Abstract
This special issue has a focus on recent developments in Australian research on the comfort of next-to-skin wool apparel. The next-to-skin market for wool textiles is a fast-growing apparel segment. The research reported here is part of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Sheep Industry Innovation’s 7-year program investigating wool quality and comfort. A major focus of the wool quality research has been objective measurements of attributes of wool textiles. Both the comfort properties and the handle properties of wool textiles have been examined in a series of experimental studies based on extensive wearer trials and objective measurements. This work is important as it provides evidence that subjective sensations of wool fabrics can be assessed objectively. This work also quantifies the important physical properties of fibers, yarns and fabrics that affect the comfort and handle sensations of wool next-to-skin knitwear. There were two papers that should also have been included in this special issue and they are “Relationships between sleeve trail and wearer trial assessment of discomfort and objective measurements” by Bruce A McGregor, Emma Doyle, John Thompson, Maryam Naebe, Jane Speijers and David Tester, published in TRJ Vol. 85, issue 3, and“The influence of fiber diameter, fabric attributes and environmental conditions on wetness sensations of next-to-skin knitwear” by Bruce A McGregor, John Stanton, John Beilby, Jane Speijers and David Tester, published in TRJ Vol. 85, issue 9.
I would like to thank Professor Xungai Wang, the guest editor of this special issue, for selecting papers reviewed through the TRJ online system and making this special issue possible. Professor Wang is the Director of the Institute for Frontier Materials (IFM) at Deakin University and an Adjunct Professor at Wuhan Textile University. The IFM is Deakin’s largest multidisciplinary research institute, with around 300 staff and PhD students working on a range of materials, including fibers and textiles. The IFM’s research is ranked in the highest rating band of five in the broad discipline of materials engineering in Australia.
Professor Wang holds a first degree in Mechanical Engineering from Xian Polytechnic University, a PhD in Fiber Science and Technology and a Graduate Diploma in Higher Education from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Professor Wang is the 2005 recipient of Fiber Society Distinguished Achievement Award, the only researcher in Australia to have received this award to date. He currently serves as the President of the Fiber Society.
Professor Wang has published about 300 research articles in international research journals. He acted as the conference chair for the 2013 Fiber Society Spring Conference held in Geelong Australia, and for the 89th Textile Institute World Conference hosted by Wuhan Textile University in November 2014. He is also the conference chair for the 13th Asian Textile Conference to be held in Geelong Australia (3–6 November 2015).
As you read this special issue, I hope it can encourage you to suggest a special issue with a specific area of textile research. If so, please contact me. Thanks.