phenomena
associated with sorption hysteresis, temperature, dimensional changes,
elastic recovery, swelling of the fibres etc. When fibre absorbs moisture
the fibre macromolecules or microfibrils are normally pushed apart by the
absorbed water molecules and fibre swelling takes place. This reduces the
inter-fibre as well as inter-yarns pores, thus reduces the water vapour
transmission through the fabric. With the increase in fibre swelling the
capillary channels between the fibres get blocked which results lower
wicking. Moreover, the distortion caused by the fibre swelling results in
built up of internal stresses which affects the moisture sorption process.
The mechanical hysteresis of the fibres enhances the adsorption hysteresis
[10]. The adsorption hysteresis increases with the increase in the
hydrophilicity of fibre.
6.3.3
Forced convection
The transmission of moisture vapour that takes place while air is flowing
over a moisture layer is known as forced convection. The amount of
moisture transmission in this process is governed by the difference in
moisture concentration between the surrounding atmosphere and the source
of moisture vapour. The process is governed by the following equation [68]:
Qm = A hm (Ca C )
(6.11)
Moisture transmission
123
6.4
124
6.5
6.5.1
Moisture transmission
125
6.5.2
126
WVT =
24 G
; g / m2 / 24h
AT
(6.12)
6.5.3
In this method the water vapour transmission rates of fabrics are measured
according to ASTM E96, Procedure BW. To prevent the water in the cup
from wetting the specimen in the inverted test, a piece of hydrophobic
PTFE membrane is used to seal over the mouth of the cup. The test
specimen is placed over the membrane. The cup assembly, as shown in
Fig. 6.8, is placed in an inverted position on the upper deck. The cup
assembly is weighed periodically throughout one day. The calculations
are the same as that for the upright cup test. The inverted cup method is
designed mainly for use with waterproof samples, because the fabrics which
allow the passage of liquid water may not be inverted as they will leak.
6.5.4
Moisture transmission
127
WVT = t ( w2 w1 ) / a
(6.13)
6.5.5
128
Ret =
6.5.6
A(Pm Pa )
Ret 0 (m 2Pa/ W)
H H c
(6.14)
6.5.7
This is a faster and more simplified method for measuring the water vapour
transmission behaviour of fabrics. In principle, the cell measures the
humidity generated under controlled conditions as a function of time. There
are two cells, namely lower and upper cells. The cells are separated by the
test specimen. The lower cell is partially filled with water and the upper
cell is almost dry at the start of the test. As the moisture vapour is
Moisture transmission
129
transmitted through the fabric sample the relative humidity of the upper
cell increases with the time. The change in humidity at a given time interval
represents the moisture vapour transmission rate (T) of the fabric. The
standard relationship is,
1440
T = 269 10 7 % RH
Time
Interval
6.5.8
g/in2/day
(6.16)
6.5.9
Holographic bench technique has been developed by Berger and Sari [83].
In this method the mass flow is measured with high accuracy using a microweighing technique. The resistance to the water vapour transfer depends
on the resistance of the air layer and the outer clothing. The resistance
offered by the fabric layer in vapour transmission from the skin to the
atmosphere is much lower than that offered by the external boundary air
layer and often much lower than that of the inner confined air layer between
the skin and the fabric. So, in order to measure the flow resistance of a
textile, one also needs a precise determination of the surrounded air layers.
Holographic bench technique separately measures the water vapour flow
resistance offered by different air layers; thus it provides the precise vapour
resistance value of the textile layer.
6.6
130
which moisture accumulates on the skin and within the clothing layers
and contributes to wearer discomfort. While efforts are being made in the
objective measurement of fabric moisture properties with the anticipation
of relating them to actual wearing conditions, there has been little
refinement of the subjective measurement of such factors. Moisture
sensation of clothing can be expressed either in terms of absolute threshold
or in terms of difference threshold.
6.6.1
Absolute threshold
6.6.2
Difference threshold
/ = c
(6.17)
Moisture transmission
131
It may be noted that the moisture sensation is only one of the many
sensations contributing to clothing comfort. Future investigations of
moisture sensation or other sensorial comfort variables could examine the
effects of various levels of these factors on subject sensitivity [84].
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
PARSONS K . C .,
132
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
Moisture transmission
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
133
134
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
Moisture transmission
81.
135
HES L ., A new indirect method for fast evaluation of the surface moisture
absorptivity of engineered garments, Internet Conference on Engineered Textiles,
UMIST, Manchester, UK, 1998.
