Clothing Technology: Clothing Comfort And Body Microclimate

One of the main purposes of the use of textile technology is to carry out systematic functional clothing design. clothes We can do everything we can to help people regulate body temperature, ambient temperature and physical activity. The key of technology lies in the properties of heat resistance and humidity control of textile materials. That is, the ability of clothes to absorb sweat from the surface of the body. Sweating keeps the body in check. cooling The most effective way. It uses energy to drain sweat, that is, body heat is removed from the skin's surface. Every litre of sweat consumed by the human body consumes about 580 thousand calories - equivalent to the calories consumed by intensive physical training for one hour, or the calories burned after a calorie in a fast food. At the same time, when the outside temperature is higher than temperature Sweat is also the only way to reduce heat. Of course, the most effective way is to drain sweat directly through the skin. Generally speaking, the function of releasing sweat from the surface of textiles through the form of water vapor is called permeability. However, it is not correct to exchange air permeability (or water vapor resistance) in academic terms with what we usually call breathability, because low air permeability does not result in low permeability. The best example is the modern windproof waterproofing membrane. This membrane allows a small amount of air to penetrate into the membrane from outside and allow evaporation from inside to outside.

However, air permeability is only one aspect of warmth retention and humidity regulation, that is, the so-called thermal physiological characteristics. Just as importantly, if enough sweat is absorbed, stored and released, it will make the writer feel that it is just a kind of skin enjoyment.

Thermal physiological comfort and skin contact comfort (i.e., how the skin feels about Textiles) can be objectively measured and evaluated in the laboratory. Haines Institute, Germany, has been developing the related textile function testing methods since the 50s of last century. Many methods are still used by the whole world.

One of the most important is to allow skin models to simulate the release of heat and moisture from the surface of the skin. The model consists of a porous metal plate that can heat the skin and water supply. The model is placed in a climate chamber to maintain a constant measurement condition.

The specific parameters provided by the skin model are used to measure the performance of the textiles. For example, thermal insulation and water repellency will be used as a reference condition for measuring the permeability, sweat perspiration and cushioning of clothing and the time required for drying clothes. These parameters represent the thermal and physiological characteristics of textiles.

Haines Institute of Germany called the two human models "Charlie" and "Charlene". Through in-depth study of them, the thermal insulation of clothing, bedding and sleeping bags can be calculated. Using the thermoregulation model can simulate the heat generated by adults and children. The model is made of copper or synthetic materials, which is equipped with a computer-controlled heating system to control the heat generated by different parts of the body. For example, the more heat that is emitted from the arms or legs, the poorer the warmth on the corresponding parts of clothing.

When the body is moving, the temperature will obviously be affected by the permeability of the clothing. For example, the air permeability of cuffs or other parts. That's why when clothes are tested, "Charlie" will be placed on the stand to simulate that he seems to be walking at a fast pace. It is an important measure to evaluate the humidity control of textiles by using human models.

In the "sweat feet" thermal regulation model, the skin models and human models of Haines institute play an important role. And the two are combined into one. The pattern of moisture and heat released by it is a typical foot shape.

Thus, researchers at the Haines institution believe that it is practicable to use human models to simulate body temperature in the human body. More importantly, they found that when the ambient temperature was low, most of the heat was emitted from the toes in vitro. That is to say, warm shoes and socks play a great role in maintaining the comfort of the whole body and body surface temperature. At the same time, processed textile materials should absorb human sweat, especially after human movement, the fabric can effectively absorb the sweat secreted by the body.

In 1930s, the development of the first synthetic textile fiber "nylon" and "beellun" marked the beginning of a new era of textile industry. Apart from traditional natural fibers, humans have for the first time made textiles that can change their properties artificially. Of course, in 1960s, a so-called imitation nylon shirt made the synthetic fiber a bad impression on the public. However, in the following years, experiments conducted by Haines Institute showed that, if properly designed, the textiles made of synthetic fibers will not only have the same warmth retention function and humidity adjustment function as natural fibers, but also have advantages over natural fibers.

Since 1980s, double-sided cloth has been published on the basis of Haines Tan's research. This cloth combines natural fibers with synthetic fibers but is still kept separately. After the combination of these two materials, it is far more comfortable than cotton fiber because it does not stick to the skin. In 1980, at the Lake Placid Lake Winter Olympics, a sportswear manufacturer sponsored a double deck underwear for a Austria women's team. The underwear was named after the word "Transtex" and was widely used by athletes. The underwear was a great success in anticipation of the manufacturer. Since then, functional textiles have been singing all the way, and the comfort difference between fabrics has been increasing.