Textile Comfort Testing
To be competitive, modern clothing besides having good mechanical and technological properties and being of easy care must possess good comfort characteristics. Comfort performance has obvious importance for daily fashion wear, specialized medical applications, varying types of athletic gear, and protective ensembles for military, industrial, and first responder personnel. At all stages of the development process NTRC Comfort Lab offers unique opportunities to quantify, study, evaluate, and compare the comfort of textile materials knits, woven, nonwovens, and composite systems.
Testing Facilities:
Moisture Management Test
Moisture management test can precisely measure the liquid management properties of performance and other technical fabrics. The NTRC Comfort laboratory has the moisture management testing capabilities to satisfy the growing demand to verify moisture management performance.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
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AATCC - 195 |
Liquid Moisture Management Properties of Textile Fabrics |
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Fabric Drying Rate Test
The measurement of drying rate (the effectiveness of sweat removal through wicking and evaporation) has become a key test to evaluate the performance of moisture management fabrics.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
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AATCC 201 |
Drying Rate of Fabrics: Heated Plate Method |
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AATCC 199 |
Drying Time of Textiles: Moisture Analyzer Method |
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Air Permeability Test
The air permeability of a fabric is a measure of how well it allows the passage of air through it. It is an important test because it influences the comfort properties of the final product. It is applicable to all type of fabrics including woven fabrics, nonwoven fabrics, air bag fabrics, blankets, napped fabrics, knitted fabrics, layered fabrics, and pile fabrics.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
ASTM D 737 |
Standard Test Method for Air Permeability of Textile Fabrics |
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Water Vapors Permeability Test
To maximiz the comfort and function of outdoor and active wear the breathability feature has become a major consideration in consumer market. NTRC Comfort laboratory enables the manufactures and retailers to evaluate the breathability or water vapors permeability of textiles and footwears.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
ISO 8096 |
Water-resistance properties of Rubber or plastics-coated fabrics |
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|
BS 7209 |
Specification for water vapour permeable apparel fabrics |
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Fabric Stiffness Evaluation
Fabric stiffness or flextural rigidity is measured by circular bend method and can be used for all types of fabrics, including woven, knitted and nonwovens, of any fiber content.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
ASTM D4032 |
Standard Test Method for Stiffness of Fabric by the Circular Bend Procedure |
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Fabric Hand Evaluation (Phabrometer®)
PhabrOmeter® system measures the sensory perceptions and hand assessment, and acts as powerful tool for quality assurance of sheet type fibrous products such as woven and knitted fabrics, nonwovens, papers, tissues and leathers products.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
AATCC TM202 |
Relative Hand Value of Textiles: Instrumental Method |
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Thermal and Water vapor resistance (Sweat Guard Hotplate method)
The comfort of textile material is mostly related to the transfer of heat and water vapors though textiles structure. Sweating Guard Hotplate also referred as Skin Model is a professional instrument that helps to evaluate the thermal comfort properties of performance and technical fabrics.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
ISO 11092 |
Measurement of thermal and water-vapor resistance under steady-state conditions (sweating guarded-hotplate test) |
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ASTM F1868 |
Standard Test Method for Thermal and Evaporative Resistance of Clothing Materials Using a Sweating Hot Plate |
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Thermal and Water vapor resistance (Permeatest)
This test is particularly relevant for assessing the thermal resistance and vapor permeability of clothing and footwear materials, primarily under steady-state ambient conditions.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
ISO 11092 |
Measurement of thermal and water-vapor resistance under steady-state conditions |
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Kawabata Evaluation System (KES)
The Kawabata Evaluation System (KES) is a series of most sensitive instruments used to measure those textile material properties that enable predictions of the aesthetic qualities perceived by human touch including stretch, flexibility, drape, thickness, softness and surface friction. NTRC Comfort Laboratory have KES facilities to make objective evaluation of hand properties of textiles fabrics.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
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KES – FB1 |
Tensile & Shear test of textile fabric |
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KES – FB2 |
Pure bending test of textile fabric |
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KES – FB3 |
Compression test of textile fabric |
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KES – FB4 |
Surface roughness/smoothness test of textile fabric |
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KES – FB7 |
Cold and warm feeling test of textile fabric |
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Touch Properties of Fabrics (FTT)
Function of FTT is same as KES but FTT measures skin touch comfort properties objectively and quantitatively in one simple test. The fabric touch tester is able to measure multiple physical properties of fabric specimens including thermal transmission, bending, compression and surface friction aspects in both warp and weft directions in one single trial.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
N/A |
Measurement of touch properties of fabric |
Fabric Drape Test
Fabric Drape refers to the rigidity of the fabric. NTRC Comfort Laboratory have advanced level Fabric drape tester, it measures and calculate the co-efficiency of drape of fabrics using image processing technology. It can be used to test the drape property of all kinds of fabrics.
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Standard Test Method |
Title |
|
|
BS 5058 |
Method for the assessment of drape of fabrics |