Standard Methods for Thermal Comfort Assessment of Clothing Textile Institute Professional Publications Series

Providing detailed analysis of the thermal comfort assessment of clothing as the basis for developing standards, this book discusses the thermal protective role of clothing as a way of modelling heat transfer from the body, general thermal regulation of humans, and the importance of globally accepted test methods and standards to improve quality.

New materials and discoveries in the study of thermal comfort necessitate the need for standard improvements and update. The development of international standards and the unification of testing methods is of crucial significance to ensure cost reduction and health protection. The book promotes instruments, methods, implementation of unified specifications, and the definition of standards so that a clear quality management system can be established, for both production systems and testing methods. It discusses standards in ergonomics of the thermal environment, clothing thermal characteristics, and subjective assessment of thermal comfort, which allows for systematic control of the measuring methods and the services and final products that are distributed on the global market.

This book is aimed at industry professionals, researchers, and advanced students working in textile and clothing engineering, comfort testing, and ergonomics.

1. Introduction. 2. Behind the Scenes: Thermal Regulation in Humans. 3. Modelling the Heat Losses from the Human Body. 4. The Importance of Globally Accepted Test Methods and Standards. 5. The Standardization on Thermal Comfort. 6. Who Creates Standards? 7. The Standardisation on Thermal Comfort. 8. The Distribution of Standards on Thermal Comfort. 9. The Overview of the Most Significant Standards on Thermal Comfort. 10. Conclusion. 11. References. 12. Dictionary: Basic Terms and Units.

Ivana Špelić, Ph.D. was born in Croatia in 1982. She received her Master’s degree as the Engineer of Textile Technology in 2009 at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology. The same year she became the research associate at the Department of Clothing Technology and finished postgraduate scientific doctoral study Textile Science and Technology in 2016. Her research activities are in the field of textile technology and engineering, clothing technology, energetics, technical thermodynamics, energy management in industry and new and renewable energy sources.

Alka Mihelić-Bogdanić, PhD was born in Zagreb and works as full professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology. She received her bachelor's degree in the year 1972, her master's degree in the year 1975 and her doctor's degree in the year 1977 from Zagreb University, Faculty of Technology. Her research activities are in the field of chemical engineering, textile technology and energetics. The areas of special research interest are energetics, technical thermodynamics, energy management in industry and new and renewable energy sources. From 1984 to 2000, she has collaborated with the Institute for Thermodynamic at the Technical University Graz and with the Institute for Physics at the Karl Franz University Graz, in the field of alternative energy sources as well as Stirling engine. She has published over 121 scientific papers with international reviews and 13 professional papers.

Anica Hursa is Head of the Department of Clothing Technology at University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology.