A wear test of men's polypropylene indoor exercise prototypes with heat and moisture measurements: an experimentation with infrared thermography

Abstract

A wear test of men’s polypropylene indoor exercise prototypes was conducted to investigate heat and moisture measurements during exercise and compare the results to a man exercising in a partially nude condition. The usefulness of infrared thermography as instrumentation for observation of surface temperature during a wear test was also investigated. Based on Univariate Analysis of Variance with Repeated Measures, one prototype was shown to react in a more similar manner to the skin of a man exercising in a partially nude condition. Pearson Correlation was used to determine the relationships between the data from the infrared camera and the data from wearer sensation scales. Little correlation was found and the results were not consistent over time. Results from the data obtained with the infrared camera suggested other uses for the instrumentation, such as observation of heat flow properties of various fibers. A description of various methods and instrumentation for collecting heat and moisture data during a wear test is included. The wear test procedure and use of the infrared camera are described.