10/9/2016

Comfort,AppearanceandDurabilityofFabricsTextileLearner

Comfort,AppearanceandDurabilityofFabrics

R.S.Balakumar
M.A.(SOCIOLOGY),M.L.M.(LabourManagement),PursuingMBA(EXECUTIVE)in(FASHIONTECH),MISTE.,
Chennai,India
Cell:+919283182955
Email:rsbalakumar1953@gmail.com

Introduction:
ThetermComfortisbeingmentionedastheabsenceofunpleasantnessoranaturalstatecomparedtomoreactive
state of pleasure. The most important factor affecting Comfort in clothing is the movement of heat and water vapour
throughagarment.Therearetwofactorswhichkeepthehumanbeingmorecomfortable.

Comfortwear

PhysicalandPsychologicalAspects
Comfort is always depend on physiological effects of such climatic variables of temperature, relative humidity and air
movementofabodysituatedinaparticularconditionandalsoclothingfactors,particularlyfabricgeometry,porevolume
andenclosedaircontentetc.

PhysicalAspects
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Thephysicalfactorsdeterminingthecomfortperformanceoftextiles.Particularlytheheattransferbetweenmanandhis
environment,togetherwithmovementofmoistureforinsensibleheattransfer,constitutesamajorcomfortMaintaining
mechanism.Comfortinvolvesacomplexcombinationofproperties.
Both subjective andphysical. The movement of heat, moisture and air through a fabric are the major factors governing
comfort: but some of the subjective factors such as size, fit and aesthetic behaviour (softness, handle and drape)
obviouslyareveryimportant.Inaddition,otherfactorssuchasthegenerationofstaticelectricityandthecontrolofnoise
arecloselyconnectedwithappareluse.

ThermalPropertiesandComfort
Body temperature is the most critical factor in deciding comfort. Heat is gained by the body from the solar energy, by
internal metabolism by physical exercise or by involuntary contraction of skeletal muscles in shivering, Heat loss, by
conduction. Convection or radiationdepends partly on the temperature gradient between the skin and environment, and
thisgradientismodifiedbyvaryingtheskintemperature.
Blood flow near the body surface controls the skin temperature. Excessive heat may be dissipated rapidly by
vaporisation of by body water, the body being used as a source of latent heat for the purpose a clothing system that
hindersfreeevaporationtoanyappreciableextentwillthusbeuncomfortable.Ontheotherhand,undesirableheatloss
canbepreventedbyincreasingthethermalresistanceandalowresistancewillagainresultindiscomfortforthewearer.
Inthenudehumanbody,anenvelopeofwarmairmovesbyconvectionintheupwarddirectionaroundthebodysurface
and facilitates heat exchange, by convection or evaporation with surrounding environment. The presence of clothing
interfereswiththefreedomofthisprocessandthusmodifiestheamountofrateofheatlossinacomplexmanner.The
ambientairtemperatureisthedominantinfluenceindeterminingtheskintemperature.Atalowtemperature,clothingis
essentialfortheregulatoryprocessbecausethebodydoesnothavetheabilitytocontinuetocompensateforheatloss
undertheseconditions.

Heattransfer
The resistance that a fabric offers to the movement of heat through it is obviously of critical importance to its thermal
comfort.Thethermalresistancetotransferofheatfromthebodytothesurroundingairisthesumofthreeparameters:

1.Thermalresistancetotransferofheatfromthesurfaceofthematerial,
2.Thermalresistanceoftheclothingmaterial.
3.Thermalresistanceoftheairinterlayer.
Thefirsttwofactorsaretakenintoaccountforthemovementofairthroughthematerial.Thethirdfactorcontrolstherate
offiltrationofairthroughtheclothingassemblyforagivenwindspeed.
The heat transfer through a fabric is complex phenomenon affected by a number of factors. The three factors for the
normalfabricappearanceare:

1.Thickness
2.Enclosedstillairand
3.Externalairmovement.
For a fixed weight thermal insulation increases with thickness (with increased enclosed air) whereas the property
decreaseswithincreaseinweight(i.e.,decreaseinenclosedair)ifthethicknessismaintainedconstant.Theentrapped
airisthemostsignificantfactorindeterminingthermalinsulation.
Distinguished micro layers (those between contacting surfaces of the material) and macro layers (between non
contacting surfaces) of air enclosed within assembly shows that increase in either of these can increase thermal
insulation.Itappearsthatboththicknessandentrappedairplayapartindeterminingthermalinsulation.
Oneofthemajorfunctionsofclothingistoprojecttheweareragainstextremersofenvironmentaltemperature,fromthe
excessiveambientheataswellascold.

