Sensory Comfort: Fabric Transport Properties and Subjective Responses During Exercise Under Cool and Hot Environmental Conditions

Abstract

Eight kinds of knitted fabrics, made from wool, polyester, cotton, acrylic, porous acrylic, polypropylene, viscose and polyester/cotton blend, were studied by both objective laboratory measurements and subjective wearer trials. The transport properties of the fabrics: thermal resistance, water vapor permeability, air permeability, demand wettability, water absorbency (drop wettability) and water evaporation propensity were measured. The psychological responses of subjects for the 8 kinds of fabrics were obtained in a series of psychophysiological wearer trials, in which subjective responses to 19 clothing sensations were recorded and their overall preference votes to 8 kinds of garments made from the fabrics were obtained. Significant differences were found for all the transport properties measured on the 8 kinds of fabrics. By Spearman rank correlation analysis, it has been found that the overall preference votes after wearing in hot and Cool conditions were significantly correlated with drop and demand wettability and thermal resistance of fabrics. The thermal-wet sensations were mainly correlated with thermal resistance, water evaporation rate, water vapor and air permeability. The tactile sensations showed high correlation with thermal resistance, drop and demand wettabilities of fabrics, and also there were close correlations between body-fit sensations and demand and drop wettabilities, water evaporation rate of fabrics.