Clothing Ensembles Research Articles

Assyrian Imperial Elites and Textile Culture of the 1st Millennium BC: Shaping Power Visions Through Textiles

Abstract As a crucial component of the materiality of the first world empire, textile culture documented in archival cuneiform documents, visual art, and archaeological materials from 1st-millennium BC Assyria enables historians to reconstruct the social identities, power visions, and economic systems of the people who ruled the “Land of Aššur”. Through the analysis of royal clothes, it is possible to form an idea of the clothing ensemble, the aesthetic, and power visions that shaped the presence of the king and his queen in public ceremonies and in visual art narratives, and to see how royal textile art played a role in political communication. Royal garments, combined with power accessories such as royal insignia and other objects, represented a powerful means to visualize royal personhood and what the institution of Assyrian kingship meant in the imperial phase of Assyrian history. Representations of royal scenes in visual art integrate the documentary picture from texts and archaeological materials and show how the royal costume developed over the Neo-Assyrian period and how the centrality and superior status of the royal person were emphasised by visual interaction between the king’s clothes and other textiles in the scene. Queenly garments represent another channel for the communication of the success of the Assyrian imperial project. Less represented in textual sources and material evidence are other upper-class sectors of Assyrian imperial society, in which textiles equally played an important role as markers of social identity and status. Non-royal textiles were an integral part of power narratives in the Neo-Assyrian age, contributing to create the sense of a common Assyrian identity, of elite’s unity and cohesion, and full adherence to the imperial project.

Thermal insulation provided by chairs with various clothing ensembles

The thermal insulation provided by chairs significantly influences human thermal comfort. On the one hand, it modifies the heat exchange mechanism at the contact points between the body and the chair surface. On the other hand, an increase in local thermal insulation can exacerbate differences in thermal insulation across various areas of the body, impacting overall comfort. However, the thermal insulation data for chairs are decades old and thus need to be updated to reflect modern designs and materials. Six typical office chairs were tested using a thermal manikin dressed in five typical clothing ensembles (ranging from summer to winter). The effective thermal insulation of the chairs varied between 0.04 and 0.14 clo when tested in the nude. The added values ranged from 0.04 to 0.30 clo when tested with different clothing ensembles. Higher clothing levels correspond to higher added chair thermal insulation. Therefore, a simple weighing method was developed to adjust the seasonal coefficient of the mean chair insulation value (0.75 in summer, 1.0 in transition, and 1.25 in winter). Furthermore, a simple model was established for calculating the overall clothing level for a seated person. The model was validated using data measured in this experiment and other external sources, with a minimum prediction mean error of 1.4 %. This study provides a reference for accurately acquiring the thermal insulation value of chairs for a seated person in thermal comfort studies.

Anthropometric Fit Test Methods: Three Case Studies

There is not a universally accepted fit test procedure because test protocols need to be customized for specific products or research questions. A fit test protocol can vary significantly based on the product tested, but often includes these steps: define fit criteria, select anthropometric dimensions of interest, perform testing, collect quantitative and qualitative feedback, identify design recommendations, and develop or refine a sizing chart. To illustrate general approaches to human fit testing, case studies of fit tests are described for three different product types: a multi-layered protective clothing ensemble, a therapeutic airway clearance vest, and a patient transfer sling.

Forecasting thermophysiological comfort of clothing ensembles designed for work in low temperatures

Forecasting thermophysiological comfort of clothing ensembles designed for work in low temperatures

Comparison and correction on calculation methods of clothing insulation based on thermal comfort

Clothing insulation is a major factor affecting human thermal comfort, and it is usually a fixed value when the clothing ensemble are determined in the standard. However, real clothing insulation is considerably affected by the environment and activity level (metabolic rate). Thus, the heat flow method for obtaining clothing insulation through thermal equilibrium between the skin layer and environment was proposed. Later, a non-contact method for easy acquisition of clothing insulation was proposed. The method was implemented via infrared imager. In this paper, above methods were compared and analysed based on experiment data. Three activity levels were considered, sedentary (1.0 met), walking at speed of 0.8 m/s (1.8 met), and 1.2 m/s (2.6 met). The feasibility and accuracy of above methods are discussed by comparing the PMV calculated by the clothing insulation with the actual thermal sensation (TSV) of the subjects obtained by questionnaire. The results showed that the non-contact method exhibited the highest prediction accuracy. Due to the sweating effect on skin temperature, the higher the activity levels, the lower the prediction accuracy. In this paper, a correction method of clothing insulation was proposed by using the temperature of face and neck and skin wettedness. After correction, the root means square error between the PMV and TSV decreased by 11 %.

The role of accessories in organizing the clothing ensemble

The secret of making beautiful combine is hidden in the little parts and details. Accessories are always essential parts of wardrobes regardless of whether they are a man or a woman. These indispensable parts adapt to everyone and fashion lovers' style with a variety of tastes. From daily combinations to supper combinations, from office elegance to special occasions, your clothes have the power to change the atmosphere entirely. We will talk about the fascinating role of accessories on clothing in this article.

Overall and local intrinsic clothing insulation using thermal manikin: Impact of methods employed and postures

Development of multi-node thermoregulation models with local clothing insulation as an indispensable input parameter enables distinguishing the effects of spatial and temporal changes in the thermal environment around the human body. However, the current research on local clothing insulation lags compared with multi-node thermoregulation models, affecting model prediction accuracy. The effects of the determination methods and posture on the overall and local intrinsic clothing insulation remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, the overall and local intrinsic clothing insulation values for seven typical clothing ensembles in standing and sitting postures were determined using four different methods that included thermal manikin (TM) experiments and thermal comfort standards. The results showed that (1) the overall intrinsic clothing insulation Icl differed slightly across the methods, whereas the local clothing insulation Icl,i differed substantially across the methods; (2) the overall intrinsic clothing insulation Icl for the sitting posture was 15% lower than that of the standing posture, whereas the difference in the local intrinsic clothing insulation Icl,i for the standing and sitting postures was only statistically significant at the pelvis and thigh; and (3) the local intrinsic clothing insulation Icl,i differed significantly over different body segments, and the largest Icl,i was 2.7 and 3.2 times the smallest Icl,i for the standing and sitting postures, respectively. Therefore, methods employed along with the posture affected the results of both overall and local intrinsic clothing insulation. The findings are effective in modeling sensible heat loss through clothing and contribute to improving the prediction accuracy of multi-node thermoregulation models.

A preliminary study of the thermal strain experienced by dive support boat personnel

ABSTRACT Anecdotal evidence indicated some British military dive support boat personnel suffer from uncomfortably cold hands and feet, which could impair their performance and be associated with reductions in core body temperature. This study collected preliminary data on thermal stress and cognitive performance of personnel taking part in a cold-weather training exercise. Six men were monitored during four boat transits in a range of climatic conditions (air temperature +1.2°C to −10.5°C, wind chill −4.5°C to 19.3°C). Core body temperature was measured with a radio pill and 12 skin sites (ISO 9886 plus hand, finger, foot and toe) with iButtons or thermistors. Self-reported thermal comfort and thermal sensation was also recorded. Reaction time and selective attention were measured pre- and post-transit. Participants’ physical characteristics and personal clothing ensembles were recorded. No participant became hypothermic. Most participants’ hand, foot and digit temperatures fell to below 15°C, indicating a risk of impaired dexterity, in addition to that arising from gloves. During the trial, hand and digit temperatures occasionally fell below 10°C. The limited data collected showed personal clothing choices could provide adequate thermal protection for these conditions and temperatures, and highlighted inter-individual variation and the need to allow for significant variation of day-to-day environmental conditions.

Development of interactive guidance for cold exposure using a thermoregulatory model

ABSTRACT For decades, the Wind Chill Temperature Index (WCT) and its various iterations have been used to assess the risk of frostbite on unclothed body parts. This paper presents an innovative knowledge-based Cold Weather Ensemble Decision Aid (CoWEDA) that can be used to guide the selection of the most appropriate cold weather ensemble(s) relative to anticipated mission physical activities and environmental conditions. CoWEDA consists of a validated six-cylinder thermoregulatory model, a database of clothing properties, algorithms for calculating the whole ensemble properties from individual garments and a graphical user interface. The user-friendly CoWEDA allows users to select from an inventory of clothing items to build an ensemble suitable for their needs. CoWEDA predicts the risks of both frostbite and hypothermia and ensures that a selected clothing ensemble will provide adequate protection to prevent cold injury. CoWEDA predictions provide not only estimates of frostbite risk similar to WCT tables but also hypothermia times and clothing required to prevent cold injuries. In addition, a CoWEDA model variant can predict survivability and clothing requirements during cold water immersion. Thus, CoWEDA represents a significant enhancement of the WCT-based guidance for cold weather safety and survival by providing greater individual fidelity in cold injury predictions.

Clothing thermal insulation of infant in stroller relating to evaluation of thermal environment of infant

The clothing thermal insulation for individual clothing ensembles of infant and strollers has been clarified. However, the clothing thermal insulation for the combination of them has not been measured at all. The purpose of this study is to examine the typical values of human factors such as the clothing area factor and clothing thermal insulation of an infant in a stroller. As typical clothing ensembles, seasonal combinations of infant clothing with a stroller were selected. The stroller was treated as part of the infant’s clothing. The clothing area factors were measured by using the photographic method. The clothing thermal insulations were measured by using an infant’s thermal manikin. The typical clothing area factor of an infant in a stroller is 3.67 for summer clothing, 3.75 for mid-season clothing, and 4.19 for winter clothing. The typical clothing thermal insulation of an infant in a stroller is 1.23 clo for summer, 1.39 clo for mid-season, and 1.97 clo for winter. The stroller was shown to significantly affect the body heat balance between the infant and the thermal environment.

Perceived thermal acceptability and behavioural adjustment for Indonesian workers

Behavioural adaptation is a fundamental factor in thermal comfort. Clothing insulation, opening windows, and integrating cooling systems within buildings are key to ensuring thermal comfort while conserving energy. This study collected behavioural adaptation data from 3000 Indonesian adults who regularly worked indoors. The results indicate that the thermal acceptability is in a similar range for all groups separated by residence space type despite the dominant thermal conditioning measure in each group is different. Based on ISO 9920, the typical clothing ensembles were determined for each group, and their clo-values were estimated. Office workers tended to wear more garments than factory workers, while at home, people wear light clothes. Therefore, the estimated clo-value in home are much lower compare to the workplaces clo-value. Clo-value in the workplaces with AC tends to show a higher value compared to naturally ventilated building. Clo-value for female is also higher than male. In general, AC usage in the office was higher than in factories and homes. Females tends to use more AC than Males. These differences reflect variety of socioeconomic and cultural aspects in public and private in Indonesia.

A numerical tool for assessing human thermal safety and thermal comfort in cold-weather activities.

This paper describes a newly developed software tool to evaluate human thermal safety and thermal comfort in cold-weather activities aimed at guiding users to arrange activity plans and select appropriate clothing ensembles. The software inputs include conditions of activity, environment, human body, and clothing ensemble. It outputs physiological temperatures, cold injury risks, thermal sensations, and thermal comforts in intuitive ways like cloud maps and curves. The software tool is characterized by (1) integration of a thermoregulatory model that predicts human thermophysiological responses under exercise conditions in cold environments, (2) the functions of clothing ensemble database and individual parameter database, (3) the human centric outputs that directly reflect human physiological and mental status, and (4) the user-friendly operation interface and output interface, as well as a wide applicability. The software is validated with human test studies covering ambient temperatures from - 30.6 to 5°C, clothing ensembles from 1.34 to 3.20 clo, and activity intensities from 2 to 9 Mets. The average prediction RMSEs of core temperature, mean skin temperature, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort are 0.16°C, 0.45°C, 0.58, and 1.41, respectively. The software is an advanced expansion to current standards and guidance of cold exposure assessment and a meaningful tool for the fields of occupational health care, cold protection, and environmental ergonomics.

A Database of Static Thermal Insulation and Evaporative Resistance Values of Dutch Firefighter Clothing Items and Ensembles.

The rescue operations' environment can impair firefighters' performance and increase the risk of injuries, e.g., burns and hyperthermia. The bulk and carried weight of heavy protection contributes to lower physical performance, higher metabolic load and internal body heat production. For recommending optimal protection for the tasks and incident scenarios, knowledge of clothing thermal properties is needed. However, detailed data on firefighter protective clothing systems are not available. The aim of the study was to provide scientific background and a dataset that would allow for validation of thermo-physiological models for task-specific conditions of rescue work. Thermal insulation of 37 single items and their variations and 25 realistic protective clothing ensembles were measured on a thermal manikin. Twelve (12) ensembles that evenly covered the whole insulation range were selected for evaporative resistance testing. The equations for summing up individual item's insulation to ensemble insulation and calculating clothing area factor were derived from the dataset. The database of a firefighter clothing system was created. In addition, the local and regional thermal properties of the clothing ensembles were provided for use in future validation of advanced thermo-physiological models for rescue worker exposure predictions and for designing decision aid tools.