82. GIBSON P. W., Water vapour transport and gas flow properties of textiles, polymer
membranes and fabric laminates, J Coated Fabrics 28(4), 300327, 1999.
83. BERGER X. and SARI H., A new dynamic clothing model. Part 1: Heat and mass
transfers, Int J Therm Sci 39, 673683, 2000.
84. SWEENEY M . M . and BRANSON D. H., Sensorial comfort. Part I: A psychophysical
method for assessing moisture sensation in clothing, Text Res J 60, 371, 1990.
136
7
Dynamic heat and mass transmission
7.1 Introduction
Dynamic transmissions of dry and wet heat are the important characteristics
of a clothing assembly to characterize its thermophysiological behaviour.
Each fabric layer is characterized by the two types of resistances, namely
the resistance to dry heat (insulation) and moisture vapour resistance. The
dry resistance is proportional to the thickness of the fabric layer, whereas
for moisture vapour permeability along with other parameters the
construction of the fabric layer is also important. Both for the insulation
and the moisture vapour permeability the thickness of the enclosed air layers
in an ensemble is of major importance. Insulation is increased more by a
non-moving air layer than by a textile layer. The moisture vapour permeability
is generally more dependent on the fabric parameters, but it decreases with
increasing thickness of air layers. When a person is in dynamic state the air
enclosed within the clothing also comes into dynamic state. This result in
disturbance in the thermal gradients by forced convective movements of air
through openings of clothing and the enclosed air transmits directly through
fabric layers to the environment. This air exchange reduces the insulation
and increases the moisture vapour permeability of the clothing ensemble
considerably. The final exchange of heat and moisture vapour is dependent
on level and pattern of activity and on the size of the openings. Wind and
physical movements decrease the insulating air layer sticking to the outside
surface of the clothing assembly. With large openings in the clothing structure
the wind penetrates into the clothing thus increases the heat loss. In strong
windy situation the high air velocity may compress the clothing and thus
reduce its insulation as the enclosed air layers are reduced. Insulation of
clothing also reduces if the clothing gets soaking wet with sweat or water.
The evaporative heat dissipation from wet clothing can be of significant
extent especially when the air velocity is high. Spencer-Smith [1] proposed
to quantify the wind induced reduction in thermal insulation of clothing by
a reduction factor, which was proportional to the wind velocity and the square
root of the fabric air permeability. The thermal insulation of a clothing
136
137
ensemble can be estimated from the component garments and the fabric
thickness. In addition to the normal modes of heat transmission, namely
conduction, convection and radiation, the transmission of heat through the
clothing system involves the latent heat of various phase changes within
fibrous materials. The processes of transmission of heat and moisture vapour
are coupled by the exchange of the latent heat during the phase changes
such as evaporation or condensation, absorption or desorption and freeze or
melting. The thermal characteristics of clothing assemblies are largely
determined by these dynamic heat and moisture transfer processes. So,
dynamic heat and moisture transmission characteristics of clothing are
extremely important phenomena that control the thermophysiological
comfort of a person.
During high activity when a clothed person sweats, the sweat
accumulates within the clothing ensemble. After the person comes to the
resting state and the metabolic rate decreases, the body then does not need
evaporative cooling any more. At that time sweating stops, but the
evaporation of moisture from the clothing ensembles continues, which
provides unwanted cooling. This is the dynamic situation of heat and
moisture vapour transmission. The dynamic heat and moisture vapour
transmission characteristics of clothing cannot be expressed by the
parameters used for steady-state conditions.
The clothed human body is, in most of the time, under dynamic state,
i.e. it is subjected to changes in environmental variables, clothing and
levels of activity. Clothing, particularly those made from hygroscopic fiber,
e.g., cotton and wool, plays a major role during dynamic state. The heat
transmission between the body and the environment may be affected
significantly by the dynamic response of the clothing. Heat can bring
prevailing impact on clothing, when moisture is absorbed by the clothing.
This phenomenon is greatly affected by either the change of environmental
conditions or physiological changes in the body such as the metabolic
heat or rate of sweating.
