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Government agencies carry out many events each year designed to determine future requirements and capabilities. These events include field experiments, surveys, interviews, simulations and workshops. Similar themes are evident across many of these events. Unfortunately, mechanisms for passing information from one event to the next, or for developing bodies of knowledge in the topical areas they address, have yet to be fully developed. The task is difficult on two fronts. In response to this need a knowledge management capability was developed to help provide structure for dynamic and static data and thereby, aid in the analysis of complex experimentation. The system warehouses qualitative and quantitative data and supports mining operations through a number of traditional and artificial intelligence‐based techniques. Described are the information architecture of the system, the knowledge processing methodologies, and the structure of the thematic data sets that form the knowledge ontologies.

Examines the twelfth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Examines the eleventh published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

This paper seeks to present an innovative scale that sheds light on the ways in which intentions to share explicit and tacit knowledge impact actual knowledge‐sharing behavior.

Survey data were collected from a total of 278 hi‐tech workers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess the research model.

SEM shows that the intention to share explicit knowledge influences explicit knowledge‐sharing behavior to an equal extent both directly and indirectly. By contrast tacit knowledge‐sharing behavior is influenced directly to a greater extent by the intention to share tacit knowledge and less indirectly by the intention to share explicit knowledge.

The study provides a potential tool that may be applied by managers for the purpose of measuring explicit and tacit knowledge‐sharing intention and behavior. Its limitations are due to the limited socio‐economic and geographic variability of the companies and people that were studied, which may need further studies to substantiate.

Whereas there is a consensus as to the need for and the benefits of sharing knowledge, there are no tools for measuring the roots of sharing behavior. The scale presented here captures the underlying intention, measures it, and assesses the resulting behavior.

For years, the main reason for using textiles in the health care sector was to protect the patient from the medical staff. Nowadays, the garment has to play another role and protect the wearer. For dentists, risks can come from saliva which is considered potentially infectious because it frequently contains blood. This paper aims to define dentist gown specifications according to the new situation, and to propose new garments providing safety protective function as well as comfort.

Enquiries, direct interviews as well as internet forums have been used to extract dentists' requirements taking into account their need of barrier and their comfort concerns. Studies of the spraying area on the gowns have been performed to define the location of the required protection. A study of the warmer zone of the garment via IR camera has been done. Two prototypes have then been constructed and tested.

Images of impacts of drops that could cause cross‐infection allow defining the zones which are to be specifically protected. Thermographic images provide maps of hot zones of the garment when worn in working conditions, and information is obtained of desired open space zones which have been designed to create preferential ventilation required for comfort improvement. A second prototype was designed to improve results of the first one.

Replacement of current dentists garment in routine situation.

Dentists' gowns used in dental care have not been studied and not been redesigned yet, whereas new dentists are facing new risks and eagerly looking for personal protective equipment providing safety protective function as well as comfort.

The purpose of this paper is to model the relationship between manufacturing parameters, especially finishing treatments and instrumental tactile properties measured by Kawabata evaluation system.

Two soft computing approaches, namely artificial neural network (ANN) and fuzzy inference system (FIS), have been applied to predict the compression and surface properties of knitted fabrics from finishing process. The prediction accuracy of these models was evaluated using both the root mean square error and mean relative percent error.

The results revealed the model's ability to predict instrumental tactile parameters based on the finishing treatments. The comparison of the prediction performances of both techniques showed that fuzzy models are slightly more powerful than neural models.

This study provides contribution in industrial products engineering, with minimal number of experiments and short cycles of product design. In fact, models based on intelligent techniques, namely FIS and ANNs, were developed for predicting instrumental tactile characteristics in reference to finishing treatments.

The aim of presented investigation was to test developed testing device Griff tester, created for the objective evaluation of textile hand and to compare the obtained data with sensory evaluation results of textiles, subjected to different final treatments.

The effect of two finishing products, i.e. the crease‐resistant finishing Knittex^® “K” and the softener macro silicone Ultratex^® “Ul” upon 100 per cent cotton plain weave fabric was studied by two methods – objective evaluation and sensory analysis. Objective evaluation was done using Griff tester device where disc shaped specimen was extracted through a rounded hole of the stand. Sensory analysis was performed by the panel of 11 trained persons.

Investigations have shown that both treatments changed the hand of the fabric in the expected direction. Meantime, two experimental methods (objective and sensory approach) have shown their effectiveness to evaluate the textile touch, respectively.

The obtained results proved that criterion Q can be used for sensitive and vivid detection of differences between fabrics, affected by different final treatment operations. The effects of finishing products' concentrations were found to be in accordance with the manufacturer's technical specifications and with the finishing industrialist's expectations.

Investigation results obtained by Griff tester revealed the possibility of fabric hand evaluation on the basis of one relative criterion Q. These results can be linked with some attribute issued of the sensory analysis applied to the characterisation of the tactile feeling.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the thermal insulation of protective clothing with multilayer gaps in low-level heat exposures.

