Development and trial of athletic T-shirt using spacer blocks to enhance ventilation

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 706-715
Author(s):  
Chu Po Ho ◽  
Jintu Fan ◽  
Edward Newton ◽  
Raymond Au
Keyword(s):  
Skin Surface ◽  
Air Gap ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Treadmill Running ◽  
Thermal Manikin ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Air Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation Performance ◽  
Moisture Vapour

Purpose In previous studies, enlarging the air gap between fabric and the skin through the placement of spacer blocks has been proven to improve air ventilation, particularly when the pumping effect is activated during movement. These studies evaluated only the total thermal insulation (Rt) and moisture vapour resistance (Ret) by using a fabric thermal manikin. The purpose of this paper is to report the experience, perceived comfort level, and ventilation effect of two designed T-shirts in a wearer trial. Design/methodology/approach An athletic T-shirt (Vented Design) was designed by attaching spacer blocks to the underside of the fabric to enlarge the air gap. Eight subjects participated in the wearer trial, which comprised 30 min treadmill running, followed by 10 min of rest. At different points during the 40 min test period, subjects rated their body coolness, skin dryness, and overall comfort of the designed T-shirt. The testing was repeated with participants wearing the same T-shirt but without spacer blocks, which served as a control garment. The mean skin temperature of each subject was also measured to support survey findings. Findings The data were evaluated using independent t-tests. The T-shirt with spacer blocks provided higher ventilation than the control T-shirt after 10 min of running. Research limitations – because of limited resources, only eight subjects were recruited to this study. In addition, more T-shirt designs should be tested in the future to elucidate how T-shirt design affects ventilation performance. Originality/value This study investigated a T-shirt design wherein the air gap between the skin surface and fabric was increased. The results of the wearer trial showed that this design could be adopted as a design brief for further design development of related clothing. This study has implications for clothing designers developing functional clothing with improved ventilation.

Effects of athletic T-shirt designs on natural ventilation

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chupo Ho ◽  
Jintu Fan ◽  
Edward Newton ◽  
Raymond Au
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Moisture Transfer ◽  
Design Method ◽  
Air Gap ◽  
Thermal Manikin ◽  
Heat And Moisture Transfer ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Heat And Moisture ◽  
Air Circulation ◽  
Moisture Vapour

Purpose Maintaining air circulation between the wearer and garment layer is crucial for activating heat and moisture transfer from the body. If an air gap is trapped, air circulation may become ineffective and the ventilation of the garment is, thus, hindered. To maintain and extend the air gap, this study aims to propose a design method that involves placing spacer blocks underneath the garment to prevent the fabric from clinging directly to the skin. Design/methodology/approach To study the application of this design method, a series of T-shirts were produced and tested using a thermal manikin in standing and walking postures. All the T-shirts were made of fabric ostensibly manufactured to have high air permeability. Porous mesh fabric was used to construct the vented panels on the T-shirts. The test was conducted in a chamber with controlled temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. Total thermal insulation (Rt) and moisture vapour resistance (Ret) were measured. Findings The test results showed that extension of the air gap between wearer and fabric provided higher ventilation to the wearer if the vented panels were also present on the T-shirts. Different placements of the vented panels on the T-shirts also affected the heat and moisture transfer from the thermal manikin. Research limitations/implications Due to limited resources, the evaluation of total thermal insulation and moisture vapour resistance was based on the testing result from a thermal manikin instead of any subjective wearer trial. Practical implications This research can contribute to the clothing designer who is developing function wear for a better ventilation. Social implications This research can contribute to the clothing designer who is developing function wear for a better ventilation. Originality/value This study aimed to further develop a new design concept in T-shirt design by improving the construction of the spacer blocks. Fabric with higher air and water vapour permeability was used to determine to what extent this design method is applicable to higher performance on heat and moisture transfer.

