Abstract
The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze physical properties of different fluorescent fabrics and retroreflective materials to determine their compliance to international standard for high-visibility warning clothing. Four fluorescent fabrics were selected for the study: a PET 71%/Cotton 23%/PU 6% fabric used in public road cleaner uniforms in Korea (S1), an ISO-compliant Japan-made PET 65%/Cotton 35% + conductive fabric (S2), and a randomly selected Korean-made PET 100% fabric for adults (S3) and children (S4). Selected samples were evaluated on their seven criteria in ISO 20471. Subsequently, luminance and retroreflective properties of four retroreflective materials were compared: a 3M (USA) plain sample (R1), a rectangular-patterned sample made by ‘R’ company (Korea) (R2), a plain sample also by ‘R’ (R3), and a random plain sample from a marketplace in Korea (R4). As a result, S1 was the most similar to ISO-compliant S2 and moisture regain could be improved by adjusting the cotton ratio or surface finishing. However, S3 and S4 seemed less suitable. Second, two bead type (R1, R4) and two prism type (R2, R3) retroreflective materials showed luminance in the order of R4 > R2 ≥ R1 > R3. General retroreflective properties and post-5-condition retroreflective properties of all four samples were ISO-compliant, and the retroreflective property at observation angle of 12′ and incidence angle of 5° of R2, R3, and R4 against R1 ranged between 81.4% and 158.4%. Despite the variance, all four samples were ISO-compliant and suggest that R2, R3, and R4 are possible materials for export.
Highlights
For the prevention and management of road traffic hazards, developed countries have enacted regulations on wearing high visibility warning clothing (ANSI/ISEA 2015; International Organization for Standardization [ISO 20471] 2013; Japan Safety Appliances Association [JSAA] 2017; Japan Traffic Safety Education Association [JATRAS] 2016; JIS T 8127 2015; ORAFOL 1999)
Four different retroreflective material samples were selected and tested to determine their level of compliance to international standards: a 3M material (R1), and a rectangular patterned sample manufactured by the Korean ‘R’ company (R2) (Reflomax 2018), a plain sample from ‘R’ company (R3), and a randomly selected plain trial sample sold in the market (R4) that was made in Korea
A Korea made sample (S1) currently used in the public sector was compared to an ISO-compliant Japan made sample (S2), a randomly selected sample for adult clothing (S3), and another random sample for children’s clothing (S4) manufactured by two different Korean companies
Summary
For the prevention and management of road traffic hazards, developed countries have enacted regulations on wearing high visibility warning clothing (ANSI/ISEA 2015; International Organization for Standardization [ISO 20471] 2013; Japan Safety Appliances Association [JSAA] 2017; Japan Traffic Safety Education Association [JATRAS] 2016; JIS T 8127 2015; ORAFOL 1999). Recent research studies have been completed by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) (2017), Korea Expressway Corporation (2017), and Korea Road Traffic Authority (2016); these studies have focused on safety vests, which are considered substandard and insufficient by ISO standards. This prior research assumed a traffic study point-of-view rather than a clothing study point-of-view. It is necessary to bring about research and development of high-quality warning clothing that is more refined toward the criteria and levels found in international standards
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