"Hy-tester" - An instrument for testing comfort properties of leather and leatherlike materials

The methods and prototype measuring instrument (Hy-tester) to investigate t he moisture transport in leather and leather-like materials used in the man ufacture of clothing and shoes are presented. The results obtained for materials of different water vapor variability and sorption indicated two principal mechanisms responsible for the water heat -heat equilibrium in air inside the measuring chamber. In the case of imper meable materials, water supply leads to rapid condensation on the inner sur face of a sample and to an equilibrium relative humidity, depending on the thermal conductivity of a material. The higher the thermal conductivity, th e lower the equilibrium relative humidity. In the case of well permeable materials, water heat is transmitted through a sample within a wide range of water feed rate. The kinetic curves, descri bing the variations of relative humidity inside the measuring chamber, show ed that relative humidity could be controlled for long time by sorption pro perties of a material under test.