Effects of hip protective clothing on thermal wear comfort of clothing ensembles

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiah Wardiningsih ◽  
Olga Troynikov
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Protective Clothing ◽  
Thermal Manikin ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wear Comfort ◽  
Ensemble Performance ◽  
Clothing Style ◽  
Thermal Wear ◽  
Moisture Vapour

Purpose This paper aims to examine the influence of hip protective clothing on ensemble performance attributes related to thermal comfort. It also explores the effect on protective pads of various materials and the arrangements of material. The thermal comfort characteristics are thermal insulation and moisture vapour resistance. Design/methodology/approach For this research, four ensembles of clothing were used: one ensemble without hip protective clothing and three ensembles with hip protective clothing. A thermal manikin was used to test the thermal insulation and moisture vapour resistance of the ensembles. Findings The findings revealed that incorporating hip protective clothing into the clothing ensembles influenced the thermal resistance and moisture vapour resistance of the ensemble. In the “all zones group,” the influence of the hip protective clothing depended on clothing style, with hipster-style clothing producing insignificant changes. In the “hip zones group” and “stomach and hip zones group,” hip protective clothing strongly influenced the thermal comfort attributes of ensembles. Pad material and volume play important roles in these changes in thermal comfort attributes. Originality/value These outcomes are useful for the design and engineering of hip protective clothing, where maximizing protection while minimizing thermal and moisture vapour resistance is critical for wear comfort and adherence in warm or hot conditions. The designer should consider that material, volume and thickness of protective pad affect the overall thermal comfort attributes of the hip protective clothing.

Investigation on thermal comfort of the uniform for workers in tropical monsoon climates

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 849-868
Author(s):  
Jingxian Xu ◽  
Huijuan Liu ◽  
Yunyi Wang ◽  
Jun Li
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Dynamic Condition ◽  
Thermal Manikin ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wind Speeds ◽  
Subjective Perceptions ◽  
Tropical Monsoon ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Thermal Insulations

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the heat transfer mechanism of the uniforms used by people working in hot, humid and windy environments. Furthermore, the effectiveness of an opening structure added to the armpit of the uniforms in improving thermal comfort was comparatively examined.Design/methodology/approachA set of uniforms was tested with the opening at the armpit alternatively zipped or unzipped. Thermal manikin and human tests were performed in a climatic chamber simulating the specific environmental conditions, including wind speeds at four levels (0.15, 0.5, 2, 4 m/s) and relative humidities at two levels (50 and 85%). Static and dynamic thermal insulations of clothing (IT) were examined by the thermal manikin tests. The human bodies' thermal responses, including heart rates (HR), eardrum temperatures (Te), skin temperatures (Tsk) and subjective perceptions, were given by the human tests.FindingsSpecial mechanisms of heat transfer in the specific uniforms used in tropical monsoon climates were revealed. Reductions on IT were caused by the movement of the human body and the environmental wind, and the empirical equations would underestimate this reduction. The opening at the armpit was able to prompt more heat transfer under dynamic condition, with reducing the IT by 11.8%, lowering the mean Tsk by 0.92°C, and significantly improving the subjective perceptions (p < 0.05). The heat exhaustion was alleviated with lowering the Te by 0.32°C.Originality/valueThis study managed to improve the thermal performance of uniforms for workers under unforgiving conditions. The evaluation and design methods introduced by this study provided practical guidance for similar products with strict dress codes and cost control requirements based on the findings from thorough product tests and analysis.

scholarly journals Air Ventilation Performance of School Classrooms with Respect to the Installation Positions of Return Duct

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6188
Author(s):  
Sungwan Son ◽  
Choon-Man Jang
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Indoor Air Quality ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cross Infection ◽  
School Students ◽  
Height Range ◽  
Air Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation Performance

For students, who spend most of their time in school classrooms, it is important to maintain indoor air quality (IAQ) to ensure a comfortable and healthy life. Recently, the ventilation performance for indoor air quality in elementary schools has emerged as an important social issue due to the increase in the number of days of continuous high concentrations of particulate matter. Three-dimensional numerical analysis has been introduced to evaluate the indoor airflow according to the installation location of return diffusers. Considering the possibility of the cross-infection of infectious diseases between students due to the direction of airflow in the classroom, the airflow angles of the average respiratory height range of elementary school students, between 1.0 and 1.5 m, are analyzed. Throughout the numerical analysis inside the classroom, it is found that the floor return system reduces the indoor horizontal airflow that causes cross-infection among students by 20% compared to the upper return systems. Air ventilation performance is also analyzed in detail using the results of numerical simulation, including streamlines, temperature and the age of air.