Modelling of heat and mass transfer in clothing considering evaporation, condensation, and wet conduction with case study

Over the past few decades, several models of heat and mass transfer have been based on the assumption of the homogeneous thickness (or absence) of the enclosed air layer contradicting the real-life scenario of the skin-clothing-environment system. To address this research gap, in this study, the comprehensive model for heat and mass transfer was developed which considers thermal phenomena such as evaporation, condensation, and the effect of liquid moisture on the thermal insulation of fabrics (wet conduction) along with sensible heat transfer mechanisms and effects of spatial heterogeneity of air layers. The coupling between heat and mass transfer in the modelling approach resulted in an accurate evaluation of the mass of evaporated liquid moisture and condensed water vapour in a skin-clothing-environment system. The developed model is systematically validated with an increasing level of spatial complexity using homogeneous and heterogeneous air layers with single-layer and multi-layer clothing ensembles. The model is validated for 21 different experimental cases covering various parameters that affect mass transfer such as enclosed air gap thickness (clothing fit), evaporative resistance (permeable, semi-permeable, and impermeable to water vapour), ambient temperature (−10 °C to 34 °C), and relative humidity (80% to 18.5%). Finally, the relevance of the model for product development is demonstrated by a case study about smart skiwear. The presented study provides detailed insights into individual heat and mass transfer mechanisms in the skin-clothing-environment system, which is very useful to develop an in-depth understanding about local heat transfer mechanisms and for designing and development of functional and protective clothing.

Deep-vision-based metabolic rate and clothing insulation estimation for occupant-centric control

The metabolic rate (MET) and clothing insulation (CLO), which are personal characteristics, are generally difficult to estimate automatically. In recent years, a combination of deep learning and computer vision (hereafter referred to as “deep vision”) has enabled real-time estimation of these characteristics. Although many studies have been conducted on the topic, practical methods for simultaneous estimation of MET and CLO and building control strategies based on these characteristics have not been sufficiently examined. This study proposes a preliminary method for classifying two activities and two clothing ensembles along with a real-time estimation of MET and CLO. In addition, a comfort temperature control strategy based on MET and CLO in a purpose-built chamber is implemented. The proposed method estimated the activities and clothing ensembles of five subjects with an accuracy of 97%, and MET and CLO with an accuracy of 100% each in the hypothetical scenario. The comfort control successfully adjusted the set-point temperature of the air conditioner according to changes in MET and CLO. Moreover, the comfort control strategy maintained the thermal sensation votes of eight subjects constant irrespective of changes in MET and CLO, and the proportion of votes representing no thermal change increased by 17% compared to that of the fixed set-point control strategy.

The predicted heat strain model considering wet and dynamic thermal insulation for thermal protective clothing: Modification and validation analysis

For guiding the setting of working time, it is necessary to develop a realistic clothing model with accurate thermal physical properties including the effects of human body activities and environments in the predicted heat strain model, especially for the high thermal insulation clothing ensembles and high-temperature conditions. In this study, realistic clothing models, including clothing wet thermal insulation ( Icl_w), dynamic thermal insulation ( Icl_vw), and convective heat transfer coefficient considering the temperature difference and walking speed ( hc_vw), were established. Then, we validated the modified predicted heat strain models combined with realistic clothing parameters. The results revealed that the core temperature of the predicted heat strain model combined with Icl_w, Icl_vw, and hc_vw (deviation of 0.1°C) was significantly more accurate than the original predicted heat strain model (variation of 1.5°C) in the environment of 40°C within 65 min of heat exposure. Our study emphasizes the necessity of ensuring the accuracy of clothing thermal physical properties in the predicted heat strain model to improve validity for the specific conditions investigated.

Durability of metallic coating for improvement of thermal protective performance of firefighter protective clothing

The objective of this study is to investigate the durability of metallic coating for firefighter protective clothing when subjected to different washing cycles. Firefighter clothing ensemble consists of three layers, i.e. outer shell, moisture barrier, and thermal liner. The exposed surface of the outer shell was coated with silver particles through the physical vapor deposition process also called Magnetron sputtering. Afterwards, these specimens were exposed to radiant heat transmission machine at 30 kW/m2 and 40 kW/m2, respectively. It was found that specimens coated with silver particles showed improved thermal protective performance as compared to uncoated specimens. Later on, silver-coated specimens undergo five cycles of washing and their thermal protective performance in terms of transmitted heat flux density Qc (kW/m2) and radiant heat transmission index (RHTI 24 and RHTI 12) was measured. It was found that after five washing cycles, there was a negligible decline in thermal protective performance when exposed to 40 kW/m2. Afterwards, bending moment and water vapor resistance properties were measured before and after five washing cycles. It was inferred that there was no considerable difference in bending moment and water vapor resistance after different washing cycles, which confirmed stability of silver coating layers. However, when silver-coated outer shells were evaluated for abrasion resistance, there was a substantial decline in thermal protective performance on exposure to 40 kW/m2 after one hundred to five hundred cycles of abrasion.