Moisturepermeability
Thesecondimportantpropertyoffabric,fromacomfortpointofview,isthewayinwhichitallowswatertopassthrough.
Thisprocesscantakeplaceinboththeliquidandvapourfromofwater,andthedifferenceisanimportantone.Ifwater
evaporatedattheskinandpassesasvapourthroughthefabric(ortolesserextent,ifitistransmittedtothesurfaceby
movementwithinfibres)theporesofthefabricremainfree.
This enables the movement of air through the fabric to continue and allows the heat insulation value of the air within
these pores to be maintained. On the other hand, if skin moisture is transported to the surface in the liquid from by
wicking action and only evaporates on reaching the layers at the fabric surface, comfort is reduced in two ways: The
sensation of wetness is perceived by the nerve sensors on the skin, so the garment feels clammy and in addition the
waterfilledfabricporesarenolongerabletoholddeadairpocketssothatheatinsulatingabilityislostandthegarment
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fellscold.
In addition, if garment permits free accesses of liquid water it is uncomfortable inwet weather, where the reverse
movementofexteriorwatertowardstheskinisexperienced.Themoisturevapoursorlostateitherthemanufacturingor
thefinishingstagesoftheproductionprocess.

FactorsAffectingPermeability
The movement of water vapour through a fabric depends considerably on the microspores, nature of the materials, and
thismovementcanhencebemodifiedbyanyoperationsthatbringaboutachangeinthestructure.Theeffectoffabric
properties and of finishing treatment on moisture vapour transport considers briefly the changes brought about by
texturing,differentyarntwist,blending,mechanicaltreatment,chemicalfinishing,fibrepropertiesandgarmentdesign.

PermeabilityandComfort
Although heat transmission may be critical to survival in cold weather, it is contestable that moisture vapour
transmissioniscrucialtocomfortinbothcoldandhotweather.Freemovementofwatertothefabricsurfaceisessential
ifdiscomfortduetoperspirationcausingfabricwetnessandleadingtofreezinginwaterorclamminessinsummeristo
beprevented.

AirPermeability
Theairpermeabilityoffabriccaninfluenceitscomfortbehaviourinthefollowingways:
Amaterialthatispermeabletoairisalsoingenerallikelytobepermeabletowater,ineithervapourorliquidfrom.
Thus the moisture vapour permeability and the liquid moisture transmission are normally closely related to air
permeability.
The thermal resistance of a fabric is strongly dependent on the enclosed still air, and this factor is in turn
influencedbythefabricstructure,asalsoistheairpermeability.Averyopenclothcaninflictseriouswindchill
problem on the wearer in cold climates with a breeze blowing and may thus affect survival chance may be in
extreme cases. A highly air permeable fabric may be sheer or have a very open structure, so that aesthetic
factors such as dimensional stability, drape, handle or even skin blotchiness in strong sunlight may result in
discomfortofapsychologicalorphysicalnaturetothewearer.

SizeandFit
An important aspect of comfort, which is not strictly a textiles problem, but rather a clothing one, is size and fit. No
matterhowwellafabricisengineeredtohaveoptimumvaluesofheat,heatwaterorairtransmission,anygarmentmade
fromitcannotberegardedascomfortableifitdoesnotfitproperly.
Two distinct factors are clearly evident in determination of whether the fit of a garment is good. The first on is a
subjective one, which depends on whether the wearer achieves psychological satisfaction from the garment. The other
factorisphysicaloneandisconcernedwiththeconditionsofcontactbetweenthefabricandthebody.
The body fitting garments can restrict cardio vascular flow causing skin abrasion, create unpleasant thermal or
moistureconditions,induceirritationorcauseanysimilaraggravationstothewearerintheformdiscomfort.Thereshould
beproperroomforthemovementofdifferentpartsbody,particularlyarms,frontandbackoftheshoulderjoint.

AestheticComfort
In examining the comfort behaviour of textiles, it is necessary to include some consideration of factors that are not
measuredbyobviousphysicaltestsandmaybesubjectiveinthattwopeoplemaydisagreeaboutthelevelofcomfortof
the same fabric. These aesthetic factors include properties such as softness, handle, drape and similar properties and
mayalsoincludepropertiessuchascolour,style,fashioncompatibilityandothersimilarcharacteristics.
The most difficult among these terms, to define, is handling. The act of submitting a fabric to a tactile test between
fingersandthumbisaresultofstimulusfromfabricactingonmajorsensorycentrespresumablypresentinthehuman
hand.Measurementofsoftnessmayberegardedasoneaspectofhandle.
Stiffnesscanbesaidtobemostinfluentialfactoringoverningsoftness.Thisfactorisrepresentedbythedensity,weave
andsoftnessofthefibre.Thesecondoftheaestheticpropertiestobeconsideredisdrape.Weightandsoftnessarethe
twoimportantfactorsgoverningdrape.

StaticElectricity
Amildcurrentofelectricityisproducedduetothefrictionbetweenthegarmentandtheskinofthewearer.Thisalsoisa
causeofdiscomforttothewearer.Thisismoresoincaseofgarmentsmadeusingsyntheticfibres.
To sum up, the capacity of a fabric to allow the transfer of heat and the flow of air and water are the most important
factorswhichshouldbetakenintoconsiderationbythemanufacturersofapparelfabricstodecidewhetherthefabricwill
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becomfortabletothewearerornot.

Conclusion:
While customers buying the readymade garment, these three elements are considered to be the important namely,
comfort, appearance and durability. Comfort can be defined as the absence of unpleasantness. The most important
factor affecting comfort in the clothing is the movement of heat and water vapour through a garment, there are two
factorswhichheapthemodernmancomfortable.

Referencebook:
1.FashionDesignVol1
2.FashionConceptsDr.NavneetKaur
3.ClothingTechnology
4.FibretoFabrics

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