  A new testing apparatus is proposed to measure the thermal properties of
fabrics made from polymeric materials. The calibration of the apparatus and the
data acquisition procedure are considered in detail in order to measure thermal
conductivity, resistance, absorption and diffusivity constants of the tested
fabric samples. Differences between dry and wet fabrics have been carefully
detected and analyzed. We have developed a new measurement protocol, the
"ThermoTex" protocol, which agrees with the UNI EN 31092 standard and entails
an accurate quantification of the experimental errors according to a standard
statistical analysis, thus allowing a rigorous investigation of the physical
behavior of the phenomena involved. As a consequence, our machinery exhibits
great potentialities for optimizing the thermal comfort of fabrics, according
to the market demand, thanks to the possible development of a predictive
phenomenological theory of the effects involved.
