Research on Optimising the Insulation of Footwear Materials Using Statistical Methods

Abstract

In this paper, the results of research on the thermal insulation properties of textile and leather materials are presented. These materials were used in order to develop innovative footwear upper combinations with higher hygienic properties. Outer leather materials (L1, L2) and textile (T1, T2, T3, T4) were joined around the edges by stitching with leather lining materials (LG1a, LG1b, LG1c) and textiles. Moreover, the textile linings were divided into the following groups: spacer fabrics (TG2a, TG2b, TG2c), flat textiles (TG3a, TG3b, TG3c) and flat textiles based on bamboo fibres (TG4a, TG4b, TG4c, TG4d). In the next step of these investigations, the materials were joined in a two – layered composition, where for the outer layer was upper material, and for the inner – lining material. For these compositions, the thermal insulation properties were measured with the use of an Alambeta device. The following material characteristics were determined: thermal conductivity, resistance and absorptivity, which were the most important parameters from a hygienic point of view. The classification mentioned above was important from the manufacturer’s point of view because it gave a set of information about optimal upper material configurations. With respect to the results obtained, the best packages from the thermal insulation point of view were as follows: L2 – TG4b, L1 – TG4b, T1 – LG1a, T2 – TG4a, T3 – TG4a & T4 – LG1a.