7.2
138
7.2.1
139
7.2.2
Dampness
140
141
Sweat evaporation
Liquid
Moisture vapour
Clothing
Microclimate region
Metabolic heat
Body sweat
(liquid and vapour)
Human skin
Release of heat
Sweat evaporation
Liquid
Moisture vapour
Clothing
Microclimate region
Metabolic heat
Human skin
Body sweat
(liquid and vapour)
142
Sweating starts
Wool
Heat flux (W/m2)
Polyester
Exercise time
7.3 Heat flux at the outer clothing surface during exercise. [12]
143
144
7.3
7.3.1
Yarn characteristics
In the studies conducted by Das et al. [17, 18], the bulking treatment of
ring spun cotton yarn reduces the thermal conductivity of fabrics as
compared to 100% cotton fabric, which may be attributed to very bulky
structure of the weft which works as an insulating medium. It entrapped
air in the loose fibrous assembly spaces and does not allow heat of inner
layer to transmit to outer layer. Moisture vapour transmission is an
important parameter in evaluating comfort characteristics of a fabric, as
it represents the ability to transfer perspiration coming out of the body.
The MVTR values of the bulked yarn fabrics are more than that of 100%
cotton fabric. Since yarn structure plays important role in transmission
of water vapour, the open structure of bulked yarn have better cover
factor which allows water vapour to transfer from inside to outside
through diffusion.
Similarly the fabrics produced from yarns with micro-pores within the
yarn structure show higher MVTR value than the reference fabric from
100% cotton normal yarn [19]. The increase in the moisture vapour
transmission rate with increase in the micro-pores is due to better exchange
of water molecules in vapour form between two faces of the fabric. The
micro-pores assist in transfer of water particles in vapour form from one
surface to the other surface by diffusion through them. The fabrics with
micro-pores content in the yarn have lower thermal conductivity as compare
to 100% cotton reference fabric sample [19]. This is due to the fact that
the micro-pores within the yarn structure entrap more air. Since the air is
a poor conductor of heat as compared to fibre, thus resists transmission of
heat through fabric.
7.3.2
145
It has been reported [16] that all the individual mechanisms of heat flux
(W/m2), i.e. total heat flux, conduction, radiation and moisture diffusion,
decrease with the increase in environment temperature, hence heat flux
decreases with the decrease in the driving force. In the case of fabric surface
temperatures, the inner surface is less sensitive than the outer surface.
7.3.3
The total heat flux and individual heat transfer mechanisms, moisture
fraction at the inner and outer fabric surfaces, and temperature at the inner
and outer surfaces of fabrics decrease with the increase in microclimate
thickness [16]. The decrease in heat flux is the result of increased air layer
which behaves like an insulating material. The contribution of radiation
increases with the increase in microclimate thickness, since radiation is
independent of microclimate thickness while the fabric surface temperature
is lowered.
7.3.4
The total heat flux varies about 20% when fabric thickness changes from
0.5 to 5 mm [16]. The lower variation in total heat flux compared to the
variation in microclimate thickness is due to the fact that the thermal
conductivity of fabric is larger than the air layer between skin and clothing
(i.e. microclimate) and, hence, the result is less sensitive to fabric thickness
than microclimate thickness. The effect of fabric thickness is larger when
the thickness of microclimate is smaller.
7.3.5
146
7.4 Heat and mass transfer from human body covered with
tight-fit and loose-fit garments .
of outer garment to create dynamic heat and mass exchange. The actual
mechanism of dynamic heat and mass transfer through clothing system
is generally very complicated. In order to simplify the analysis under
steady state, one can consider the dry heat flow through clothing as
consisting of two parts: the first part is induced by conduction, convection
and radiation, and the other part induced by air ventilation and wind
penetration. Similarly the heat flow due to moisture evaporation can also
be regarded as consisting of two parts: the part induced by diffusion and
convection and the other part induced by air ventilation and wind
penetration [15]. It is evident from Fig. 7.4 that the entire dry heat (H dryt)
generated by human body transmits initially through the tight-fit inner
garment (H ig) and then divided into two components, i.e. heat flow without
mass transmission and heat flow with mass transmission, while
transmitting through the loose-fit outer garment. The heat flow without
mass transmission through tight-fit inner garment (H di) is governed by
conduction (H cn), convection (H cv) and radiation (H rad). The heat flow
with mass transmission is governed by moisture evaporation (H mev), i.e.
