Held at The Institute of Materials, Mining and Minerals, London (4 July 2008)
David J. Tyler
This one-day seminar was hosted by TechniTex to consider the development of clothing and equipment found at the Olympic Games and other major sporting events. Opening remarks were provided by Lord Haskel, Hon Chairman of TechniTex.
Scott Drawer, of UK Sport, spoke on "Countdown to London 2012". He explained that the emphasis was on elite athletes (1500 are being funded) and sucess leading to medals. The difference between a gold and a silver medal is typically measured in a fraction of a second, and UK Sport's aim is to deliver bespoke solutions to sport so that there are measurable benefits to UK athletes. Regarding textiles, the following topics were discussed:
Rhythmic analysis: Sharelle McMahon, an Australian netball player, is wearing an interactive throwing sleeve that measures the position, speed, and acceleration of her arm during a shot. Music is synchronized to the arm and wrist movements of a successful shot so that when she performs the correct motions she hears a tune.
A high-tech armband is helping athletes find their rhythm on the basketball court by playing a special tune when the athletes move their arms correctly. The "interactive throwing sleeve" extends from the knuckles to above the elbow and is form fitting, like a compression garment. It has two sensors, one at the wrist and another at the elbow, that are connected by thin conductive fibers. As the athlete shoots the ball, the sleeve measures the position, velocity, and acceleration of the arm. The information is wirelessly transmitted to a laptop so that the athlete can be monitored in real time. (For more, go here.)
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UK Sport does not carry out fundamental research but works with existing centres of expertise to achieve its goals.
Jason Rance heads up Speedo's Aqua Lab, the developer of the LZR Racer swimsuit. He expressed his satisfaction that the new suit is making an immediate impact: 44 world records have been broken by swimmers wearing the suit since it was launched in February 08. Click here for a BBC report when the number of records broken was 37. A video showing many of the features discussed by Jason Rance is here. This project involved fundamental research over the past 3 years. The Aqua Lab links technologists in Nottingham (UK), US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They first worked with NASA to develop the LZR pulse fabric (made of neoprene and polyurethane to achieve a very low surface friction) and the LZR panel (a laminate with an exceptionally smooth surface). Computational work was carried out at the University of Nottingham, to map the drag around the suit and to identify shapes that would reduce drag. This research is reported here. Body scanning research was undertaken by [TC]2 in the US. 400 athletes were measured. This was used by Speedo to create its own size charts and associated sizing system. Water flume testing in Otago, NZ., and Iowa State University tested the suits for fit, resistance to flow, etc. There were numerous pattern technology challenges - to fit the body closely, to provide compression in selected areas and to enable the suit to be put on and taken off (it emerged that this was by no means a trivial exercise!). The suits are bonded (not sewn) to further reduce seam bulk and drag. A specially designed zipper was also needed for the garment. Speedo have impressive figures of quantifiable benefits, but their claim that this is the "world's fastest swimsuit" is that world records are being broken by wearers.
Damian Vesey is Programme Leader for the BSc course in Sports Equipment Design at Salford University. The presentation was concerned with the "Sports Design Process": it reviewed the changes in the course since 2004 and described some of the company-based projects that have been undertaken.
Richard Palmer, CEO of d3o Labs, contributed a talk on "New applications for hi-tech materials". d3o has had some excellent media exposure over the past two years, particularly with skiwear. There are numerous YouTube clips: Richard Palmer explains what d3o is, an overview report from the Discovery Channel, and a promotional message is here.
An overview of products incorporating d3o™ includes: Armadillo Scooter Wear, Equetech equestrian apparel, Casablanca Polo™ Knee guards, Capulet Juliet d3o™ pointe shoe, Puma football, Spyder Freeryde suit (mountain biking), Armadillo Scooter Wear, Quiksilver’s range of beanies, and the Spyder Giant Slalom race suit.
d3o is based on a dilatent material (in which viscosity increases significantly with the rate of shear) embedded in an elastic material (eurethane). There are numerous materials that exhibit non-newtonian behaviour, and a concise overview of the rheology of different types of material is provided here. d3o has been developed specifically as a brand for shock absorption. The flexible components have been designed to spread the impact force over as wide an area as possible. It is produced in 7 mm thickness for most active sports applications, and 5mm thickness for use in runnning shoes.
An overview of nanotechnology applications in sporting materials was provided by Sanam Ghaffari of Nanoforce. The main contributions that have been made to sport relate to:
Philip Delamore spoke about a footwear project based at the London College of Fashion. An exhibition of the bespoke strategy for fitting players with footwear was held in 2006.
Finally, Tom Dobbie of Gluco Ltd spoke on "The outlook for sporting materials". He built his talk around polypropylene, which is widely known as a commodity product but which has been engineered to suit many different high performance applications. Gluco Ltd is concerned with industrial adhesives, and the speaker showed how composite materials using polypropylene could be developed to achieve a great variety of innovative applications.
As is generally the case with clothing and textiles, the speakers illustrated the interdisciplinary character of our sector, and the tremendous scope for innovation that exists. It all helps to demonstrate the potential for investment and reinforces the message that an industry needing technological expertise offers many stimulating careers for the next generation of professionals.
Report for:
Department of Clothing Design & Technology,
Hollings Faculty,
Manchester Metropolitan University,
Old Hall Lane,
Manchester, M14 6HR.
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