Car Seat Cover Research Articles

Exploring the mechanical potential of 3D woven solid structures for car seat cover

Seats serve as the primary connection point between humans and cars. To meet consumer expectations, the seat cover must possess mechanical durability. This is crucial due to the significance and expense associated with the assembling car seat cover. The mechanical durability of a material can be assessed by testing its tensile strength, tearing strength, stretchability, abrasion resistance, and pilling resistance. Many researchers conducted analyses on the mechanical performance of traditional seat covers. This study aims to explore the mechanical potential of 3D woven solid structures for car seat covers. Air-texturized polyester yarn (ATY) was utilized to produce various 3D woven solid structures and compared to benchmark 2D fabric seat covers with equivalent areal density. Placing three sets of yarn in the x, y, and z axes enhanced the structural integrity and distributed the stress evenly, which helped to boost the mechanical performance of 3D structures. The study concluded that 3D woven structures have the potential for mechanical performance and are expected to be utilized as car seat covers in the near future.

Equation Modelling of Automotive Textiles for Car Seat Covers in the Ghanaian Upholstery Industry

Among the many materials utilized in the production of automotive components are textile materials. Long-term use of vehicle seats causes the textile material used to cover the seats to degrade. Because of this, drivers and vehicle owners critically inspect such deteriorated car seat covers before getting a new one. This study is aimed at identifying the various factors that influence drivers and vehicle owners’ decisions about the choice of seat covers. In addition, to determine the factors that influence customers’ perception of locally manufactured seat covers by upholstery artisans. Structured questionnaire and online google form were used to collect data from 1042 respondents across the 16 regions of Ghana. The five main factors that customers focused on were identified using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to predict the perception factors of local upholstery artisans and customers using the Smart PLS software. Textile resistance and accessibility, durability, quality, perception and aesthetics were the selection factors. The findings showed that consumers of automotive textile materials take into account the aforementioned aspects before making purchases, therefore manufacturers should pay attention to these factors to increase efficiency. The study concludes that local upholstery artisans need to concentrate on these factors in their operations.

Transport of Moisture in Car Seat Covers

Abstract Transport of liquid water is one of the basic producer requirements to ensure the suitable physiological comfort of drivers. This paper deals with the investigation of car seat covers’ efficiency from the point of view of their moisture management. Two methods were used for the evaluation of moisture transport in the car seat cover structures. Both of them use a thermography system for water transport detection. The first method evaluates dynamic water spreading in cross-section in the frontal plane; the second one examines horizontally dynamic spreading of liquid drops on the upper face of the sample. The tested materials were designed to understand the role of the middle layer of textile sandwich car seats in their moisture management behavior. The same PES woven structure in the top layer was used for all tested samples. Knitted spacer fabric (3D spacer fabric), polyurethane foam, and nonwoven were used as padding in the middle layer in car seat covers. In summary, the distribution and transport of liquid moisture in a sandwich structure are fundamentally affected by the middle layer of composite, especially by material composition and the value of porosity. The best results were shown in 3D spacer fabric for car seat covers.

Textile Antenna for Bio-Radar Embedded in a Car Seat.

A bio-radar system is presented for vital signs acquisition, using textile antennas manufactured with a continuous substrate that integrates the ground plane. Textile antennas were selected to be used in the RF (Radio Frequency) front-end, rather than those made of conventional materials, to further integrate the system in a car seat cover and thus streamline the industrial manufacturing process. The development of the novel substrate material is described in detail, as well as its characterization process. Then, the antenna design considerations are presented. The experiments to validate the textile antennas operation by acquiring the respiratory signal of six subjects with different body structures while seated in a car seat are presented. In conclusion, it was possible to prove that bio-radar systems can operate with textile-based antennas, providing accurate results of the extraction of vital signs.

Testing the car seat's comfort

In this paper, four commonly used car seat covers, made from leather as well as from woven, knitted and 3D spacer fabrics are tested as sandwiched and separate layers to determine the effect of the lamination and layers on air and water vapor permeability. Different combinations of interlining materials are also tested to obtain the optimum comfortable car seat cover. This analysis gives us a real idea of which layer negatively affects the breathability of the car seat. The focus of this part of research was to identify the issues within the car seat material instead of factors like external cooling or the clothing of the driver. It was observed that the polyurethane (PU) foam and lamination significantly reduce the permeability of the car seats. The 3D spacer fabric shows the best top layer properties as compared to classical woven, leather or knitted car seat covers. The research shows how layers and lamination cause thermo-physiological discomfort of car seats.

