DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY OF

EVALUATING CHARACTERISTICS
IN
SPORT- TECH
Deptt. Of textile technology

Submitted to
Prof. Algirusamy

What SPORT-TECH is??

It is one of the branch of Technical Textiles which
deals with the textile materials used for the sports
and leisure purpose.
Todays sports demand high performance
equipment and apparel
Examples of sport-tech are: aerobic clothing,
athletic clothing, football clothing, cricket clothing,
games shorts, gloves, jackets, pants, shirts, shorts,
socks, sweatshirts, swimwear and tennis clothing,
sails, trampolines, camping gear, leisure bags,
bikes and rackets, athletic shoes, football boots,
gym shoes, tennis shoes and walking boots.

Properties of Sports Textile

Comfort ability
Easy to wear

Easy handling
High electrical conductivity
Soft and pleasant touch
Light weight

Dimensionally stable even when wet.

Good perspiration fastness.

Smart and functional design.

A garment manufactured from sports
textiles fabrics, keeps the normal
stability of body comfort, because
these fabrics are ultra-breathable, fast
drying and possess outstanding
moisture managing properties, which

rapidly wick moisture away from the

body.
Keeping a normal level of bacteria on
the skin offers a high level of comfort
and personal hygiene, especially
during athletic activities.
Radiation free
Superior strength and durability.
Should help in athletics & the leisure
activities for their better performance
in the sports.

Required functions on different

sportswear

Textile material for Sportswear

High-performance fibres
Aramid fibres: To provide high strength, ballistics, flame and heat
resistance.
Ultra-high tenacity polyethylene fibres (UHMWPE): It is a gel spun
fibre with extremely high specific strength, high modulus, high
chemical resistance and high abrasion resistance.
Polyphenylene sulphide fibres (PPS): This is a crystalline
thermoplastic fibre with mechanical properties similar to regular
polyester fibre and also has excellent heat and chemical resistance.
Polyetheretherketone fibres (PEEK) : Crystalline thermoplastic
fibre and imparts high resistaance to heat and to a wide range of
chemicals.
Novoloid: High flame resistance, non-melting with high resistance
to acid, solvents, steam, chemicals and fuels. Good moisture regain
and soft hand.
PBO (p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) fibres : The strength and
modulus of this fibre exceed those of any known fibres.

Modern fibres
Micro fibres
Elastane (Lycra)
Tencel
Recent Development in Materials for Sport-tech
Carbon Fibre
Phase change material (PCM)
Shape memory polymers
Auxetic materials
Chromic materials
Conductive fibres
Holofibre
Stomatex
d3o (dee-three-oh)

Design Aspects of Sport-Tech

The design approach is an issues of apparel and apparel
systems performance in combination with their
physiological comfort:
Thermo-physiological wear comfort (fibres, fabrics, garment,
garment systems)
Skin sensory wear comfort (fibres, fabrics)
Ergonomic wear comfort
Psychological wear comfort (design, branding, perception)
Fit
Size

Types of fabrics
Wide range of woven, knitted and nonwoven fabrics
are commercially available
Fabrics differ in their structure such as entrapped air,
pore shape and size, bulk and surface properties etc.
which may affect the heat and moisture transmission
characteristics of the fabrics.
Knitted fabrics are mostly preferred because of great
elasticity and stretch ability.
These garments are mainly worn next to the skin and
therefore deserve particular attention.

Key trends in sportswear design

Pattern Making
While designing sportswear comfort is the most important thing
which is required among all. And this starts with the measuring
technique. While measuring we take the dimensions of a 3D body
in 2D scale and then design the patterns. Thus the concept of 3D
dimensional modelling came in.
It involves three methodsDrafting
Draping
Flat paper patternmaking

Drafting
It involves
measurements
derived from
sizing systems
Ease allowances
are marked on
paper
Construction lines
are drawn to
complete
the
pattern
Drafting is used to
create
basic,
foundation
or
design patterns.

Draping
It involves the draping of a two dimensional piece
of fabric around a form
This is then transferred to paper to be used as a
final pattern.
Ease allowances for movement are added
Advantage is that the designer can see the overall
design effect of the finished garment on the body
form before the garment piece is cut and sewn.
Disadvantage is that expensive and time
consuming

Flat Pattern Making

Development of a fitted basic pattern with comfort
ease to fit a person or body form
A sloper is the starting point for flat pattern
designing.
It is a simple pattern that fits the body with just
enough ease for movement and comfort.
For Example five basic pattern pieces are used for
women sports clothing. These includes a snug-fitting
body front and body back with darts and a basic
neckline, a sleeve and a fitted skirt front and back
with or without darts.

Developments in Pattern making

Use of the computers.
Different softwares are used: Gerber, Lectra, Tukatech, OptiTex
etc.
Software enables to input measurements and draft out a
pattern. These soft wares drafts patterns to fit the given
measurements specifically, eliminating much fitting trial and
error in the sewing room.
Method: An individual's measurements are collected from 3D
body scanner. The measurements are used to create a virtual
3D model of the individual's body. The 3D to 2D software
allows the user to define a garment surface in relation to the
3D body model. Once the garment surface is defined, the
application automatically unwraps and outputs a 2D flat
pattern in .dxf format.