147
(7.1)
Since the total dry heat transmitted through tight-fit inner garment (Hdi)
must transmit through the loose-fit outer garments and the outer surface
of the clothing ensemble, we have:
Hdi = Hdo = H dos
(7.2)
where H do is the dry heat loss through the outer garments and H dos is the
dry heat loss from the outer surface of clothing ensemble. The evaporative
heat loss by moisture transfer (H mev) must transmit through the outer
garments and the outer surface of the ensemble. The evaporative or latent
heat transfer through outer garments should be equal to the evaporative or
latent heat loss from the outer surface of the clothing ensemble. After
passing through the tight-fit inner garment, the total evaporative heat
generated by sweat evaporation is divided into two components:
evaporative heat loss through the outer garments (H evo) and evaporative
heat loss directly into the environment by air ventilation and/or wind
penetration (H veno). The relationship can be written as:
Hmev = Hevo = Hveno
(7.3)
The temperature of air gap between two layers of fabrics increases when
water vapour transmission takes place and the increase in temperature is
almost proportional to the water vapour absorption rate of the fabric [20].
The dynamic thermal response of different types of clothing ensemble is
predominantly governed by the moisture sorption and desorption in
hygroscopic fabrics [21]. The thermal parameters that describe the dynamic
response of fabrics due to the changes in physiological and environmental
conditions are more important than those under steady-state conditions.
Faster the vapour pressure build-up at the inner fabric surface as well as
in the microclimate, the stronger the discomfort sensations will occur.
Higher moisture vapour pressure at the inner fabric surface and
microclimate results in more intense sensation of discomfort. The surface
temperature of clothing changes during the dynamic transmission of
moisture vapour within the clothing. In case of hygroscopic fibres the
increase in the surface temperature is due to release of more heat from
moisture sorption. The more heat loss from the body during transient period,
the better the heat and moisture transfer property of the fabric [22].
148
7.4
149
Rt = As (Ts Ta ) / H s + H p H e
(7.4)
where As is the total surface area of the manikin; T s is the mean skin
temperature; Ta is the mean temperature of the environment; H s is the heat
supplied to the manikin or generated by the heaters; Hp is the heat generated
by the pump (Hp is measured by determining the power supply to the pump);
and H e is the evaporative heat loss from water evaporation.
Evaporative heat loss is calculated by using the following equation [7]:
He = Q
(7.5)
(7.6)
150
A(Tm Ta )
Ra 0 (m2K/W)
H H c
(7.7)
where, Ra is the thermal resistance of the fabric and Ra0 is the intrinsic
thermal resistance of the instrument. Tm and Ta are the temperatures of the
guarded plate and air consecutively.
The dry heat resistance Rt of the fabric is measured in PERMETEST by
measuring the difference between the heat flow with and without sample,
1
1
Rt = (T1 T0 )
S .u1 S .u 0
(7.8)
T1, T0 are the temperatures with and without samples respectively; u1 and
u0 are output voltages with and without sample. S is the sensitivity of
instrument.
The sweating guarded hot plate simulates both heat and moisture vapour
transfer from the body surface through the clothing layers to the
environment. It measures both the thermal resistance and water vapour
resistance of fabrics [28].
A sweating guarded hot plate (Fig. 7.5) consists of test plate, guard
pate, temperature controller and water supply unit [20].
The test plate, fixed to a metal block with heating element, is a square
porous metal plate. The square test section in the centre of the plate is
151
surrounded by the guar plate, which prevents lateral heat leakage from the
edges of the specimen. The bottom plate beneath the test section prevents
the downward heat loss from the test plate and guard plate. This
arrangement ensures that both the heat and/or moisture transmit in upward
direction only, i.e. along the specimen thickness direction. A square fabric
specimen is mounted on the square porous test plate that is heated to a
constant temperature that approximates body skin temperature (35C). The
plate temperature is measured by the sensor sandwiched directly underneath
the plate surface. The electrical power to maintain the constant temperature
is recorded. The whole apparatus is housed in a chamber so that the
environmental conditions can be carefully controlled. For the determination
of thermal resistance of the sample, the air temperature, relative humidity
and the air speed generated by the air flow hood are controlled as per the
standard specifications. The thermal resistance of the fabric is measured
in similar way as that of normal guarded hot plate system, i.e. without any
moisture vapour. Total thermal resistance (Rh) of the fabric under the steady
state condition is given by [22]
Rh = A(Ts Ta)/H m2 C/W
(7.9)
where A the area of the test section (m2), Ts the surface temperature of the
plate (C), Ta the temperature of the ambient air (C), and H the electrical
power (W).
