Kimberly Lim
Ergonomics and Human Factors
I've picked this topic to learn more about textiles and the effect of different temperatures on the human body and textiles. I wanted to learn more about humans perception on textile and comfort.
Major project
The influence of different temperatures on textile attributes and comfort through handfeel assessments.
How does different environmental temperature affect the handfeel of textiles
By changing the environmental temperature in a climatic chamber, we assessed the textile's response to the different temperatures by assessing thermal, comfort and sensory attributes through handfeel.
The body's response to the different temperatures were monitored using tympanic , hand and mean skin temperature.
The tactile sensitivity of the hands were monitored after 30 minutes acclimatisation.
Experimental protocol
All textiles were acclimatised in the chambers for 2 hours and participants were required to acclimatise for 30 minutes in the chamber.
The tympanic, hand and mean skin temperature were monitored before acclimatisation, after acclimatisation and after the session.
After acclimatisation, participants rated the textile attributes using a bipolar rating scale, comfort perception and textile preference.
Textiles used
7 different types of textiles were used which included different thickness, materials and structure.
Example of textile rating graph
A summary of the median of the 7 attributes ratings of textiles.
Textile preference graph
The textile preferred by participants in the designated climate.
Conclusion
Conclusion of the experiment.
Kimberly Lim
Major project
The influence of different temperatures on textile attributes and comfort through handfeel assessments.
Work Experience
I've previously worked as a Physiotherapist for 6 years in the NHS in various hospital environments. I've learnt to adapt to the different work environments which has helped improved my problem-solving and critical thinking skills.