In order to examine the influence of heat transfer in microscopical air layer between skin and clothing on heat transfer in clothing during wearing, the heat dissipation and the heat transfer characteristics of a sealed and an unsealed air layer with various widths (<1.0mm) which installed in a prototype heat transfer measurement apparatus were investigated. The heat dissipation behavior by on the thickness of the air layer was clearly different between the sealed and the unsealed air layer. This difference is due to the difference in the heat transmission path of each air layer. Since the sealed air layer has a minute air flow in it, the heat transfer in the sealed air layer is suggested to be due to the horizontal heat transfer influenced by the air flow. On the other hand, the heat transfer in the unsealed air layer is found to be conducted simultaneously by both the horizontal heat transfer similar to that of the sealed air layer and the vertical heat transfer through the space around the heat transfer measuring unit. The ratio of the latter to the amount of heat transfer increases as the air layer thickness increased.

In this study, we established basic guidelines for the design of compression running tights (Cp-type tights) with low physiological load. Three types of trial Cp-type tights which were the standing, knee bending and taping patterns were tested with seven female participants in their 20s. Bare feet were used as a control. They were asked to run at a speed of 7 km/h on a treadmill for 30 min. Electromyogram (EMG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) were measured during the experiment. EMG analysis involved the assessment of integrated EMG (iEMG). The iEMG decreased and the mean power frequency of EMG increased when wearing the Cp-type tights with the knee-bending (sample K) and taping (sample T) patterns. The sympathetic nervous activity obtained from ECG also tended to be low when wearing sample K.In subjective feeling, sample T was evaluated to suppress vibration in the thigh and lower leg muscles, and sample K was easier to put on and enabled easy bending of knees. These results suggest that it is important to apply the knee-bending pattern as well as local pressure to the legs by using taping for the design of Cp-type tights for a body load reducing effect. However, it is necessary to design the clothing such that the pressure around the inside of the lower legs is not high enough to interrupt muscle contraction.