To measure the moisture transmission characteristics of the fabrics,
distilled water is supplied to the surface of the porous plate from a dosing
device. The dosing device is normally activated when the water level in
the plate is about 1 mm below the plate surface. The water entering the
measuring unit is preheated. A level switch is connected to the measuring
unit to maintain a constant rate of evaporation. A water vapour permeable
and liquid water impermeable membrane is fitted over the plate. The test
fabric is placed above the membrane. The electrical power to maintain the
152
(7.10)
where Ps the water vapour pressure at the plate surface (kPa), Pa the water
vapour pressure of the air (kPa), and H the electrical power (W).
7.4.1
P
100%
Ps
(7.11)
and
T 273.15
Ps = 4.607 exp 17.06
T 40.25
(7.12)
153
P
2
1
=
Ps w RT r
(7.13)
154
Fan et al. [37] and Murata [38] have also set experimental apparatuses
to measure the condensation in the fibrous material maintaining a hot and
humid surface and another cold wall. Fukazawa et al. [39] have developed
an apparatus to measure the water vapour resistance of the textiles with
and without temperature and pressure differences imposed on both sides
of the fabric, and also to see the effect of the temperature and pressure
difference on the condensation in the textile material.
7.5
7.5.1
Evaporative transmissibility
7.5.2
(7.14)
155
im
hc ( I a + I cl )
(7.15)
7.5.3
(7.16)
LR = he / hc
(7.17)
The Lewis ratio equals approximately 16.5 K/kPa for typical indoor
conditions [43]. Evaporative heat loss from the skin depends on the amount
of moisture on the skin and the difference between the water vapour
pressure at the skin and in the ambient environment. Skin wettedness is
the ratio of the actual evaporative heat loss to the maximum possible
evaporative heat loss, emax, under the same environmental conditions and
for a completely wet skin the value of Ws is 1. Evaporative heat loss from
the skin is a combination of the evaporation of sweat secreted because of
thermoregulatory control mechanisms and the natural diffusion of water
through the skin. With no regulatory sweating, skin wettedness caused by
156
7.5.4
Clothing ventilation
References
1.
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8
Garment fit and comfort
8.1
Introduction
159
160
8.2
Relationship between the size and design of clothing with the form of the
body is a complex problem of ergonomics engineering. Determination of
even the most basic pattern shapes requires complex decisions related to
dimension, all of which are related to the dimensions of the body for which
the clothing is produced, but not necessarily are equal to the body size.
Designing clothing for a specific individual body size also poses
tremendous challenges when one wants to consider all the aspects, like
fit, design, aesthetic or other comfort related aspects together. Extensive
use of computer software helps in the development of patterns by measuring
the body, analyzing anthropometric data, drafting clothing patterns, and
designing and manufacturing clothing. Such technology facilitates largescale anthropometric studies and the development of improved-fit models
and sizing standards for mass production. It also encourages the expansion
of custom clothing production by providing a more accurate and costeffective means for fitting the individual. Essentially, the problem of fitting
a garment to the human body involves the spatial relationship of the twodimensional garment plane to the body surface [2].
The dimensions of pattern of a garment are not identical to the
corresponding dimensions across the body surface. Therefore, the process
of determining pattern dimensions from body dimensions must ultimately
be evaluated as the three-dimensional correspondence of the resulting
garment to the body form. Pattern dimensions have often been determined
by a process of (1) taking linear (length and circumference) measurements
over the body surface with measuring tape and then (2) applying those
measurements in some predetermined manner to the pattern draft. This
process of garment sizing may results in improper fit and needs repeated
trials and fittings of the garment by a skilled technician after the pattern is
cut from cloth. Experience, therefore, demonstrates that these linear bodysurface measurements are not directly applicable to pattern dimensions
and are useful primarily as approximations. Another type of data
traditionally used in pattern development is the visual assessment of body
configuration by the expert eye of the tailor.
161
Gazzuolo et al. [2] compared the photographic body data with linear
anthropometric data and subsequently predicted pattern dimensions. Their
work involved taking traditional linear measurements of body,
photographing the body and measuring the photographs. They determined
the pattern shapes by a methodology which located fabric planes directly
on the body. They have (i) developed statistical models predicting key
measurements of a garment pattern from standard linear measurements;
(ii) developed comparable models for predicting garment pattern
measurements from quantities measured from the photographs; and (iii)
compared these models to determine whether linear or photographic
measurements had greater predictive power for determining garment
patterns. They have observed that the photographic model has predictive
power in the determination of pattern dimensions; there are several
advantages to this method of anthropometric data collection. Photographic
techniques are far less intrusive and more efficient with regard to time,
effort and cost than are manual tape measure techniques.
