Cool Feeling Tester

1. Synthetic Cool-Feeling Fabrics

Coolmax®: Engineered to enhance moisture management and evaporation, providing a cooling effect through its hydrophilic properties.

Polyester is often treated to improve moisture-wicking capabilities, allowing sweat to evaporate quickly and create a cooling sensation.

2. Natural Fibers

Cotton: Known for its breathability and moisture absorption, cotton can provide a comfortable cooling effect, especially in lightweight forms.

Linen: Highly breathable and moisture-wicking, linen is ideal for hot weather and offers a natural cooling sensation.

Bamboo: This fabric is known for its excellent moisture-wicking properties and breathability, contributing to a cool feeling against the skin.

3. Specialty Fabrics

Jade-infused Fabrics: Incorporating jade powder into the fibers enhances thermal conductivity, allowing for better heat dissipation and a cooler feel.

Graphene-infused Fabrics: Graphene can improve heat dissipation in lightweight fabrics, providing a cooling effect by balancing body heat with the surrounding environment.

4. Performance Fabrics

Activewear Fabrics: Many sportswear materials are specifically designed to wick moisture away from the body and promote evaporation, enhancing the cooling effect during physical activity.

Cooling Technology Fabrics: Fabrics that incorporate phase change materials (PCMs) or other cooling technologies are engineered to provide an immediate cooling sensation upon contact with skin.

These fabrics are commonly used in various applications such as sportswear, summer clothing, home textiles (sheets and pillowcases), and outdoor gear. Conducting cool feeling tests on these materials helps manufacturers ensure that their products meet consumer expectations for comfort in warm conditions.

Yes, the fabric coolness tester can also measure the warmth of the fabric. The underlying principle involves assessing the thermal effusivity of the fabric, which indicates how a material feels upon initial contact with the skin.

Thermal Effusivity Measurement: The tester measures the rate of thermal transport between a heating element and the fabric specimen. Lower thermal effusivity values are associated with sensations of warmth, while higher values indicate sensations of coolness.

ASTM D7984 Standard: This standard outlines a method for measuring thermal effusivity, which correlates with how warm or cool a fabric feels when it first touches the skin. It provides valuable data for product developers regarding fabric selection based on comfort properties.

Instantaneous Sensation: The tester can simulate real-life scenarios by measuring how quickly a fabric can absorb heat from the skin, thus determining both its cooling and warming sensations. This is particularly useful in evaluating fabrics designed for varying environmental conditions.

Applications: Fabrics used in activewear, bedding, and other clothing types can benefit from this testing to ensure they provide the desired thermal comfort, whether that be a cooling effect in hot conditions or warmth in cooler environments. In summary, while primarily used for assessing coolness, fabric coolness testers are versatile tools that can effectively evaluate both cooling and warming sensations of textiles based on their thermal properties.

1. GB/T 35263-2017

This is a Chinese national standard titled “Testing and Evaluation of Instantaneous Coolness Performance in Contact.” It outlines a method to evaluate the coolness of textiles when they touch the skin, measuring the temperature change of a hot plate in contact with the fabric to calculate the contact coolness coefficient (q max).

2. FZ/T 62042-2020

This standard pertains to “Cool Feeling Fabrics for Beddings,” defining criteria for coolness based on contact coolness coefficients with three grades of coolness performance.

3. FZ/T 73067-2020

Known as “Contact Cool Feeling Knitted Garments,” this standard categorizes garments into three levels of coolness based on their contact cool feeling coefficient, with specific numerical thresholds for each grade.

4. ASTM D7984

This American standard measures thermal effusivity and conductivity in fabrics, providing insights into how warm or cool a fabric feels upon initial contact. It employs a modified transient planar heat source method to quantify thermal properties.

5. JIS L 1927

A Japanese Industrial Standard evaluates the measurement method of cool touch feeling properties in textiles, focusing on how fabrics feel against the skin.

6. CNS 15687 / L3272

This standard outlines methods for testing the instantaneous cool feeling performance of fabrics, similar to other standards but tailored for specific regional requirements.

7. ASTM F3628

This test method measures evaporative cooling efficiency by evaluating how well clothing materials can release cooling energy back to the skin during the sweating and drying phases.

These standards collectively provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating the cooling performance of fabrics, helping manufacturers ensure that their products meet consumer expectations for comfort in cooling or warm conditions.

To determine the cooling effect of fabrics, different test standards provide various data results that indicate how desirable the cooling effect is. Here are the key metrics from several standards that reflect this performance:

1. Contact Coolness Coefficient (Qmax)

GB/T 35263-2017: This standard defines the cooling effect using the contact coolness coefficient (Qmax). A Qmax value of ≥0.15 W/cm² indicates good contact coolness. Higher values are more desirable, with superior fabrics achieving Qmax values of ≥0.25 W/cm² as per FZ/T 73067-2020.

2. Thermal Absorption Coefficient

Thermal Absorption Levels: According to certain studies, fabrics with a thermal absorption coefficient of:

≥340 Ws1/21/2/(m²·°C) are classified as having obvious coolness.

200 to 300 Ws1/21/2/(m²·°C) indicate slight coolness.

Lower values (e.g., below 100 Ws1/21/2/(m²·°C)) suggest no coolness, making higher coefficients more desirable for effective cooling.

3. Instantaneous Heat Loss Measurement

Qmax Measurement: The Qmax value represents the maximum instantaneous heat loss from the skin when in contact with the fabric. A higher Qmax value indicates a greater ability to absorb heat from the body, resulting in a cooler sensation. For example, a Qmax value of ≥0.140 W/cm² is considered a baseline for instant cooling performance.

4. Evaluation Criteria Across Standards

Different standards categorize fabrics based on their performance:

FZ/T 62042-2020 sets thresholds for bedding fabrics with grades requiring Qmax values of at least 0.20, 0.25, and 0.30 for different quality levels.

JIS L 1927 evaluates fabrics based on similar principles, focusing on initial cool sensations upon contact.