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Comfort Of Warm‐Up Suits During Exercise As Related To Moisture Transport Properties Of Fabrics
Author(s) -
Morris M.A.,
Prato H.H.,
Chadwick S.L.,
Bernauer E.M.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
home economics research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.372
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1552-3934
pISSN - 0046-7774
DOI - 10.1177/1077727x8501400116
Subject(s) - moisture , composite material , materials science , environmental science
To assess the relationship between comfort and moisture transport properties of warm‐up suit fabrics, a wear study was designed in which physiological and subjective measurements were obtained from subjects wearing warm‐up suits under controlled conditions of exercise and environment. During the wear study, the subjects were under moderate heat stress in the warm environment and under no heat stress in the cool environment. Three fabrics were used in the study. Two of the fabrics were similar in thickness and insulative value but differed in ability to absorb and transport moisture. The other fabric had moisture properties that were similar to one of the above fabrics, but it was thinner and had a lower insulative value. Under cool environmental conditions the three fabrics provided similar levels of comfort. When the wearers were subjected to moderate heat stress, they were most comfortable when wearing either the thinnest fabric or the fabric which absorbed and transported the most moisture. Comparisons between the two fabrics with similar insulative values indicated that the under garments contained less moisture and the wearers felt drier when wearing the suit which had better moisture transport properties. Laboratory measurements of liquid transport and drop absorption were the best predictors of subjective eval uations of wetness and differences in the amounts of moisture in the garments when worn under conditions of moderate heat stress.