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High frequency (HF) welding of polymer materials is increasingly used in modern manufacturing processes. The literature on HF welding process parameters was reviewed and it was found that 3-5 basic welding parameters were considered, which is insufficient for the scientific study of HF welding of polymeric materials. This article presents the mathematical expressions for the evaluation combining 17 influential parameters. For the first time, the specific and latent heat of the welded polymer material were used. The breaking forces of welds made by RF welding are investigated by varying the anode current, the coupling capacitor, and the exposure time of the HF electromagnetic fields. It was found that the amount of HF energy supplied depends on the breaking forces of the weld. A characteristic inflection point was also observed in the graph of the dependence of the breaking forces on the percentage of the coupling capacitor and the anode current. During elongation, it was observed that the weld is separated by peeling before the inflection point and breaks after the inflection point by tearing at the extruded edges of the weld. If the HF energy is applied to the weld for too long, there will be excessive melting of the material in the weld, thinning of the weld, unfavourable appearance of the extruded edges and electrical breakdown, and a drastic drop in the breaking force.

This paper describes methods for evaluating the thermal properties of textile materials, clothing composites, and clothing using an integrated measurement system that includes a hot plate, a multi-purpose differential conductometer, a thermal manikin, a temperature gradient measurement device, and a device for measuring the physiological parameters of the human body during the exact evaluation of garment thermal comfort. In practice, measurements were taken on four types of materials widely used in the production of conventional and protective clothing. The measurements were carried out using a hot plate and a multi-purpose differential conductometer, determining the thermal resistance of the material both in its uncompressed form and when a force was applied that was ten times greater than that needed to determine its thickness. Using a hot plate and a multi-purpose differential conductometer, thermal resistances of textile materials were assessed at different levels of material compression. On hot plates, both conduction and convection had an impact on thermal resistance, but in the multi-purpose differential conductometer, only conduction did. Moreover, a reduction in thermal resistance was observed as a result of compressing textile materials.

The thermal properties of most clothing products are still not designed according to engineering science due to the lack of simple and acceptable measuring equipment and methods; the type of thermal insulation material, the number of layers of clothing and their thickness are thus chosen empirically. The novelty of this study was the development of a new measuring device and method for simultaneous measurements in the determination of the thermal resistance in one or more textile material layers, such as in multilayer composite clothing. Temperature gradients of textile material layers are presented, as well as the theoretical principles of operation and practical results. Four materials for the production of protective jackets were selected, from which different combinations of composite clothing were constructed and the thermal parameters were measured with a new method and a new device, both individually for the built-in materials and for the composites. Subsequently, five test jackets with the same arrangement of textile material layers as the previously tested composites were produced, and measurements of important thermal parameters were recorded with a thermal mannequin. The determined temperature gradients and measurement results are presented, and based on these it was determined that the total thermal resistance was not equal to the algebraic sum of the resistances of the individual textile material layers in the horizontal position; it was, however, higher, increasing from 30% to 94% due to small air layers caused by crimping and protruding fibres of yarn in the textile fabrics. The same textile material layers built into clothing in the vertical position allowed the formation of significantly wider air layers that increased the thermal resistance by between 2.5 and 9 times.

Contemporary CAD systems enable 3D clothing simulation for the purpose of predicting the appearance and behavior of conventional and intelligent clothing in real conditions. The physical and mechanical properties of the fabric and the simulation parameters play an important role in this issue. The paper presents an analysis of the parameters of the polygonal computer model that affect fabric drape simulation. Experimental research on physical and mechanical properties were performed for nine fabrics. For this purpose, the values of the parameters for the tensile, bending, shear, and compression properties were determined at low loads, while the complex deformations were analyzed using Cusick drape meter devices. The fabric drape simulations were performed using the 2D/3D CAD system for a computer clothing design on a disk model, corresponding to real testing on the drape tester in order to allow a correlation analysis between the values of drape parameters of the simulated fabrics and the realistically measured values for each fabric. Each fabric was simulated as a polygonal model with a variable related to the side length of the polygon to analyze the influence of the polygon size, i.e., mesh density, on the model behavior in the simulation. Based on the simulated fabric drape shape, the values of the areas within the curves necessary to calculate the drape coefficients of the simulated fabrics were determined in the program for 3D modelling. The results were statistically processed and correlations between the values of the drape coefficients and the optimal parameters for simulating certain physical and mechanical properties of the fabric were determined. The results showed that the mesh density of the polygonal model is an important parameter for the simulation results.

Electrically conductive yarns (ECYs) are gaining increasing applications in woven textile materials, especially in woven sensors suitable for incorporation into clothing. In this paper, the effect of the yarn count of ECYs woven into fabric on values of electrical resistance is analyzed. We also observe how the direction of action of elongation force, considering the position of the woven ECY, effects the change in the electrical resistance of the electrically conductive fabric. The measurements were performed on nine different samples of fabric in a plain weave, into which were woven ECYs with three different yarn counts and three different directions. Relationship curves between values of elongation forces and elongation to break, as well as relationship curves between values of electrical resistance of fabrics with ECYs and elongation, were experimentally obtained. An analytical mathematical model was also established, and analysis was conducted, which determined the models of function of connection between force and elongation, and between electrical resistance and elongation. The connection between the measurement results and the mathematical model was confirmed. The connection between the mathematical model and the experimental results enables the design of ECY properties in woven materials, especially textile force and elongation sensors.

Evaluating mechanical and thermal characteristics of garment systems or their segments is important in an attempt to provide optimal or at least satisfying levels of comfort and safety, especially in the cold environment. The target groups of users may be athletes engaged in typical sports that are trained in the cold, as well as football players that play matches and train outdoors during the winter season. Previous studies indicated an option to substitute the inner layers of an intelligent garment with polyurethane inflated chambers (PIC) to increase and regulate thermal insulation. In this paper, the authors investigate the mechanical properties of polyurethane material with and without ultrasonic joints. Furthermore, they investigate the potential of designed PICs in terms of efficiency and interdependence of air pressure and heat resistance. The results indicated that an inflated PIC with four diagonal ultrasonic joints has the highest ability to maintain the optimal thermal properties of an intelligent clothing system. The influence of direction and number of ultrasonic joints on the mechanical properties of polyurethane material is confirmed, especially in terms of compression resilience and tensile energy.

This paper presents the measurement results of the thermal insulation of the outer shell, thermal inserts, and clothing systems, as well as a comparative analysis of the thermal insulation of multi-layer thermal inserts in a thermal jacket intended for professional services in cold weather. Detachable thermal inserts are made of double-faced, diamond-shaped quilted lining with different masses per unit area, and together with the jacket, they form clothing systems with different thermal properties. Tests of the thermal properties of clothing were performed on a thermal manikin. They showed that an increase in the mass of thermal insulation textile materials contributes to an increase in the thermal insulation properties of clothing and are insufficient for a complete analysis of the thermal properties of clothing. Therefore, for the first time, three new parameters of integration efficiency of the thermal insert, thermal insulation efficiency parameters, and efficiency parameters of the integration of the textile material integrated into the clothing system were introduced. Based on these parameters, it is possible to perform an effective and accurate comparative analysis of the thermal insulation of multi-layer thermal inserts in clothing. This makes it possible to apply exact scientific methods largely in the technical design of the thermal properties of integrated textile materials, instead of experience-based methods as in the past., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.