Fast garment drape simulation using geometrically constrained particle system

A simulation system for versatile garment drape has been developed. Using this system, the shape of a garment can be simulated in consideration of fabric physical properties as well as the interaction between fabrics and other objects. Each fabric piece in a garment is modeled using a geometrically constrained particle system and its behavior is calculated from an implicit numerical integration algorithm in a relatively short time. The system consists of three modules including a preprocessor for the preparation of fabric patterns and external objects, a postprocessor for the results of three-dimensional visualization, and a drape simulation engine. It can be used for the design process of textile goods, garments, furniture, or upholsteries.     

Garment pattern nesting using image analysis and three-dimensional simulation

A software system has been developed that designs garments made of figured fabrics and arranges the flat patterns on the fabric automatically. A series of image analysis techniques were used to find the repeat unit images of figured fabrics. Three-dimensional garment drape simulation was used to design garments using those repeat unit images as texture maps. Finally, a pattern nesting system was developed to arrange numerous flat garment patterns quickly keeping the continuity of the figures on them. This method could contribute to the increase of the reliability as well as the reduction of production cost by eliminating the unnecessary trial-and-error based processes.     

Drape simulation of three-dimensional virtual garment enabling fabric properties

This study analyzes how the silhouette of virtual garments applied to virtual avatars is altered according to various virtual fabric properties. This study measures the properties of real fabrics that include a charmeuse (#F1) and gabardine (#F2) using the Fabric Analysis by Simple Testing system; in addition, the material properties of different real fabrics were applied to that of the virtual fabric. It then evaluates the drape stiffness and silhouette of the virtual garments according to the different fabrics. This study also compared the virtual garment silhouette of sample fabric #F1-S that changed only the stretch property of the sample fabric #F1 with the virtual garment silhouette of sample fabric #F1. The results show that the fabric properties including bend, thickness, weight, stretch, shear values affect the drape stiffness, silhouette, and fit of the virtual garment simulated on virtual avatars and may be used for the realistic virtual garment technology.     

A new experimental study of influence of fabric permeability, clothing sizes, openings and wind on regional ventilation rates

In this study, a local ventilation rates (VR) measuring system based on stead-state method was developed. This system can measure the local VR of the right arm, the left arm, the chest and the back locations of the upper body garment simultaneously. The whole clothing VR can also be computed. To study the influence of fabric permeability, clothing sizes, hem opening, and wind on local VR of the right arm, the chest and the back of the working garments, 9 jackets with different sizes and fabric permeability (permeable, semi-permeable and impermeable) were made. The results showed that the local VR for each garment location were significantly different. The chest had the largest local VR. Clothing ventilation rates were not liner with garment sizes. Closing garment bottom decreased more air exchange for chest and back comparatively. Wind increased both local and whole VR significantly. But the impacts were different according to different locations.     

Parametric body model generation for garment drape simulation

A parametric body model generation system has been developed. Using various mathematic and geometric algorithms of this system, a three-dimensionally scanned human body can be converted into a resizable body model. Once a parametric body model is formed, its size and shape can be modified instantaneously by providing appropriate anthropometric data. To facilitate the subsequent pattern arrangement process for garment drape simulation, a bounding box generation algorithm has been developed in this study. Also the model can be converted into a set of parametric surfaces that it can also be used for three-dimensional garment pattern design system.     

A comparative study of cotton knitted fabrics and garments produced by the modified low twist and conventional ring yarns

Spirality is one of the major potential problems in knitted fabrics and garments. It affects the aesthetics and physical properties of the garment produced, such as the seam displacement, shape retention, pattern distortion and sewing difficulties. In this paper, a comparative study has been carried out to evaluate the physical performance of 100 % cotton knitted fabrics and garments produced by the modified low twist and conventional ring yarns through the actual wearing and washing trials. Experimental results showed that the properties of side seam displacement, fabric spirality, dimensional stability and skewness change of the T-shirts and sweaters made by the modified single yarns are comparable to those of garments made from the control plied yarns but much improved when compared to those from the control single yarns. In addition, the pilling resistance and bursting strength of the knitted fabrics made by the modified single yarns can still maintain a reasonably high level at a low yarn twist.     

