Development and Application of New Psychophysical Methods for the Characterization of the Handfeel and Comfort Properties of Military Clothing Fabrics

Abstract

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources. subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. 1. REPORT DATE (DD-MM-YYYY) 14-08-2002 2. REPORT TYPE Final TITLE AND SUBTITLE DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF NEW PSYCHOPHYSICAL METHODS FOR THE CHARACTERIZATION OF THE HANDFEEL AND COMFORT PROPERTIES OF MILITARY CLOTHING FABRICS AUTHOR(S)Armand V. Cardello, Howard G. Schutz, and Carole Winterhalter SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITORS ACRONYM(S) SPONSOR/MONITORS REPORT NUMBER(S) DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENTApproved for public release: distribution is unlimited SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ABSTRACTThe analysis of fabric characteristics that contribute to military clothing comfort was addressed in a series of studies. Trained panel sensory descriptive data on 13 military fabrics were obtained using a standardized handfeel evaluation method. A labeled magnitude scale of comfort was developed from consumer magnitude estimates of the semantic meaning of 26 verbal phrases denoting different levels of comfort/discomfort. This scale was used by 36 consumers to rate the handfeel comfort of the 13 test fabrics. The descriptive sensory data and comfort data were then combined with Kawabata data obtained on a subset of the test fabrics and the data were analyzed using principal components analysis. Multiple regression analyses were performed on the component scores to predict consumer comfort from the sensory and instrumental data. The results showed a high degree of predictability of comfort responses from a combination of sensory and Kawabata parameters. Tables Table 1. Definitions of fabric handfeel attributes 9 Table 2. Operational techniques for the evaluation of handfeel attributes 10 Table 3. Fabric reference standards defining intensity scales for each handfeel attribute 11 Table 10. Means, standard deviations, and standard errors of comfort ratings for the 3 gloves used in Phase 2, Experiment 3 (n=37) 31 Table 11. Mean comfort ratings for the 13 fabrics used in Experiment 3, Phase 3 (n=35) 33 Table 12. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients for individual handfeel attributes and the mean intensity across all attributes with judged comfort 34 military uniforms and equipment to performance specifications of these items, the need arose to be able to index clothing comfort using an objective and standardized method of evaluation. To meet this need, the Industry-Government Working Group on Military Clothing Comfort was established to provide recommendations and guidance on how best to predict clothing comfort using standardized sensory or instrumental methods. As a result of these working group deliberations, a strategy was developed to assess a wide range of fabrics used by U.S. and oth...

Relations among Comfort of Fabrics, Ratings of Comfort, and Visual Vigilance

“…Perceived comfort ratings were collected via the use of a labeled visual magnitude scale of comfort developed specifically for the purposes of assessing clothing comfort (Cardello, Bell, Marshall, Winterhalter, Meiselman, & Schutz, 1998;Cardello, Schutz, & Winterhalter, 2002). This scale, with a possible range of -100 to + 100, has been shown to possess good reliability for a 5-day interval between judgments of clothing material and for descriptions of material ( r = .68 and .84, respectively) and has been validated by comparing judged clothing materials to judged written descriptions of clothing material designed specifically to vary in comfort (Cardello, et a/., 2002). A sample of the scale is avdable in Appendix A (p. 67).…”