Comparison of different interlining materials of car seat cover under repeated loadings

In this article, four most commonly used interlining materials (3D spacer fabric, non-woven felt, reticulated foam, and classic Poly-Urethane foam) are tested for comfort and durability. All four layers are tested initially for the air and moisture permeability, then for water vapour permeability under loading and finally tested for compressibility and durability. The repeated loading equivalent to real human pressure was inserted on the samples for 40,000 times to analyse the effect of repeated compression on the interlining materials. This research work gives a very in-depth knowledge of performance of car seat interlining material related to thermophysiological comfort and durability/lifetime.

Effect of punching on physical and mechanical properties of leathers: Focus on car seat covers

As a lot of time is spent in the car, the comfort of not only the car seat but also the car seat cover itself has become of increasing importance. With increasing use of ventilated seats, the control of the physical and mechanical properties of leather in response to punching has become of prime importance in the design of car seats. This study evaluated the changes in the physical and mechanical properties of leather due to punching and proposes optimum punching intervals for car seats. Sixteen types of leather, punched at three spatial intervals (2, 3, and 5 mm), were evaluated in terms of their apparent density, softness, coefficient of friction, warm-cool feeling, and mechanical properties. Leather punching affected its physical and mechanical properties. However, there were differences in punching intervals that significantly affected each property, including the mechanical properties. Depending on the performance required when developing a product, a suitable punching interval must be selected. Therefore, punching at 5 mm intervals is preferred for obtaining physical and mechanical properties similar to those of untreated leathers, and punching at 3 mm intervals is recommended for achieving more softness. On the contrary, punching at 2 mm intervals increases air permeability but decreases dimensional stability.

Effect of cyclic loading on the car seat’s seams

The purpose of this work is to find out the influence of thread type, extension ratio and number of cycles to decrease in strength due to stress. In this study four different ratio of spun polyester and polyamide threads are used to sew the textile material (used for car seat cover) by a lockstitch sewing machine. The measuring system simulation of cyclic load has been used. The tensile load, which corresponding to 20 %, 30 %, 40 %, and 50 % of the breaking extension of seam, acting on the experimental specimens with different type of was calculated. Based on the results of experimental measurements, which were closer to the real using conditions of seat covers, it can be stated that with increasing number of cycles, the strength due to the influence of the stress were decreased.

Effects of Layer Thickness and Thermal Bonding on Car Seat Cover Development

In this work, composite materials for car seat covers composed of woven fabric + polyurethane foam (PU) + knitted fabric were tested by separation of components of the composite force, which are thermally connected with three different process speeds (30, 34 and 39 m/min) and two thickness PU (2 mm and 4 mm). The thermal bonding of the components into a composite is leading to reduction in thickness and weight of the composite compared to the amount of components before the joining. The force separation decreased as the speed for all samples increased. The smaller thickness of PU had an effect on the larger separation forces of composite components as well as higher abrasion damage. The purpose of this work was to investigate the influence of the thermal bonding speed of the composite components, the effect of PU thickness on the separation force, and abrasion properties.

Effect of a Superabsorbent for the Improvement of Car Seat Thermal Comfort

The use of super absorbent polymers (SAP) for moisture absorption and comfort is still unexplored. The aim of this work was to observe the application of super absorbent fibres in car seats for comfort purposes. In this research the efficiency of different SAP fibrous webs were determined under different moisture percentages to examine the sorption and desorption efficiency. A SAP fibrous web with low thickness and high moisture absorption were tested with a multilayer sandwich structure of a car seat cover to determine moisture absorption through the cover material. The standard Cup method was used to determine the moisture permeability of different car seat covers with a superabsorbent layer closed with impermeable polyurethane foam. It was observed that the SAP fibrous layers are very effective in absorbing and desorbing water vapour under extremely high and low moisture percentages. In extreme humid conditions (95%RH), 20g of the SAP layer absorbs nearly 70% of its weight in water vapour, reaching the maximum absorption capacity in 6 hours.

