Abstract
Technical clothing with light-responsive features for outdoor sports practiced in environments with low visibility is extremely important for athletes’ safety. Lack of signaling by users and visibility for drivers is one of accidents causes, namely run overs, which can leave serious consequences. The products available on the market lack efficiency and their design is not appealing which makes the development of these new materials a compelling need. Therefore, fluorescent and phosphorescent functional finishings with ability to provide illuminant signalization without compromising the design and/or color of clothing as well as comfort and ergonomics, were developed and applied in the textile structure by knife over roll coating technology. The greatest challenge is to integrate the high visibility materials without compromising the design of the garment and accomplish the European Standard of Protective clothing: Enhanced visibility equipment for medium risk situations and test methods and requirements—EN 17353 (that supersedes EN1150:1999 and allows more freedom in the design of the apparel) published in 2020. Phosphorescent materials were evaluated by luminance decay according to DIN 67510, before and after fastness to wash tests. Results obtained regarding high visibility functional finishings and the integration of the materials developed in the final sports collection will be presented.
Highlights
Technical sports clothing with light-responsive features for outdoor sports practiced in low-light environments is of extreme importance to athlete’s safety, fundamentally regarding their visibility
The aim of this study is to present the experimental work done and the results achieved within the development of new highly-resistant light-responsive structures, using two advanced technologies; fluorescence, and photoluminescence
514 pigments the increase of additivation percentage leads to a better color performance
Summary
Technical sports clothing with light-responsive features for outdoor sports practiced in low-light environments is of extreme importance to athlete’s safety, fundamentally regarding their visibility. Multiple sportsmen practice their activity in obscured environments exposed to vehicle traffic under low-visibility conditions regarding the typology of responsive apparel detained. Several studies were carried out to analyze the relationship between the lack of visibility of pedestrians, cyclists and/or workers with the number of accidents occurring in conditions of low ambient light [1,2,3,4]. Data published in 2002 suggest that the probability of a fatal collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian in obscured environments is 3 to 7 times higher than the probability of this occurring in bright environments [5]. The interest in phosphorescent material has increased, due to its imperceptibility in bright environments and the intensity of its “glow” in dark environments [6]
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