 Three-dimensional modelling

It implies taking a broader look at how garments

fit and its importance to combine several types of
fibres and textiles: laser cuts, bonded seams,
multiple fibre composition targeting specific
functions, etc.
It includes graduating knit construction to the
body and requires in-depth research and
development to be effective.
This physiological approach to design is
fundamental to the development of next
generation sportswear
Each machine can only knit one size at a time and
each size requires specific settings

Layering Technique
It is a technique of dressing using multiple garments
that are worn on top of each other. Some of the layers
have different, largely non-overlapping, functions.
In some clothing layers serves as thermal insulation.

Usually at least three layers are identified as follows:

Inner layer provides comfort by keeping the skin dry. Also
called base layer or first layer.
Mid layer provides warmth. Also called insulating layer.
Shell layer protects from wind and water. Also called
outer layer which works as protection over the other two
layers.

Zoning Technique
This technique involves the placement of
different patterns of the fabric at different
positions.
This will provide more comfort to the person
wearing it.

Evaluation of Sport-Tech. Materials

Evaluation of Aerodynamic Characteristics of sports
textiles
Evaluation of contact pressure and clothing
deformation
Evaluation of Breathability of a sportswear

Other test
Methods

Evaluation of Aerodynamic Characteristics

of sports textiles
This method examines standard cylindrical
arrangements in wind tunnel environments that can
provide precise data on aerodynamic drag and lift
and can be correlated to fabric surface textures and
material properties.
The tests also describes wind tunnel testing
methodologies used to measure both drag and lift
forces acting on the fabric surface due to different
patterns and materials used in textile manufacturing.
The RMIT tunnel is a closed return circuit wind
tunnel with a maximum air speed of approximately
150 km/h.

Continued

Active middle section with non-active top and bottom sections. Schematic CAD model (a)
and cylinder in wind tunnel (b)

Continued

In order to quantify the effects of the top and

bottom sections on the aerodynamic properties of
the active middle section, the active section was
tested in following configurations:
Active section with top and bottom sections.
Active section with a non-active bottom section
only (no top section).
Active section with a non-active top section only
(no bottom section).
Active section only (no non-active top and
bottom sections).

Evaluation of contact pressure and clothing deformation

Compression sportswear is an elastic sportswear designed with
compression distribution to enhance the performance of elite
athletes.
The material and geometric properties of fabric for compression
sportswear are vital in achieving compression effects.
Compression garments have positive effects on reducing blood
volume, increasing flow velocity, decreasing venous reflux and
thus improving venous pumping and thus enhances the
performance.
The FE geometric model was taken from the reconstruction of
geometrical shapes of the commercial 3D anatomic male skin and
skeleton model
The compression sports tights were developed according to real
compression sports tights with Grey PP material and plain
structure.

Continued

Non-linear elastic material has been assigned to the sports

tights. The hyper elastic material model was used to represent
the non-linear elastic fabric. A third order Ogden strain energy
potential was adopted.
Sensors were incorporated to a force-to-voltage circuit
system, which was developed according to the circuit
recommended in the user manual.
The output data were recorded through the force-to-voltage
circuit system and values were saved.
The values of the pressure were the mean pressure, which
was recorded for approximately 810 seconds during the use
of the flexi force sensors at a standing position.

Evaluation of Breathability of a sportswear

Expressed in terms of `water vapour permeability' (WVP) or
`moisture vapour transport resistance' (MVTR)
Method is based on the evaporation of water through the test
material
The units are grams of water vapour transmitted through a
square metre of the material over a 24 hour period (g/m2/ 24 hr)
Higher this temperature, the larger the values will be
Ex.- If the temperature inside is 34oC (skin temperature) and the
ambient outside temperature is 20oC, the figures may well be 700
g/m2/24 hr and 3,600 g/m2/24 hr respectively.

Recent Developments
Streamlining or stealth design
o Reducing excess fabric by focusing on a closer-fitting
silhouette
o Trimming
o Heat-sealed pockets, straps, flaps, etc
Fit and size
Use of Smart materials
o Wearable technology
o Functional clothing for different user groups

Continue
Novel
foam
pressure sensor

based

o Polypyrrole-coated
conductive foam is
used
o Principle- Increasing
the weight placed
upon the PPy-PU
foam or shortening
the overall length of
the foam resulted in a
proportional decrease
in
the
electrical
resistance measured
across the foam in a
linear fashion

Conclusion
Clothing for Sportswear is a very new and a promising field of
technical and functional textiles offering a solution to many
performance related problems

Material selection, design, fit, comfort and non invasiveness are

some of the most important requirements of such clothing
Although a no. of prototypes and products have been developed but

the field has a very large scope of research and development

The market constraints and the fragmented research community is a
factor that is impeding the progress of this clothing

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