Journal Article

Movement, Wear Comfort, and Compression Evaluation of Nylon and Polyurethane Blend Stretch Knit Material and 3D Virtual Fitting Stress Strain Comparison

Lim, Ho Sun, Lee, Jong Kyu

2023

Overview

This study analyzed leggings patterns and materials and evaluated user satisfaction with movement, wear comfort, and compression by body part and posture while wearing leggings. We also examined the stress strain through a 3D virtual fitting. To perform the test, 7/8 leggings, which are the most preferred style among middle-aged women in their 40 s and 50 s, were selected. The leggings comprised stretch knit material mixed with nylon and polyurethane (PU). Five subjects were asked to wear a random pair of test leggings and evaluate their satisfaction with movement, wear comfort, and compression by body part and posture on a 5-point scale, where the postures were walking freely, 90°one-sided leg flexion, bent-legs crouching, and sitting on a chair position. Overall, there were statistically significant differences in satisfaction at the level of p  < .05. According to the maximal elongation rate of the skin and the rate of increase of the body surface area by body part, the higher the proportion of stretchable and elastic PU in the leggings, the higher the wearers’ satisfaction, while the lower the proportion of PU with the aforementioned properties, the lower the satisfaction level. Specifically, by body part, satisfaction with wear comfort in the waist and abdomen was high for the material composition 63% nylon and 37% PU and for 79% nylon and 21% PU and 74% nylon and 26% PU in the hip, crotch, and thigh areas, while the lowest satisfaction with all body parts was reported for 84% nylon and 16% PU. Moreover, satisfaction with waist compression decreased as the proportion of PU increased. Regarding abdominal compression, an area which may have considerable subcutaneous fat, the range of pressure applied on this part of the body dispersed as the material stretched in the course direction, decreasing the subjects’ sense of the clothing’s constraint. According to the result of stress strain testing using a color distribution chart in 3D virtual fitting, stress strain was the highest for the material composition 84% nylon and 16% PU, which was represented in red. In contrast, it was low for 63% nylon and 37% PU, represented in yellow and green. Stress had an inverse relationship with the textile’s stretchability. In summary, the effect of the characteristics of stretch knit material on different body parts differed depending on the direction of movement and the elasticity of the material, and user satisfaction was influenced by changes in the curvature of the individual’s body, as well as the elasticity and movement direction of the material.

• Publisher: The Korean Fiber Society,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Body parts / Chemistry / Chemistry and Materials Science / Comfort / Composition / Coronaviruses / COVID-19 / Elasticity / Middle age / Nylon / Physical fitness / Polymer Sciences / Polyurethane resins / Posture / Regular Article / Software / Sport clothes / Strain / Stretchability / Textiles / Underwear / User satisfaction