Evaluating thermophysiological comfort using the principles of sensory analysis

Area of Science:

• Textile science
• Human sensory perception
• Clothing technology

Background:

• Thermophysiological comfort is crucial for clothing performance, influencing heat and moisture regulation.
• Existing methods for evaluating clothing comfort often lack objective sensory assessment.
• Sensory analysis offers a scientific approach to evaluating consumer goods through human senses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel sensory analysis protocol for assessing thermophysiological comfort in various garments.
• To compare the thermophysiological comfort properties of different clothing ensembles using the developed method.
• To establish the suitability of sensory analysis for representative groups in comfort evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized sensory analysis principles to design a comprehensive test protocol.
• Involved defining interview content, recruiting and interviewing assessors, creating surveys, and conducting subjective assessments.
• Included group discussions, scoring, assessor selection, and detailed assessment preparation.

Main Results:

• Polyester clothing ensembles exhibited the most significant increase in warmth sensation.
• Cotton clothing ensembles demonstrated the lowest increase in warmth sensation.
• Viscose clothing ensembles received the highest average comfort ratings from assessors.

Conclusions:

• The developed sensory analysis method is effective for evaluating thermophysiological comfort in clothing.
• Viscose emerges as a highly comfortable material based on subjective assessor feedback.
• The method's efficacy is enhanced when employing a representative group of assessors.