Changes in Ensembles’ Thermal Insulation According to Garment’s Fit and Length Based on Athletic Figure

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of design solutions on the thermal insulation of the garments and the ensembles. Previous studies investigated the microclimatic air gaps and volumes, however only under the first - and the second - layered clothing. Since none of the previous studies covered three - layered ensembles, in this study ensembles were accompanied by jackets of different fit and length to investigate the ensembles’ thermal insulation. Variants of bomber jacket differ in the amount of the ease allowance, while variants of the parka differ in length. The thermal insulation of the ensembles increased for 21.6 to 59.7 % when one of the jacket variants was added as the outerwear garment. A threshold volume, after which the thermal insulation will start to decrease due to convection, wasn’t determined for the outerwear third - layered garments nor was the impact of the length of the garment on the thermal insulation clearly stated. This study involved laboratory testing of garments and ensembles by 3D body scanning and thermal manikin measurements. To evaluate the volume of the microclimatic air volume the accurate 3D body scanning was used and the impact of the microclimatic volume on the ensemble’s insulation was tested. The thermal insulation for the selected outerwear garments and afterwards ensembles was measured by resting thermal manikin. Analysis of the results obtained from tests, showed that the garments’ fit and length can be used to model the overall thermal insulation of the ensembles. The ensembles insulation enlargement was measured for microclimatic volumes up to 33.57 dm³ (measured with ensembles accompanied with bomber jacket). The study proved that the limiting microclimatic volume is greater for three - layered clothing, than previously reported. The overall ensembles’ insulation increased simultaneously with the length enlargement (measured with ensembles accompanied with parka jacket). Findings will be of help in the future research on garments and ensembles thermal properties modelled through the design process and the construction.     

Evaluating the cold protective performance (CPP) of an electrically heated garment (EHG) and a chemically heated garment (CHG) in cold environments

This study investigated the cold protective performance (CPP) of two types of heated garments using a Newton manikin operated in constant temperature mode (CT) and thermoregulatory model control (TMC) mode. The effect of two levels of air velocity (i.e., 0.4±0.1 m/s and 1.0±0.1 m/s) on the CPP was discussed. Five scenarios were chosen, the traditional cold protective ensemble (CON), the electrically heated garment (EHG), the non-heated electrically heated garment (EHG_CON, heating was turned off), the chemically heated garment (CHG) and the non-heated chemically heated garment (CHG_CON) (completely oxidized body warmers were used). All experiments were performed at t _a =2.0±0.3 oC and RH=80±5 %. Results demonstrated that both EHG and CHG could provide improved cold protection compared to the nonheated garments, evidenced by the significantly higher thermal insulation in EHG and CHG at both two air velocities (p<0.01). The air velocity has a minor effect on the effective heating power and the heating efficiency, but it significantly reduced the total clothing thermal insulation. EHG exhibited a significantly higher effective heating power and thermal insulation compared to the CHG only under the low air velocity (p<0.05). Additionally, higher skin temperatures and improved whole body and local thermal sensations were observed in both EHG and CHG compared to CON. The EHG compared to CHG, showed similar thermophysiological and psychological responses at 1.0±0.1 m/s (p>0.05). It was thus anticipated that both two heated garments could improve human wear thermal comfort in cold environments.     

Effects of bending properties and drapability on the hand and appearance of wool-blended Fabrics: Comparison of real clothing with online and 3D virtual garments

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of bending properties and drapability on the hand and appearance of wool-blended fabrics for comparison of real clothing with online and 3D virtual garments. Objective evaluations were performed by measuring mechanical properties of fabrics, while subjective evaluations were performed by subjects evaluating sensory images of fabrics; real clothing evaluations were performed offline and online, and 3D virtual garments were evaluated. Bending properties and drape coefficients of fabrics were affected by wool blending ratio, and fabrics with high wool blending ratio showed low stiffness, warm-cool, weight, and high smoothness, drapability image. In the real clothing evaluation, stiffness image showed many differences with online evaluation with respect to wool blending ratio. Objective bending properties and drape coefficients showed no correlation with subjective sensory images offline. For the online results, objective mechanical properties had good correlations with all sensory images except smoothness. Stiffness and warm-cool online scores were higher than the offline ones and the offline drapability was higher than the online one for 100 % wool fabrics. Thus, clothing was generally evaluated online as more hard and moist than real clothing. For the virtual garment evaluation, sensory images had no difference according to wool blending ratio compared with real clothing. Many differences in subjective sensory images between real clothing and virtual garments were observed, except for smoothness and weight images. The results showed that it is difficult to exactly predict the hand and appearance of clothing according to fabric properties using 3D virtual garment system.     

Objective wrinkle evaluation system of fabrics based on 2D FFT

Drying is one of the main processes in the course of washing laundry. During the washing and drying processes in an electric or gas dryer, wrinkles can form on garments. To minimize the wrinkles on the clothes after the processes, a reliable and objective method of assessment of wrinkles should be devised. Wrinkles have been assessed with visual inspection methods by human observers, which were defined by AHAM or AATCC. This method cannot provide objective data for wrinkles because people judge the same things differently according to their own subjective criteria. Thus, this paper is focused on the development of an objective and quantitative system for grading fabric wrinkles based on the 2D-FFT. The system developed in this study has been proven to be objective and quantitative in comparison with the existing test methods.     

