2007, Piran, Slovenia

Clothing
EFFECTS OF AIR GAPS UNDER CLOTHING ON
THERMOPHYSIOLOGICAL COMFORT
Yunyi Wang, Jun Li, Jinhuan Pan, Suyan Liu
Fashion Institute, Dong Hua University, Shanghai 200051, People’s Republic of
China
Contact person: lijun@dhu.edu.cn
INTRODUCTION
Air gaps are trapped under clothing, with its characteristics determined by the body,
clothing and the environment. Some preliminary research has focused on the effect of
air gaps on thermal insulation [1]. However, in this research did not describe air gaps
quantitatively. Non-contact measure technology is a novel way to investigate clothing
[2] and the characteristics of air gaps [3]. In this project, we evaluated air gaps using a
three-dimensional body measurement system and an infrared camera to quantify
clothing surface temperature without disturbing the air gap status, and we describe the
affects of air gaps on thermal comfort.
METHODS
Experimental Garments: The experimental garment was a round collared shirt (100%
cotton twill) in “X” silhouette with zipper closure in center front (length 56 cm). Nine
experimental garments with gradually increasing at breast, waist and hip girths, were
evaluated (Table 1).
Table 1. Details of the experimental garments.
Clothing code Breast girth (cm ) Waist girth (cm) Hip girth(cm)
1 87 69 93
2 90 72 96
3 93 75 99
4 96 78 102
5 99 81 105
6 102 84 108
7 105 87 111
8 108 90 114
9 111 93 117
Experimental Protocol: Nine subjects (Table 2) were familiarised with test procedures
and a subjective voting scale. They reported tested at the same time on different days,
in a climatic chamber (23.5 ±0.5°C), the wind velocity