Seeing the piles of the velvet bending under our finger sliding over a tactile stimulator improves the feeling of the fabric.

Using friction modulation to simulate fabrics with a tactile stimulator (i.e. virtual surface) is not sufficient to render fabric touch and even more so for hairy fabrics.

E-Knitted Textile with Polymer Optical Fibers for Friction and Pressure Monitoring in Socks.

The objective of this paper is to study the ability of polymer optical fiber (POF) to be inserted in a knitted fabric and to measure both pressure and friction when walking. Firstly, POF, marketed and in development, have been compared in terms of the required mechanical properties for the insertion of the fiber directly into a knitted fabric on an industrial scale, i.e.

Contribution of garment fit and style to thermal comfort at the lower body.

The heat and mass transfer between the human body and the environment is not only affected by the properties of the fabric, but also by the size of the air gap thickness and the magnitude of the contact area between the body and garment. In this clothing-human-environment system, there is also an interaction between the clothing and the physiological response of the wearer. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of the air gap thickness and the contact area for the male lower body in relation to the garment fit and style using a three-dimensional (3D) body scanning method with a manikin.

The effect of body postures on the distribution of air gap thickness and contact area.

The heat and mass transfer in clothing is predominantly dependent on the thickness of air layer and the magnitude of contact area between the body and the garment. The air gap thickness and magnitude of the contact area can be affected by the posture of the human body. Therefore, in this study, the distribution of the air gap and the contact area were investigated for different body postures of a flexible manikin.

Physical and Perceptual Independence of Ultrasonic Vibration and Electrovibration for Friction Modulation.

Two different principles are available to modulate the user perceived roughness of a surface: electrovibration and ultrasonic vibration of a plate. The former enhances the perceived friction coefficient and the latter reduces it. This paper will highlight the independence of the two effects on the physical and perceptual point of view to confirm the increased range of sensation and stimulation that can be supplied by the two coupled techniques to the users.

Effect of heterogenous and homogenous air gaps on dry heat loss through the garment.

In real life conditions, the trapped air between the human body and the garment has uneven shape and vary over the body parts as a consequence of the complex geometry of the human body. However, the existing clothing models assume uniform air layer between the human body and the garment or its full contact, which may cause large error in the output of simulations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a heterogeneous vertical air gap with different configuration of folds (size and frequency) on dry heat loss using a heated cylinder (Torso).

Robust control strategies for an electric motor driven accumulator with elastic webs.

This paper concerns the modelling of an accumulator used in industrial elastic web processing plant to allow changing material roll while the rest of the line remains at a constant web velocity. A nonlinear model of a motor actuated accumulator is first summarized. This model is derived from the physical relationships describing web tension and velocity dynamics in each web span of this accumulator.