DETERMINATION OF COOLNESS AND DAMPNESS SENSATIONS CREATED BY FABRICS BY FOREARM TEST AND FABRIC MEASUREMENTS

摘要

Clothing is continuously in an interaction with the body both thermally and mechanically. Different sensations constituting the comfort status of a person arise as a result of this interaction. Coolness sensation perceived during skin-fabric contact is one of these sensations arising from the transient heat flow from skin to the fabric as skin is usually warmer than clothing. In this study, coolness to touch and dampness sensations created by knitted fabrics having different compositions and physical surface characteristics were investigated by forearm test conducted on seven males. Besides physical properties (weight, yarn count, thickness, density), surface roughness and friction properties of the inner surfaces of the fabrics touching the skin were also determined. Microscopic photographs were taken to have an idea about hairiness properties of the inner surfaces and optical porosity values were calculated by analysis of the microscopic images by using MATLAB software. It was found out that coolness and dampness sensations arise during skin-fabric contact are mostly related to the permeability and surface roughness characteristics of fabrics, and the effect of fabric material is more on dampness sensation than coolness sensation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In the recent years, consumers pay attention more to the mechanical, thermal and visual sensations stimulated by the dynamic body-clothing interactions besides the aesthetic properties of their clothing. They take into consideration feelings they have during first touch with the clothing into their purchase decisions. Coolness to touch sensation perceived during first contact with the fabric and dampness sensation - which is very important during wear conditions including sweating - are two of them and they are related to the thermophysiological aspect of clothing comfort. For producing garments giving desirable feelings, it is very important to determine fabric properties influencing these sensations. A subjective evaluation method - the forearm test - was used to find out the relationships between coolness and dampness sensations and fabric properties. Results of this study are thought to be beneficial data for fabric manufacturers aiming to produce clothing for specific end users.