Search results

The purpose of this study is to investigate the shape change of breast during movement to inform product development of bras and other female wearable products.

Using the latest 4D body scanning technology, the authors monitored the change of seven non-circumferential breast measurements, including four linear measurements (widths, depth, etc.) and three angular measurements, across nine dynamic scans of a complete gait cycle during running. A series of statistical analysis were conducted to thoroughly investigate the measurement values in dynamic states compared with values extracted from static 3D scans.

Major findings are as follows: (1) For width-underbust, chest-depth, vertical-acromion and angle ABD, more than half of the dynamic frames presents a significant difference with the static frame. (2) Width-underbust and chest-depth measured in static can underestimate the actual values under motion. (3) vertical-acromion presents a W-shaped general trend for the nine dynamic frames with peaks observed at the keyframes (i.e. when a participant's right or left knee bends the most and rises to its highest level) and lows at the intermediate frames. (4) Angle ABD and angle BAD both present an M-shaped general trend, the exact opposite of a W-shaped trend.

While 3D body scanning and motion capture systems have both contributed significantly to the study of breast, 4D body scanning incorporates the advantages of both technologies and captures the 3D surface of the body during movement at each instant moment. This is one of the first studies that adopt the new technology for apparel applications.

Maintaining air circulation between the wearer and garment layer is crucial for activating heat and moisture transfer from the body. If an air gap is trapped, air circulation may become ineffective and the ventilation of the garment is, thus, hindered. To maintain and extend the air gap, this study aims to propose a design method that involves placing spacer blocks underneath the garment to prevent the fabric from clinging directly to the skin.

To study the application of this design method, a series of T-shirts were produced and tested using a thermal manikin in standing and walking postures. All the T-shirts were made of fabric ostensibly manufactured to have high air permeability. Porous mesh fabric was used to construct the vented panels on the T-shirts. The test was conducted in a chamber with controlled temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. Total thermal insulation (R_t) and moisture vapour resistance (R_et) were measured.

The test results showed that extension of the air gap between wearer and fabric provided higher ventilation to the wearer if the vented panels were also present on the T-shirts. Different placements of the vented panels on the T-shirts also affected the heat and moisture transfer from the thermal manikin.

Due to limited resources, the evaluation of total thermal insulation and moisture vapour resistance was based on the testing result from a thermal manikin instead of any subjective wearer trial.

This research can contribute to the clothing designer who is developing function wear for a better ventilation.

This research can contribute to the clothing designer who is developing function wear for a better ventilation.

This study aimed to further develop a new design concept in T-shirt design by improving the construction of the spacer blocks. Fabric with higher air and water vapour permeability was used to determine to what extent this design method is applicable to higher performance on heat and moisture transfer.

In previous studies, enlarging the air gap between fabric and the skin through the placement of spacer blocks has been proven to improve air ventilation, particularly when the pumping effect is activated during movement. These studies evaluated only the total thermal insulation (R_t) and moisture vapour resistance (R_et) by using a fabric thermal manikin. The purpose of this paper is to report the experience, perceived comfort level, and ventilation effect of two designed T-shirts in a wearer trial.

An athletic T-shirt (Vented Design) was designed by attaching spacer blocks to the underside of the fabric to enlarge the air gap. Eight subjects participated in the wearer trial, which comprised 30 min treadmill running, followed by 10 min of rest. At different points during the 40 min test period, subjects rated their body coolness, skin dryness, and overall comfort of the designed T-shirt. The testing was repeated with participants wearing the same T-shirt but without spacer blocks, which served as a control garment. The mean skin temperature of each subject was also measured to support survey findings.

The data were evaluated using independent t-tests. The T-shirt with spacer blocks provided higher ventilation than the control T-shirt after 10 min of running. Research limitations – because of limited resources, only eight subjects were recruited to this study. In addition, more T-shirt designs should be tested in the future to elucidate how T-shirt design affects ventilation performance.

This study investigated a T-shirt design wherein the air gap between the skin surface and fabric was increased. The results of the wearer trial showed that this design could be adopted as a design brief for further design development of related clothing. This study has implications for clothing designers developing functional clothing with improved ventilation.