Numerical Model of the Static Loading of a Stitched Seam in the Composite Cover of Car Seat

Fundamental knowledge of the mechanical properties of used materials are the basic preconditions for a successful construction of a final product. For seam as well as the reliability of its strength in some cases we need to know certainty when there will be the malfunction. In this study a spun of polyester thread were sewn on a material used for car seat cover. A single or multiaxial loading either static or dynamic has been used in the field of automotive textiles as well as for conventional materials. There is no standard method of measurement for the determination of dynamic strength of sewn seams and therefore it was necessary to construct a device that may measure the strength of seams under dynamic stress. It was carried out an experimental determination of the tensile strength under a static and shock loading for the textile part itself, then for the thread and also for them all together. A lot of very sophisticated numerical models of the individual materials structures in the world generally exist but considerably less is in this field taken into account the behavior of the whole.The aim of this work is with using the commercial software ANSYS create a contact numerical model that will be able to predict behavior of stitched seams and can be used instead of the classical experiments.

The effects of selected improving methods on wrinkle resistance of warp knitted and laminated car seat cover fabrics

This article investigates the effects of selected finishing methods on wrinkle resistance of laminated and non-laminated car seat cover fabrics. This study was carried out on five types of fabrics that have different properties. Apart from the reference fabric that is commonly manufactured in the automobile industry, four fabrics were produced using four different methods. All sample fabrics were knitted with a three-bar tricot machine at a conventional mill under the same conditions. As seat cover fabrics are generally laminated, sample fabrics were tested as laminated and non-laminated in order to investigate the effect of lamination. Samples were laminated with polyurethane and another warp knitted fabric that was knitted with a two-bar tricot machine and served as a lining. During the study, the wrinkle resistances of 10 laminated and non-laminated fabrics were measured at regular intervals. When the findings of the study were analyzed graphically and statistically, the method of using softening agent at foulard was found to be the most convenient one to produce high wrinkle resistant seat cover fabrics.

The New Design of Children Safety Device in the Car

This document proposes a new type of design for protecting children safely in the car which can increase children's comfort and safety in the car. It is designed from the point of clothing that combines children clothing with car seat cover of automobile, and it may promote collaborative development of automotive industry and garment industry.

Applications of resource assignment and scheduling with Petri Nets and heuristic search

This paper introduces a new Petri Net based approach for resource allocation and scheduling. The goals are (i) minimize the number of required resources given a set of jobs, (ii) find both an assignment for all jobs in the span of a predefined shift and (iii) the sequence in which such jobs are executed. The studied problem was inspired from a complex real life manufacturing shop as described in this document. The modeling of the processes and jobs is carried out with Petri Nets due to their capability of representing dynamic, concurrent discrete-event dynamic systems. The resource assignment starts with an initial feasible solution (initial number of resources) and then follows with a re-optimization process aimed to further reduce the resource requirements. The algorithm is based on a modified Heuristic Search method previously presented. The algorithm was tested first on a number of instances from the literature and then on the aforementioned system (a car seat cover manufacturer). The proposed approach shows not only good results in terms of performance but also shows the potential of Petri Nets for modeling and optimizing real-life systems. An implementation phase at the first stages of the process is underway at the time of writing.

Some Investigations into the Relationship between Car Seat Cover Materials and Thermal Comfort Using Human Subjects

Some Investigations into the Relationship between Car Seat Cover Materials and Thermal Comfort Using Human Subjects

Hair and Fiber Transfer in an Abduction Case—Evidence from Different Levels of Trace Evidence Transfer

Levels of trace evidence transfer were examined in a casework context. A girl was allegedly abducted in a car and rape attempted by the accused, who denied any contact with the victim. Clothing worn by the victim and the accused, and the covers from the front seats of the car, were analyzed for trace evidence. Three types of corresponding fibers and four possible pathways of transfer were identified. Synthetic fibers similar to those composing the car seat covers were located on the victim's clothing, consistent with direct transfer. Secondary transfer was indicated by dyed brown human head-type hairs (possibly originating from the accused's wife) located on the seat covers and on the victim's clothing. Secondary and possibly tertiary transfer was indicated by pink synthetic material and associated fibers (possibly originating from the victim's mother) located on the victim's clothing, a car seat cover and the accused's clothing. Light microscopy, comparison microscopy, and cross-sectioning techniques were used. The multiple fiber matches and the differing pathways and levels of transfer increased the strength of the association between the accused and the victim. After the fiber evidence was led at the trial, the accused pleaded guilty, thereby affirming the value of secondary transfer evidence.