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Introduction
Quality of clothing depends on many factors. An ability to ensure a utility comfort is one of the most important factors determining the quality of clothing. Researchers specify four types of comfort: thermo-physiological comfort, sensorial comfort, comfort of fit and psychological comfort (Rossi, 2005). The thermo-physiological comfort is considered as the most important type of utility comfort of clothing usage. The thermal comfort is a necessary condition of the thermo-physiological comfort.
Protection against thermal discomfort is primal and fundamental function of clothing. The clothing creates a thermal barrier between the human body and surroundings (Ogulata, 2007). Thermal insulation properties of clothing play a crucial role for a human’s heat maintenance. In winter conditions clothing protects the human organism against excessive heat loss. In warm microclimate the clothing should protect the human organism against overheating.
An ability of clothing to ensure the thermo-physiological comfort depends on many factors (Matusiak and Sikorski, 2011; Gunesoglu et al., 2005). The following factors should be mentioned here: comfort-related properties of materials from which clothing is made, a number and an arrangement of clothing layers (Matusiak, 2006), clothing cut and fitting to user’s body (Matusiak, 2011). In order to ensure an expected thermal insulation of clothing it is necessary to select appropriate materials: the woven, knitted or nonwoven fabrics. Apart from the basic structural, mechanical and aesthetic properties, the fabrics should be characterised by the comfort-related properties at the level ensuring a physiological comfort in predicted climatic conditions. The thermal resistance, water-vapour resistance and air permeability are considered the most important comfort-related properties of fabrics and clothing (Hes et al., 2006).
The manufacturers of fabrics and clothing make intensive efforts in order to meet the expectations of clothing users. We can also observe a significant development of new types of advanced fibres, yarns and textile materials aimed at ensuring the physiological comfort of clothing users. The following comfort-oriented inventions can be mentioned here: hollow fibres, Lunafa yarn, Spinair yarn (Andrysiak et al., 2014), Far InfraRed textile materials, Phase Change Materials (Laschuk et al., 2008), Shape Memory Materials, so called “moisture management” fibres, semipermeable membranes, polar fleece, textile heaters, etc.
Some researchers consider (Ashraf et al., 2015; Gandhi, 2012) that the seersucker fabrics have good comfort...