Evaluation of heat loss in abaya and daily wear clothing using a heated thermal manikin

Abstract

Abaya is a black robe worn by Muslim women in Arabic-speaking countries. Due to the extreme hot climate in its region, understanding abaya thermal comfort is very important when selecting materials or designing garments. This paper investigates the total heat loss in abaya and daily worn clothing covered by abaya. The heat loss properties were measured under dry conditions by dressing a female thermal manikin with various ensembles of daily worn clothing with different designs of abaya. Tests were conducted at 23 ºC and 50% relative humidity as dry condition. It was found that abaya combination in woven fabric appears to be more comfortable than the knitted abaya combination. In terms of design, wearing abaya from the shoulder with tight or loose sleeves appears to be more comfortable than wearing abaya on the top of head. A combination of daily clothing worn with abaya loses less body heat compared to daily worn clothing alone, irrespective of abaya designs and fabric types