Origin of somatosensory evoked responses recorded from the cervical skin surface

1978 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 980-984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koki Shimoji ◽  
Hiroyuki Shimizu ◽  
Yoichi Maruyama
Keyword(s):  
Cauda Equina ◽  
Skin Surface ◽  
Peak Latency ◽  
Spinal Root ◽  
Negative Wave ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Segmental Nerve ◽  
Strong Stimulation ◽  
Somatosensory Evoked Response ◽  
Two Peaks

✓ Somatosensory evoked response from the cervical skin surface over the spine (the cervical SER) was recorded, and compared with the cord dorsum potential (CDP) simultaneously recorded from the posterior epidural space at the same segment. The cervical SER evoked by segmental nerve stimulation consisted of an initially positive spike (P1), the peak latency being the same as that of the P1 of the CDP, followed by a smaller negative wave with two peaks. The latency of the second peak of the negative wave (N1) coincided with that of the N1 of the CDP. Subsequent to this negative wave, a slow positive wave (P2) with peak latency similar to that of the P2 of the CDP, could be noticed in some subjects. The cervical SER could not be evoked even by strong stimulation of the cauda equina. Thus, the cervical SER might reflect a segmental phenomenon rather than the conducted potential along the cord, and originate from the spinal root and cord in the same way as the segmentally evoked CDP.

Experimental study of heat and moisture transfer in vertical air gap under protective clothing against dry and wet heat exposures

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Su ◽  
Miao Tian ◽  
Yunyi Wang ◽  
Xianghui Zhang ◽  
Jun Li
Keyword(s):  
Natural Convection ◽  
Protective Clothing ◽  
Moisture Transfer ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Air Gap ◽  
Gap Size ◽  
Heat And Moisture Transfer ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wet Heat ◽  
Heat And Moisture

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study heat and steam transfer in a vertical air gap and improve thermal protective performance of protective clothing under thermal radiation and hot steam.Design/methodology/approachAn experiment-based model was introduced to analyze heat and moisture transfer in the vertical air gap between the protective clothing and human body. A developed test apparatus was used to simulate different air gap sizes (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21 and 24 mm). The protective clothing with different air gap sizes was subjected to dry and wet heat exposures.FindingsThe increase of the air gap size reduced the heat and moisture transfer from the protective clothing to the skin surface under both heat exposures. The minimum air gap size for the initiation of natural convection in the dry heat exposure was between 6 and 9 mm, while the air gap size for the occurrence of natural convection was increased in the wet heat exposure. In addition, the steam mass flux presented a sharp decrease with the rising of the air gap size, followed by a stable state, mainly depending on the molecular diffusion and the convection mass transfer.Originality/valueThis research provides a better understanding of the optimum air gap under the protective clothing, which contributes to the design of optimum air gap size that provided higher thermal protection against dry and wet heat exposures.

Analytical sub-domain model for predicting open-circuit field of permanent magnet vernier machine accounting for tooth tips

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 624-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Oner ◽  
Z.Q. Zhu ◽  
L.J. Wu ◽  
X. Ge
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Permanent Magnet ◽  
Open Circuit ◽  
Air Gap ◽  
Domain Model ◽  
Direct Drive ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Cogging Torque ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Flux Modulation

Purpose – Due to high electromagnetic torque at low speed, vernier machines are suitable for direct-drive applications such as electric vehicles and wind power generators. The purpose of this paper is to present an exact sub-domain model for analytically predicting the open-circuit magnetic field of permanent magnet vernier machine (PMVM) including tooth tips. The entire field domain is divided into five regions, viz. magnets, air gap, slot openings, slots, and flux-modulation pole slots (FMPs). The model accounts for the influence of interaction between PMs, FMPs and slots, and radial/parallel magnetization. Design/methodology/approach – Magnetic field distributions for slot and air-gap, flux linkage, back-EMF and cogging torque waveforms are obtained from the analytical method and validated by finite element analysis (FEA). Findings – It is found that the developed sub-domain model including tooth tips is very accurate and is applicable to PMVM having any combination of slots/FMPs/PMs. Originality/value – The main contributions include: accurate sub-domain model for PMVM is proposed for open-circuit including tooth-tip which cannot be accounted for in literature; the model accounts the interaction between flux modulation pole (FMP) and slot; developed sub-domain model is accurate and applicable to any slot/FMP/PM combinations; and it has investigated the influence of FMP/slot opening width/height on cogging torque.