The purpose of this paper is to develop multilayer clothing assemblies consisting of fibrous battings and reflective nano-fibrous thin layers for cold protective clothing for improved thermal insulation.

Thermal insulation values of totally 20 assemblies made of varying layers of a thick polyester batting and four different types of thin interlayers were measured using a guarded hot-plate to investigate the effect of the properties of thin interlayers and construction of multilayer assemblies on thermal insulation. Cold protective jackets filled with polyester battings sandwiched with or without interlayers were also made and tested on the sweating fabric manikin-Walter.

Results show that the Rosseland mean extinction coefficients of the thin interlayer and the associated radiative thermal conductivity of the interlayers have significant influence on thermal insulation of the assembly when more than one reflective nano-fibrous interlayers are sandwiched in the assembly. The cold protective jacket filled with multilayer polyester battings and reflective nano-fibrous interlayers have better thermal insulation and moisture permeability index (i_m) than those filled with the same multilayer polyester battings, but with non-reflective nonwoven interlayers or without interlayers.

This paper clearly demonstrates the advantages of reflective nano-fibrous thin material for interlayers in the cold projective jacket.

In today’s fashion world, technology has taken on an important role for the creation of novel design effects. As a type of digital technology, laser engraving is applied for decorative purposes with unique fashion design looks. With this technology, simple and complex patterns can be engraved onto the surface of garments by using laser beam scanning. This study explores the application of laser technology on assembled garments for diverse engraved patterns. To improve the visual appearance, different design methods, such as the graphic and resist methods, are applied for carbon dioxide (CO2) laser engraving onto garments made from rayon/polyester blended fabric with optimal laser engraving parameters, including resolution (dpi) and pixel time (μs). This study also reveals the many potential of fashion designs through the use of laser engraving technology. Based on computer-aided design, laser engraving could open up new possibilities for green fashion design with distinct patterns and textures that would cater to the demands of industries and consumers.

This paper investigated the impact of the distance of the heating unit from the body in a multi-layered winter clothing system on effective thermal insulation and heating efficiency.

To identify changes in the thermal insulation and heating efficiency of electrical heating in different layers inside a winter clothing ensemble, a series of thermal manikin tests was conducted. A multi-layered winter ensemble with and without activation of a heating unit was tested on the thermal manikin under two different ambient temperature conditions (10°C and -5°C).

Results show that the effective thermal insulation of test ensembles increased by 5-7% with the activation of the heating unit compared to that without the activation. The closer the heating unit to the body, the higher the effective thermal insulation was in both ambient temperature conditions. This trend was more significant at lower ambient temperature.

The results of this study indicate that providing electric heating next to the skin is the most effective in increasing effective thermal insulation and decreasing body heat loss in both ambient temperature (-5°C and 10°C). This trend was more remarkable in colder environment at -5°C of ambient temperature as evidenced by sharp decrease in heating efficiency and effective thermal insulation with an increase in distance between the manikin skin and heating unit at -5°C of ambient temperature compared to at 10°C of ambient temperature.

Based on the results, it is expected that proximity heating next to the skin, in cold environment, may reduce the weight and size of the battery for the heating unit because of the higher efficiency of electric heating and the potentially immediate perception of warmth supported by the greatest increase in effective thermal insulation, as well as the lowest heat loss that comes with activation of heating on the first layer in cold environment.

The finding of this study provides guidelines to sportswear designers, textile scientists, sports enthusiasts, and civilians who consider electric heating benefits for improved thermal comfort and safety in cold environments, especially in the areas of outdoor and winter sports and in military service. The results of this study indicate that providing electric heating next to the skin is the most effective in increasing effective thermal insulation and decreasing body heat loss in both ambient temperature (-5°C and 10°C).

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

This article introduces a new technique for the design and construction of manikins used for the assessment of thermal insulation clothing. In such a manikin, the skin is made of waterproof fabrics, and heated water circulates inside the body. This manikin is considerably cheaper to construct than any existing copper manikin and it can be easily used for routine tests for outdoor and military garments. Detailed considerations in the design and construction of such a fabric manikin are presented here.

Examines the fifteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.