Ability of Thermal Work Limit (TWL) to Assess Sustainable Heat Stress Exposures.

Thermal Work Limit (TWL) recommends a maximum metabolic rate for a given environmental condition, clothing ensemble, and acclimatization state so that thermal equilibrium can be sustained at or below the limiting metabolic rate. The purpose of this paper was to assess the ability of TWL to recommend maximum sustainable levels of heat stress using an existing database of progressive heat stress trials using four levels of clothing (woven clothing, particle barrier, water barrier, and vapor barrier), three levels of relative humidity, and three levels of metabolic rate. Each trial had a compensable and an uncompensable observation plus and observation at the transition point from compensable to uncompensable. Each observation was classified as a case (steady increase in rectal temperature) or non-case (steady rectal temperature). The data were used to compare the difference between the observed metabolic rate (Mobs) and the limiting metabolic rate of TWL (i.e., ∆LimitTWL = Mobs - TWL), where ∆LimitTWL > 0 was above the TWL limit. The sensitivity and specificity for each of the four clothing ensembles were about 0.96 and about 0.20, respectively. Logistic regression for all the data found that ∆LimitTWL, clothing, metabolic rate, and water vapor pressure were significant predictors of outcome. The ln(odds) equations for each clothing ensemble predicted a probability of an uncompensable exposure. The probability of an uncompensable outcome (case) when ∆LimitTWL = 0 was 0.14 for work clothes and particle barrier, and 0.22 for water barrier and vapor barrier. The probability of a case at ∆LimitTWL = 0 was greater than the probability of a case for the wet bulb globe temperature-based exposure limits where the probability of a case was 0.01. That is, the TWL was less restrictive than WBGT but with higher risk.

Duration limits for exposure for the whole body and extremities with a military extreme cold protection clothing ensemble at an ambient temperature of -40°C

ABSTRACT Manual performance and body temperature responses were assessed in a 1-h trial at an ambient temperature (TAMB) of −40°C for 7 male participants (32 ± 14 (mean ± SD) years) wearing a typical military extreme cold protection clothing ensemble. The purpose was to establish duration limited exposure (DLIM) for these conditions, and it was hypothesized that (i) core temperature (TCORE) would remain normothermic, whereas extremity skin temperature (TSK) would decrease; (ii) decrements of manual performance would be in proportion to decreases of hand TSK; and (iii) DLIM would be determined by the hand or foot TSK responses. Linear regression was employed to assess associations of manual performance scores and body temperatures with DLIM assessed using the Required Clothing Insulation (IREQ) model and extremity temperatures in ISO 11079–2007. Results showed TCORE remained at ~37.3°C, whereas there were significant (0.0001 < p < 0.05) decreases in extremity TSK. Associations between manual performance and hand TSK showed coefficients of determination (R2) ranging from 0.48 < R2 < 0.98; 0.00005 ≤ p ≤ 0.08. The DLIM for the whole-body ensemble ranged from 2.2 h to > 8 h, whereas the DLIM for the extremities was 0.56 ± 0.20 h for TSK decreasing 15°C. In conclusion, the hypotheses of a stable core temperature and decreases of extremity skin temperature giving decrements in manual performance were accepted as was the hypothesis that duration limits for exposure would be determined by extremity skin temperatures of the hand and foot.

Using Deep Learning in Real-Time for Clothing Classification with Connected Thermostats

Thermal comfort is associated with clothing insulation, conveying a level of satisfaction with the thermal surroundings. Besides, clothing insulation is commonly associated with indoor thermal comfort. However, clothing classification in smart homes might save energy when the end-user wears appropriate clothes to save energy and obtain thermal comfort. Furthermore, object detection and classification through Convolutional Neural Networks has increased over the last decade. There are real-time clothing garment classifiers, but these are oriented towards single garment recognition for texture, fabric, shape, or style. Consequently, this paper proposes a CNN model classification for the implementation of these classifiers on cameras. First, the Fashion MNIST was analyzed and compared with the VGG16, Inceptionvv4, TinyYOLOv3, and ResNet18 classification algorithms to determine the best clo classifier. Then, for real-time analysis, a new dataset with 12,000 images was created and analyzed with the YOLOv3 and TinyYOLO. Finally, an Azure Kinect DT was employed to analyze the clo value in real-time. Moreover, real-time analysis can be employed with any other webcam. The model recognizes at least three garments of a clothing ensemble, proving that it identifies more than a single clothing garment. Besides, the model has at least 90% accuracy in the test dataset, ensuring that it can be generalized and is not overfitting.