8.3
8.3.1
The size and fit of a garment has direct influence on the comfort
characteristics. In a loose-fitting garment the volume of entrapped still air
is more and has larger openings at places like the neck, waist, wrist, and
ankles, which cause greater reductions in their thermal insulation and
moisture vapour resistance during windy conditions and body movement.
Figures 8.1a and 8.1b show the typical shapes of loose-fit and tight-fit
garments [3]. The tight-fit garment is designed to fit tight to the skin in
order to allow the technical aspects of the garment to work effectively.
However, no such garment should be so tight as to restrict freedom of
movement. Generally the tight-fit garment is designed to fit all contours
of the body and compress core muscle groups. The normal-fit garment, on
the other hand, provides a less tight-fit but still provides all the benefits of
moisture transmission and thermal management in appropriate locations.
The loose-fit garments are designed as a comfort fit with all the moisture
management benefits and generally worn as a casual garment or an outer
garment. In a research work conducted by McCullough et al. [4], the
thermal insulation of two pairs of loose-fitting and two pairs of
corresponding tight-fitting long trousers were measured, using a standing
manikin in little wind (air velocity in the chamber was less than 0.11 m/s).
They have observed that the loose-fitting trousers have much greater
thermal insulation than the corresponding tight-fitting trousers (33% more
for the tweed trousers and 48% more for the denim trousers). In another
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8.3.2
The comfort related to garment pressure and fit mainly depend on the
tactile responses of human body which include thermal and moisture
perceptions, prickle related to allergic reactions and reactions to the surface
texture of materials, friction between clothing and skin surface and pressure
sensations. Two categories of tactile sensations are somesthetic sensations
and kinesthetic sensations. The somesthetic sensations are touch response
from the nerves in the surface of the skin. Tickle, prickle and abrasion are
somesthetic responses to clothing. The kinesthetic sensations or the deep
pressure sensations are felt by the nerves in the muscles and the joints [6].
Pressure sensations created by the resistance of the garment to movement
and the weight of the garment in response to movement are kinesthetic
responses to clothing fit [7].
The multidirectional and random forces generated during dynamic
interactions between a garment and a moving human body generates
pressure sensations. The discomfort level of clothing pressure was found
to be between 60 and 100 g/cm2, depending on the individual and the part
of the body concerned, which is similar to blood pressure in the capillary
163
blood vessels near the skin surface [8]. So, the pressure exerted by a
garment is an important design criterion and is affected by its style, fit and
mechanical properties. It is directly related to the degree of space allowance
(F, the difference between the surface areas of garment and body) between
the body and the garment during body movement. According to the degree
of space allowance (F), garments can be classified into three types:
foundation garments (F < 0), perfectly fitting garments (F = 0) and loose
fitting garments (F > 0). In foundation garment the area of garment is less
than the body area (such as womens close-fitting foundation garment,
pressure garment, etc.). These are mainly designed to apply a certain level
of pressure on the body part concerned when the body is in active condition
or at rest. The perfectly fitting garments are those where the garment area
is exactly equal to the body area (such as tights, socks, body stockings,
etc.) and have a figure-shaping function but are not designed to apply
pressure to the body. Therefore, a perfectly fitting garment only restricts
body movement as a result of garment pressure, but no pressure is applied
when the body rests. In loose-fitting garments the area of the garment is
larger than the body area (such as loose-fit outer wear, casuals etc.). As
the movement of body can reduce the space allowance, loose-fitting
garments may also sometime exert pressure on the body at contact areas.
Therefore, the level of garment pressure varies significantly for different
wear situations, depending on four factors namely, design and fit of the
garment, shape of the body part, mechanical properties of the underlying
tissue, and mechanical properties of the fabrics [9].
The evaluation of human comfort due to garment fit and subjective
garment pressure sensations are generally done by conducting wear trials
[1012]. In the study conducted by Makabe et al. [11] the garment pressure
was measured on the covered area at the waist for corsets and waistbands
and conducted a sensory test for garment pressure. Their results indicate
that the garment pressure at the waist is influenced by the area covered,
respiration and the ability of the garment to assume the complex body
curvature during the body movement. During subjective evaluation of
garment pressure and comfort sensations at the waist, they have observed
that in the lower garment pressure range (015 gf/cm 2) no sense of
discomfort is there. In the medium range of garment pressure (1525 gf/cm2)
negligible or only slight discomfort is perceived. But in higher pressure
range, i.e. when the garment pressure exceeds 25 gf/cm 2, extreme
discomfort is perceived. Denton [8] pointed out that as the body curvature
increases the garment pressure on the body increases. The body curvature
of average womens waist at the sides is roughly 3.5 times greater than
that at the front, so unwanted pressure on the sides of the waist is 3.5
times greater than the desired figure flattening pressure on the front [9].
