Simultaneous Contact Sensing and Characterizing of Mechanical and Dynamic Heat Transfer Properties of Porous Polymeric Materials.

Porous polymeric materials, such as textile fabrics, are elastic and widely used in our daily life for garment and household products. The mechanical and dynamic heat transfer properties of porous polymeric materials, which describe the sensations during the contact process between porous polymeric materials and parts of the human body, such as the hand, primarily influence comfort sensations and aesthetic qualities of clothing. A multi-sensory measurement system and a new method were proposed to simultaneously sense the contact and characterize the mechanical and dynamic heat transfer properties of porous polymeric materials, such as textile fabrics in one instrument, with consideration of the interactions between different aspects of contact feels. The multi-sensory measurement system was developed for simulating the dynamic contact and psychological judgment processes during human hand contact with porous polymeric materials, and measuring the surface smoothness, compression resilience, bending and twisting, and dynamic heat transfer signals simultaneously. The contact sensing principle and the evaluation methods were presented. Twelve typical sample materials with different structural parameters were measured. The results of the experiments and the interpretation of the test results were described. An analysis of the variance and a capacity study were investigated to determine the significance of differences among the test materials and to assess the gage repeatability and reproducibility. A correlation analysis was conducted by comparing the test results of this measurement system with the results of Kawabata Evaluation System (KES) in separate instruments. This multi-sensory measurement system provides a new method for simultaneous contact sensing and characterizing of mechanical and dynamic heat transfer properties of porous polymeric materials.

Apparatus and test method for characterizing the temperature regulating properties of thermal functional porous polymeric materials.

In order to evaluate the temperature regulating properties of thermal functional porous polymeric materials such as fabrics treated with phase change material microcapsules, a new apparatus was developed. The apparatus and the test method can measure the heat flux, temperature, and displacement signals during the dynamic contact and then quickly give an evaluation for the temperature regulating properties by simulating the dynamic heat transfer and temperature regulating process when the materials contact the body skin. A series of indices including the psychosensory intensity, regulating capability index, and relative regulating index were defined to characterize the temperature regulating properties. The measurement principle, the evaluation criteria and grading method, the experimental setup and the test results discussion, and the gage capability analysis of the apparatus are presented. The new apparatus provides a method for the objective measurement and evaluation of the temperature regulating properties of thermal functional porous polymeric materials.