Improve of Footwear Comfort Sensation with Material Packages and Knitted Fabrics

Abstract

The main goal of this paper was to analyse the hygienic properties of textile packages used for the construction of shoe uppers. Distance fabrics with varied hygienic properties were the basis of these packages. The discomfort indexes, which describe changes in footwear microclimate, were calculated according to the moisture absorbance capacity and temperature changes in the immediate surrounding of the foot skin surface. The experiment was done for a group of grain leather uppers, where the Grubbs test (a = 0.05) gave positive information about the outliers, describing such parameters as the water vapour permeability and water vapour coefficient. The phase changes of the shoe microclimate were detected via temperature and relative humidity sensors during simulation of the shoes used via an elliptical trainer for a group of 7 men. Statistically significant differences between the packages’ upper – lining confirmed the possibility of monitoring the circulation of biophysical mediums inside a footwear volume. The appropriate choice of package materials could raise the comfort conditions for users. For certain material configurations the microclimate conditions described by the discomfort index were improved.