Modern textiles promise a great deal. For example, some of them are strong performers when it comes to heat and moisture management and a huge amount of scientific research and development work lies behind this functionality.

The Hohenstein Institute plays its part as a leading research institution in the field of clothing physiology for the textile industry. It has developed innovative technologies for defining and measuring specific thermophysiological comfort factors. Hohenstein works closely with companies that want to develop or optimise textiles with respect to these factors. The institute is able, on one hand, to work out the best possible product properties and, on the other, to verify marketing claims about cooling effect and moisture management.

Greater security in product development

To cope with the high demand from its customers for reliable methods of quantifying cooling performance, Hohenstein can now make use of a second WATson Heat Loss Tester.

This has doubled the institute’s capacity to measure the actual physical cooling performance of sportswear and functional garments. WATson clearly shows the dynamic interaction between textiles and the human thermoregulation system, in varying climatic conditions and at different rates of sweating.

The system analyses even the smallest changes in the cooling sensation that results from evaporation on the surface of the skin and accurately determines the cooling effect that the textile actually delivers by vaporising perspiration. According to the Hohenstein, the WATson technology only requires a textile sample measuring 20 x 25 cm to provide these data for product development, quality assurance and marketing purposes.

Results available within 10 days

With its additional WATson device, the Hohenstein Institute has doubled its measuring capacity and the properties of all kinds of materials can be investigated flexibly and quickly. Results are supplied within about ten days, so that customer enquiries can be responded to promptly. In addition to carrying out standardised measurement processes, WATson can also be customised to meet specific customer requirements.

These two factors – the rapid availability of the results and the customisation of the measurements, offer manufacturers a way of measuring and optimising performance at every stage of textile development. WATson also makes an important contribution to maintaining quality standards at the production control stage.

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