An empirical analysis of potential cyclist injuries and cycling outfit comfort

This study investigated the relationship between pain/injury and training characteristics in cyclists. In addition, ergonomic wear comfort of their garments was investigated. A total of 94 complete questionnaire responses were analyzed. The result indicated that lower back pain was the most prevalent injury causing the highest rates of functional damage and medical attention. The injury level of cyclists was affected by the cluster with elite cyclists reporting pain while cycling. Many cyclists were not very satisfied with the comfort level of their current outfit, 39% of respondents were experienced with different discomfort sensations. The most frequent causes of discomfort were thermal and moisture discomfort sensation related to fabric characteristics. Moreover, design and fit of the garment were considered as cause of discomfort next to thermal discomfort sensation. Therefore, it could be concluded that garments that have good ventilation or breathability and very good fit values were preferred by cyclists. Design, limited choice (availability), appearance/look and quality were the main reason for their brand selection preferences

The Effects of Finish Type on Permeability and Organoleptic Properties of Python (Python Reticulatus) Skin Finished Leather

In the leather industry, there are many different types of finish, i.e. two-tone, transparent, semi aniline and opaque/solid color. The composition formulation of each finish type is different so each will impact not only on the performance but also on the properties of the finished leather. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of finish type (natural, aniline, semi-aniline, and two-tone) on permeability and organoleptic properties of python skin finished leather. This research focused on the finishing process with various finish types. The results showed that the effect of semi-aniline (I,II) finish type on water vapor permeability reduction is the highest when compared with natural (I, II); aniline (I,II) and two-tone finish types. Otherwise, the effect of semi-aniline (I,II) finish type on organoleptic properties is the lowest compared with natural (I, II); aniline (I,II) and two-tone finish types. The aniline I finish type has better organoleptic properties

The comparative study of nursing pads by electrospun cellulose acetate, polyethylene oxide and thermoplastic polyurethane nanofibers

This study summarizes the general information about nursing pads and novel electrospun nanofiber mats as potential component for nursing pads. It also compares electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), cellulose acetate (CA) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) nanofibers with a polypropylene conventional disposable nursing pad (NP) in terms of hydrophilicity, breathability, air permeability and swelling properties. Nanofiber mats prepared by the electrospinning method have unique properties such as smooth surface, high specific surface area and high porosity with fine pores which will lead to improved wicking properties. These properties make nanofibers potential component for disposable nursing pads. Mean diameters of produced nanofibers were 284.39, 609.70 and 219.30 nm for CA, TPU and PEO, respectively. Water contact angle measurement revealed that these nanofibers show good wettability properties better than commercial nonwoven nursing mat and air permeability results revealed that these nanofibrous mats have considerably adequate permeability. Besides, water vapor permeability results showed these nanofibers still show good breathability despite their compact structure. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

A Sheep in Synthetic Wolf's Clothing: Creating a Hybrid of Natural and Man-Made Materials to Combine Protection and Aesthetics in a Cold Climate.

For thousands of years, humans have experimented with methods of joining materials, not only to create objects for practical use but also to satisfy their desire for decoration and embellishment. This research project aims to combine a man-made technical textile with sheepskin (one of mankind's oldest protective clothing materials), in order to investigate the potential of creating an aesthetically pleasing garment that also offers high performance. This concept is an inversion of the recent trend for mimicking nature in textile construction. In this paper the processes explored will include the rationale for material selection, as well as construction methods such as bonding, welding and minimal seaming, together with ergonomic pattern cutting. Aspects of aesthetics will also be investigated. By combining these materials, processes and fabrications into a female-specific hybrid jacket, the intention of the research is to resolve the tension between garment aesthetics and the need for thermal regulation in a cold climate

Implementation of an automated system to measure the breathability of different fabrics

In this paper the design of an automated measuring system to study and characterize different fabrics in terms of breathability is presented. This system came as a solution to the actual problem in the fabric industry regarding the measurement of breathability. Currently the systems used are not automated, expensive and slow, and the few automated systems used do not often recreate the real sweating conditions. That leads to breathability results that do not match the real performance of the fabrics. This paper presents a system that simulates better the human perspiration. A low-cost system based in Arduino was built and Matlab models were extracted and used to finely tune the PIDs that control the parameters. The software was designed to provide an user friendly operation and to calculate the breathability expressed in commonly used units. This system was proved to be an 80% faster than the current systems in the market, providing a good instrument to perform further studies of different kind of fabrics.Postprint (published version