Nine different combinations of protective clothing systems with multiple air gaps are used to measure the thermal insulation by a self-designed bench-scale test apparatus in different levels of an external thermal radiation of 2-10 kW/m2. The outside and inside surface temperatures of each fabric layer are also measured to calculate the local thermal insulation of each fabric layer and each air gap.

The results show that the total thermal insulation of protective clothing under thermal radiation is less than that in normal environments, and the exposed thermal radiation will worsen the total thermal insulation of the multilayer fabric systems. Air gap plays a positive role in the total thermal insulation, and thus provides the enhanced thermal protection. It is also suggested that the local resistance of the air gap closer to the external thermal radiation is more easily affected by the thermal radiation, due to the different heat transfer ways in the fabric system and the external thermal radiation.

Effects of air gap on the thermal insulation of protective clothing, and contribution of the local thermal resistance of each fabric layer and each air gap to the total thermal insulation.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

The purpose of this paper is to predict the appearance of denim fabric after repetitive uses judging the denim cloth behavior and performance in viewpoint of bagging ability. Hence, it attempts to carry out the significant inputs and outputs that have an influence on the bagging behaviors using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) technique. In this study, the Kawabata Evaluation System parameters such as the frictional characteristics, the bending, compression, tensile and shear parameters are investigated to propose a model highlighting and explaining their impacts on the different bagging properties. To improve the obtained results, the selected significant inputs are also analyzed within their bagging properties using Taguchi experimental design. The linear regressive models prove the effectiveness of the PCA method and the obtained findings.

To investigate the mechanical properties and their contributions on the bagging characteristics, some denim fabrics were collected and measured thanks to the Kawabata evaluation systems (KES-FB1, KES-FB2, KES-FB3 and KES-FB4). These bagging properties were further analyzed applying the method of PCA to acquire factor patterns that indicate the most important fabric properties for characterizing the bagging behaviors of different studied denim fabric samples. An experimental design type Taguchi was, hence, applied to improve the results. Regarding the obtained results, it may be concluded that the PCA method remained a powerful and flawless technique to select the main influential inputs and significant outputs, able to define objectively the bagging phenomenon and which should be considered from the next researches.

According to the results, there are good relationships between the Kawabata input parameters and the analyzed bagging properties of studied denim fabrics. Indeed, thanks to the PCA, it is probably easy to reduce the number of the influent parameters for three reasons. First, applying this technique of selection can help to select objectively the most influential inputs which affect enormously the bagged fabrics. Second, knowing these significant parameters, the prediction of denim fabric bagging seems fruitful and can undoubtedly help researchers explain widely this complex phenomenon. Third, regarding the findings mentioned, it seems that the prevention of this aesthetic phenomenon appearing in some specific zones of denim fabrics will be more and more accurate.

This study is interesting for denim consumers and industrial applications during long and repetitive uses. Undoubtedly, the denim garments remained the largely used and consumed, hence, this particularity proves the necessity to study it in order to evaluate the bagging phenomenon which occurs as function of number of uses. Although it is fashionable to have bagging, the denim fabric remains, in contrast with the worsted ones, the most popular fabric to produce garments. Moreover, regarding this characteristic, the large uses and the acceptable value of denim fabrics, their aesthetic appearance behavior due to bagging phenomenon can be analyzed accurately because compared to worsted fabrics, they have a high value and the repetitive tests to investigate widely bagged zones may fall the industrial. The paper has practical implications in the clothing appearance and other textile industry, especially in the weaving process when friction forms (yarn-to-yarn, yarn-to-metal frictions) and stresses are drastic. This can help understanding why residual bagging behavior remained after garment uses due to the internal stress and excessive extensions. Regarding the selected influential inputs and outputs relative to bagging behaviors, there are some practical implications that have an impact on the industrial and researchers to study objectively the occurrence of this aesthetic phenomenon. Indeed, this study discusses the significance of the overall inputs; their contributions on the denim fabric bagged zones aims to prevent their ability to appear after uses. Moreover, the results obtained regarding the fabric mechanical properties can be useful to fabric and garment producers, designers and consumers in specifying and categorizing denim fabric products, insuring more denim cloth use and controlling fabric value. For applications where the subjective view of the consumer is of primary importance, the KES-FB system yields data that can be used for evaluating fabric properties objectively and prejudge the consumer satisfaction in viewpoint of the bagging ability. Therefore, this study shows that by measuring shear, tensile and frictional parameters of KES-FB, it may be possible to evaluate bagging properties. However, it highlights the importance and the significance of some inputs considered influential or the contrast (non-significant) in other researches.

This work presents the first study analyzing the bagged denim fabric applying the PCA technique to remove the all input parameters which are not significant. Besides, it deals with the relationship developed between the mechanical fabric properties (tensile, shear and frictional stresses) and the bagging properties behavior. To improve these obtained relationships, for the first time, the regression technique and experimental design type Taguchi analysis were both applied. Moreover, it is notable to mention that the originality of this study is to let researchers and industrials investigate the most influential inputs only which have a bearing on the bagging phenomenon.