Evaluation of Thermal Physiological Responses and Comfort in Vitamin E Fabric

비타민 E 소재의 인체생리반응 및 쾌적성 평가

  • Im Soon (Dept. of Fashion & Industry, Incheon University) ;
  • Chung Myung-Hee (Dept. of Textile & Clothing Design, Kyun Hee University)
  • 임순 (인천대학교 패션산업학과) ;
  • 정명희 (경희대학교 의류디자인)
  • Published : 2005.06.01

Abstract

This study performed the evaluation of skin temperature, heart rate, temperature and relative humidity of microclimate, and subjective sensation, such as thermal sensation, wet sensation and comfort sensation to estimate physiological responses of the human body and its comfortable feeling to the vitamin E fabric. Experiments were performed on the five healthy adult women whose average age was 21, at climate chamber in which temperature, relative humidity and air current were set up below $30{\pm}\;1^{\circ}C$, $50{\pm}\;15\%$ and 0.2m/s, respectively. Two kinds of clothes were used for experiments: unfinished sports clothes, with the same form and the same size, of short-sleeved knit shirt and long trousers made with $100\%$ cotton, and finished sports clothes printed with the vitamin E solution of the level of $0.88\%$. Exercises of walking (about 105 steps/minute) with the exercise intensity of 2.5 were performed for 20 minutes using treadmill. In result, the study showed significant difference (p<0.01) in average skin temperature between unfinished and finished sport clothes, and represented higher value with having unfinished sport clothes in wear than with finished one. The study also showed significant difference (p<0.01) in heart rate only during the period of exercise, and represented higher value generally with unfinished sport clothes than with finished one. There were significant differences not only in temperature of microclimate (p<0.01) but also in humidity of microclimate (p<0.05) between two sport clothes. As for the evaluation of subjective sensation, the study showed significant difference (p<0.05) in thermal sensation between the two kinds of sport clothes, significant difference in wet sensation only during the period of exercise, and significant difference (p<0.05) in comfort sensation only during the period of recovery.

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