Effects of fabric surface energy on human thermophysiological responses during exercise and recovery

The present paper reports a study on influences of fabric surface energy of cotton and polyester garments on clothing microclimates and human thermophysiological responses during intermittent exercise and recovery. Eight healthy males wearing the garments prepared performed exercises and rest according to the following protocol: rest for 30 min, run on treadmill for total 60 min of three sessions with different intensity and duration, and then sit quietly for 30 min for recovery, all at 30 °C and relative humidity of 30 %, while the microclimate humidity (H _mc ) and temperature (T _mc ), the clothing outside surface humidity (H _co ) and temperature (T _co ), the skin temperatures and ear canal temperature (T _{ear_canal} ) were measured. The garments are made of: (a) hydrophilic and hydrophobic cotton knitted fabrics, and (b) hydrophilic and hydrophobic polyester knitted fabrics. During and after exercise, for cotton, hydrophilic garment resulted in significant lowerΔH _mc , ΔH _co , ΔT _mc during recovery, higher , lowerΔT _{ear_canal} andΔT _forehead . For polyester, hydrophilic garment resulted in significantly lowerΔH _co , ΔT _co , higher , higherΔT _forehead during E1, E2 and recovery session but lower during E3. In summary, surface energy of cotton garments had significant influences on human thermophysiological responses during exercise and recovery, and hydrophilic cotton garment was better than hydrophobic one to reduce heat stress. Surface energy of polyester garments had influences of lower significance, and hydrophilic garment appeared better than hydrophobic garment.     

3D pattern construction and its application to tight-fitting garments for comfortable pressure sensation

Tight-fitting clothing pattern reflecting the accurate information of the 3D body shape has been one of the challenges for garment industry, however, fitting problems still exist. The objectives of the paper is to develop a 2D pattern which fits tightly to the 3D human scan data for sports suits that need comfort and function for maximum performance. In this study, the user graphic interface application software for the semi-automatic garment pattern generation has been implemented using the triangle simplification scheme together with 2D projections of free-falling of 3D surface polygons keeping the original 3D surface area preservation. A typical application of the developed pattern to the functional body suits is presented and verification of the proposed method is also provided.     

The use of historical data as an aid to formulating potato programmes in developing countries

Summary The potato has been grown in numerous developing countries for many years. Archival material on long-term production/yield trends expressed in graphic form, together with data on previous cultivar introductions, can be an important indicator of potential major constraints to production. As National Potato Programmes are being developed in these countries such data, when used in conjunction with sound agronomic training, can ensure the establishment of a realistic approach to crop development.     

Effects of thermal and moisture transport properties of T-shirts on wearer’s comfort sensations

Little work has been done in the past on how clothing thermal and moisture transport properties affect human comfort sensations during different periods of an exercise. In this work, by correlating the thermal and moisture transport properties of T-shirt fabrics and garments with the comfort sensations during different stages of exercises, we found that thickness, thermal insulation and warm/cool feeling of the T-shirt fabrics are important to warmth sensation, skin wetness sensation and overall comfort throughout the entire period of exercise and immediately after the exercise. Water vapor transmission properties of T-shirt fabrics or garments are not important to comfort sensations at the start of the exercise, but become an important factor to comfort sensations in the middle of the exercise up to the resting period after the running exercise, probably due to the fact that sweating occurs during these periods. Fabric water absorption and air permeability are not significant factors at the start and during the exercise, but are important after exercise, probably because these properties determine how quickly the skin can be dried after sweating.     

Muscle activity monitoring with fabric stretch sensors

In this paper, development of a fabric stretch sensor embedded system has been proposed for muscle activity monitoring. It is expected that this product will be proper for monitoring a wide range of human activities mainly due to the characteristics of light-weight and high sensitivity. The fabric sensors developed can be easily attached to almost any types of clothing due to their thin and stretchable natures. The mechanism and performance of the sensors have been characterized by measuring the mechanical and electrical performance along with stretch ratio or strain percent. The data collected would be successfully transmitted to mobile phones through low power consumption BLE connection, and thus muscle activities in real time. As expected, the resultant smart muscle pants could achieve realistic goals through monitoring body movements without any significant loss of wear comforts in normal clothing. This work significantly contributed in enhancing the utility of strain/stretch sensors for development of e-textiles and intended to be a starting point for data collection and analysis of smart fabric embedded sensing technologies.     