Design quality assessment of campus facilities through post occupancy evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad A. Hassanain ◽  
Muizz O. Sanni-Anibire ◽  
Abubakar Sadiq Mahmoud
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Design Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
Air Ventilation ◽  
Academic Buildings ◽  
Surrounding Areas

PurposeThis study aims to present the design quality assessment of facilities on a university campus in Saudi Arabia.Design/methodology/approachForty-nine standardized design quality indicators (DQIs) have been adopted for the study. These were classified into relevant categories including: “Indoor Environment, Safety and Maintenance,” “Furniture, Utilities and Spaces” and “Privacy, Appearance and Surrounding Areas.” A web-based survey was used to obtain responses from 207 respondents. The survey was designed based on a Likert scale of satisfaction and was analyzed to obtain the satisfaction indices (SI) as well as Design Quality Scores (DQS).FindingsOccupants were dissatisfied the “level of noise generated from within the space,” “amount of natural light from daylighting systems” and “ease of control of air ventilation systems” among others. The DQS revealed that residential buildings had the highest design quality in terms of “Indoor Environment, Safety, and Maintenance” and “Privacy, Appearance and Surrounding Areas.” Administrative buildings had the best design quality in terms of “furniture, utilities and spaces.” Academic buildings had the lowest design quality in terms of “Indoor Environment, Safety and Maintenance” and “Privacy, Appearance and Surrounding Areas.”Originality/valueUltimately, the study demonstrated how the adoption of a standard set of DQIs could facilitate the standardization of design quality evaluation in the property sector as well as identify best practices through comparison and benchmarking.

DESIGN-ED: a pedagogical toolkit to support K-12 teachers’ emergency transition to remote online education

2020 ◽  
Vol 121 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 331-339
Author(s):  
Paul Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Iterative Refinement ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Engagement ◽  
Educational Engagement ◽  
K 12

Purpose K-12 educators face persistent and nascent challenges as they grapple with making an emergency transition to remote online modes of engaging with their students. Crossing the digital divide that exists between multi-site educational engagement is challenging. This paper aims to address the particular challenge of maintaining or, perhaps re-conceptualising, the constructs that support social interaction in the face-to-face setting. A second pressing challenge is considering issues of equity when making the emergency transition to remote online engagement that are, in the physical classroom, somewhat mitigated by practitioners and the systems that support them. Design/methodology/approach DESIGN-ED is the output of a design-based research study. Findings However, in the rush to support this transition, it is possible that such challenges could be exacerbated if practitioners are not supported by a sustainable pedagogical process to frame their engagement with K-12 students in remote online formats. This paper explores these nascent challenges, presents a conceptual framework and explicates a subsequent design research model the form of a practitioner focussed “toolkit” that has the consideration of equity at its core. The “DESIGN-ED Toolkit” adopts and adapts a contemporary, effective and rapidly iterative design process from industry known as design thinking. Research limitations/implications The core components of this this process (empathy, definition, ideation, prototype and test) are pedagogically translated for use in complex and dynamic educational settings such as remote online engagement. Practical implications Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored. Originality/value Lessons learned from the design, development and iterative refinement of this toolkit over three years are presented, and affordances of engaging with such a process are explored.

Assessment of user satisfaction in an intelligent office building in Istanbul

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-340
Author(s):  
Merve Aksoy ◽  
Semra Sema Uzunoglu
Keyword(s):  
Indoor Air ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Office Building ◽  
User Requirements ◽  
Design Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Shed Light

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate an intelligent office building based on the post occupation evaluation (POE) criteria in relation to physical and psychosocial user needs. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a questionnaire. The first group of questions was to determine demographic information; the second group of questions includes questions, which aim to measure the comfort level of the building users. The questionnaire also includes open-ended questions on other comments and suggestions. The data of the research were evaluated with the SPSS program and frequency and percentage distributions were determined. A total of 110 employees participated in the survey. Findings The results showed that the participants were generally satisfied with the design quality, indoor air quality and building support services quality of the building, while there were also participants who report dissatisfaction about the floor covering materials and ventilation of the spaces. At the end of the study, attention was drawn to the importance of POE in connection with user requirements. Originality/value It is considered that this study will shed light on future works by developing a perspective on intelligent office buildings in terms of user requirements and research process with the results obtained.

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