164
Similar finding has also been reported during the measurement of internal
pressure exerted by pressure bandage using Laplace equation [13]. As per
the Laplace equation it is expected that the exerted internal pressure (P)
would increase with increase in curvature of the limb. The Laplace equation
is given below,
P = T n w
r
(8.1)
8.3.3
165
8.4
8.4.1
Chen et al. [15] reported that, in case of smaller air gap between skin
and the garment (for medium fit garment), both the thermal insulation
and moisture vapour resistance increases at higher rate with the increase
in the thickness of the air gap between the garment and the body. The
rate of increase gradually decreases as the air gap becomes higher (as
the garment becomes loose-fit), and the rate of increase is much less
than that of the theoretically ideal still air due to natural and forced
convection. When the air gap exceeds a certain value (in case of very
loose-fit garment), possibility of drop in thermal insulation and moisture
vapour resistance is there with the increase in the air gap. This is due
to the fact that in loose-fit garments, there are easy passages of adjacent
atmospheric air to penetrate through the openings and interfere with
the still air of the microclimate. Also the air gap results in greater natural
convection. Thermal insulation and moisture vapour resistance reach a
maximum at a certain air gap thickness depending on fabric properties,
wind conditions and garment fit. Tighter fitting garments are preferable
to keep the body warm in windy. Chen et al. [15], during their study
with open-structured knitted garment, reported that in absence of wind
the maximum thermal insulation was reached with air gap thickness of
approximately 1 cm, corresponding to a difference of 7.5 cm in girth
between the garment and the body. On the other hand, in windy
conditions the maximum thermal insulation reached at lower air gap
thickness (i.e. approximately 0.6 cm thick), corresponding to a
difference of 5 cm in girth between the garment and the body. More
natural and forced convection is believed to cause the slower increase
of thermal insulation and vapour resistance with the increase in air gap
thickness.
166
8.4.2
Garment ventilation
8.4.3
Due to metabolic action, the human body continually produces heat. The
clothing system contributes greatly to thermal comfort through the
regulation of heat balance. The size and fit of a garment influences the
thickness of microclimate. The fluctuation of microclimate occurs very
frequently due to activity and body movement. This phenomenon is very
significant in case of loose-fit garments. Shigaki et al. [19] have reported
the changes in garment surface temperature on a garment made of cotton
and polyester fabrics, due to fluctuation of relative humidity of
microclimate. They have reported that with the rapid fluctuation of relative
humidity of microclimate the surface temperature of cotton garment
fluctuates significantly, whereas in case of polyester garment the fluctuation
was smaller than cotton. Figure 8.2 shows the typical changes in the surface
167
8.4.4
169
8.5
170
Enlarged view of
scanning assembly
Scanning
assembly
Scanning
assembly
Scanning
assembly
CCD Cameras
Scanning
assembly
Laser source
171
which consists of charge coupled device (CCD) camera, laser source and
computer, and (ii) image recognition software.
It can be observed from Fig. 8.4 that the scanning assembly consists
of a structural frame to keep the scanning devices in their required
positions. Curtains are generally hung from the frame to minimize the
interferences of outside light. The vertical columns, located in the four
corners, are containing the scanning assemblies. The scanning assembly
(shown in enlarged view) consists of a laser and two CCD cameras. All
the four scanning assemblies are connected with an elevator assembly
that travels up and down in the vertical columns. After the proper
calibration, all the four elevator assemblies travel downward direction
in unison and sweep the scanning zone with a horizontal plane of laser
light. During this process the laser light illuminates the contour of the
human body standing within the scanning area and the CCD cameras
record discrete points on these contours at each horizontal point [26].
The total scanning process takes few seconds. The data from the CCD
cameras are then transmitted to the computer through the A/D converter
and the image recognition software finally creates a point cloud
representation of the body contour. The point cloud data are then used
for the representation of human body size.
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SMITH J . E .,
172
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