Evaluation of elite athletes psycho-physiological responses to compression form-fitted athletic wear in intensive exercise based on 5Ps model

Compression form-fitted athletic wear (CFA) have been widely applied in special sports and various aerobic and fitness activities over recent years. Following the established 5Ps model in our previous study, an evaluation of basic psychophysiological measurements would assist in validating the practicality and effectiveness of these garments for athletic use. The present study was to examine the physiological property and wearing comfort of CFAs on athletes during intensive exercise. Heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), myocardial consumption (double product DP), blood oxygen levels (SpO₂), skin and garment temperature (T_sk, T_g) over the athlete’s body were investigated. This study indicated that the application of CFAs maintained the body in the normal SpO₂ range, and produced lower DP and HR compared to those in control condition. The application of CFAs resulted in a decrease on T_sk, which allowed the body quickly to cool down thus avoiding heat stress buildup during and after intensive exercise. The CFAs made by the performance knits with lightweight, gradient compression design and moisture-thermoregulation function presented lower T_g and brought the athletes satisfied wearing comfort perception. This study builds up an understanding on the potential physiological benefits induced by CFAs on athlete’s body in intensive exercise performance.     

Surface Modification of Wool Fabric with POSS® Nanomaterial

Wool fabrics, without any surface treatment, can undergo undesirable and irreversible structural changes of wool fiber during washing under heat and mechanical agitation, leading to high shrinkage of wool garments. The traditional method based on polyamide resin can prevent felting and/or shrinkage of wool textiles, but adversely affect the surface hydrophobicity. In the present study, a treatment solution was developed based on TriSilanolIsooctyl POSS® and 3- mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane, which created wool surface with increased hydrophobicity and highly resistant to shrinkage or felting, as measured after 3×5A wash cycles (equivalent to 24 domestic washes). After the treatment, the wool fabric appeared to be superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of above 150°, compared to the untreated fabric. The treatment has marginal effect on mechanical performance as observed in tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed a coating of POSS® on the wool surface. The dyeing of untreated and treated fabrics appeared to be uniform to the naked eye, though spectrophotometric analysis indicated a difference in the extent of dyeing performance. This research showed that POSS®-based treatment is a potentially effective approach for developing shrink-resistant wool textiles with enhanced surface hydrophobicity, in contrast to traditional chlorine/polyamide resin treatment.     

Development of a versatile controller system for textile machinery

A versatile controller system has been developed that is essential for the automation of textile machinery such as a loom or a braiding machine. Sensors and actuators needed for the automation of general textile machinery were determined and the electronic circuitry for the communication between them and the controller were designed. A dedicated software has been developed that can input and output numerous signals using a simple action-list type user interface. With this interface, any kind of sequential processes can be controlled easily by modifying the list without changing the software or hardware of the controller system.     

Worldwide Sustainability Hotspots in Potato Cultivation. 2. Areas with Improvement Opportunities

Agriculture has a large impact on the environment and retailers increasingly stimulate their suppliers to reduce the environmental impact of agricultural production. The environmental impact resulting from producing a commodity can be measured with a life cycle analysis (LCA) but performing an LCA is costly and time-consuming. In the first paper of this series a practical and general method to identify hotspot areas in crop production on a global scale was developed. The method was implemented for potatoes. The objective of the work reported here was to evaluate the tool and to identify improvement opportunities for each of seven indicators: yield, erosion risk, nitrogen surplus, depletion of water reserves, biocide use, carbon footprint, and impact on biodiversity. The tool produces realistic outputs that can be used to target improvement efforts and thus improves the use efficiency of limited resources. The tool can be expanded to produce similar results for other crops; methods to improve the resolution of the tool are discussed.     

Multifunctional melt-mixed Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite PP fabrics: Water vapour permeability, UV resistance, UV protection and wear properties

This research deals with the investigating the effect of nanoparticles on the various properties of nanocomposite fabrics produced from melt spinning of various blend ratios of prepared masterbatch containing Ag/TiO₂ nanoparticles. The results revealed that the wear properties of modified fabrics improved as compared to pure fabrics with a trend justified considering modulus or crystallinity of fabrics with opposite effects. About 40 % UV protection enhancement has been obtained applying this kind of nanoparticles in the close relationship with the crimp contraction of textured yarns. A considerable improvement in the garment comfort has been recorded for nanocomposite sample containing 1 wt% nanoparticles. The lower permeability at low environment temperature and a higher at higher one, as compared to the pure sample, were obtained using this sample. It is highly interesting that these desirable changes in permeability can be achieved in the range of common environment temperatures (15–35 °C) being adapted to the human body requirements. The changing point is about 25 °C exactly meeting the body requirements by changing environment temperatures. A UV-induced solid state nanocomposite interaction increasing wear properties of UV-irradiated nanocomposite fabrics has been discovered.