HECOL 470/570 1

Advanced Materials for Protective Clothing

Winter 2021
Course Outline

Instructor Patricia Dolez, PEng, PhD

Office: 331 Human Ecology Building
Email Address: pdolez@ualberta.ca (Reply within 24 hours on weekdays)
Office Hours: by email appointment
Lecture Time: T R 9:30 – 10:50 (MDT/MST)
Room: Remote (Zoom, details on eClass)
e-Class: https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca/course/view.php?id=67567

Course Description
This course presents some advanced topics in functional textiles and protective clothing related
to resistance to mechanical, heat & flame, thermal, chemical, biological, and electrical hazards
as well as the question of durability and comfort. It includes current research findings and
covers theory relevant to these topics. For each subject covered, the course describes the
phenomena and mechanisms involved, presents materials and structures appropriate for that
performance, and depicts the relevant test methods. (Prerequisite: HECOL 370).

Course Format
The course will feature lectures by the instructor as well as guest speakers. In addition, it will
include virtual tours of the UofA PCERF flammability laboratory and a protective clothing
manufacturer’s facility. Finally, the last two classes will be dedicated to student presentations of
their mini-projects.

Course Objective and Student Learning Outcomes

The objective of HECOL 470/570 is to initiate students to the design of protective clothing and
test programs based on application requirements.
Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
• Describe a series of main hazards protective clothing are designed to protect from and explain
the mechanisms involved;
• Describe the various aspects of comfort and explain the phenomena involved;
• Describe the main textile materials and structures used in protective clothing and relate them
to protective clothing performance;
• Identify and describe strategies for evaluating resistance to hazards and comfort properties of
protective clothing;
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The HECOL 570 version of this course will involve additional requirements for the assignments
and evaluation appropriate for graduate studies.

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• Conduct literature reviews on a selected topic and prepare synthetic reports according to
research standards;
• Implement what you will have learned during the course to design a protective clothing and
the associated test program based on the requirements of a specific application;
• Exercise critical thinking when faced with new challenges or problems to solve.

Course Materials
Lecture ppt handouts, recorded lectures, readings, and assignments will be posted on e-Class.
Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the
course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other
purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).

Copyright
“All original course materials prepared by the instructor are considered to be the intellectual
property of the instructor (unless otherwise noted), and are protected by law under Canada’s
Copyright Act. “Course materials” include slides, presentations, handouts, lecture notes,
recorded lectures, and any other materials distributed or made available to students by the
course instructor. Permission is given for individual students to use these materials for their own
study purposes in this course. Students must not publish, post on a public Internet site, sell,
rent, or otherwise distribute any course materials without the instructor’s express permission.”

Required Readings:
Students are expected to read the required readings before each class to fully benefit from their
in-class learning experience. Most of them are extracted from the following books available in
the UofA Library (links provided on e-Class).
• Advanced Characterization and Testing of Textiles. Dolez, Vermeersch & Izquierdo
(Eds.), Elsevier, 2017
• Chemical protective clothing. Second edition. Anna (Ed.) AIHA Press. 2003.
• Electric Power System Basics for the Nonelectrical Professional. Blume (Au.), John
Wiley & Sons, 2017
• Handbook of fire resistant textiles. Kilinc (Ed.), Woodhead Publishing, 2013. (Access
limited in time or in number of pages)
• Handbook of Technical Textiles - V2: Technical Textile Applications. Horrocks & Anand
(Eds), Woodhead Publishing, 2016.
• Manufacturing processes & materials. Elshennawy & Weheba (Eds.), Society of
Manufacturing Engineer, 2015.
• New product development in textiles: innovation and production, Horne (Ed.), Woodhead
Publishing, 2012
• Science in Clothing Comfort. Das & Alagirusamy (Eds.), WPI Publishing, 2010
• Smart Textiles and their Applications. Koncar (Ed.), Elsevier, 2016
• Textiles and Fashion: Materials, Design and Technology. Sinclair (Ed.), Woodhead
Publishing, 2015.
• Textiles for protection. Scott (Ed.), CRC Press, 2005.
• Understanding and Improving the Durability of Textiles. Annis (Ed.), Elsevier Science,
2012
Specific sections/chapters of these books have been identified for each class: they are provided
in the tentative class schedule at the end of this document as well as in the corresponding
lecture boxes on e-Class.
A few required readings are scientific journal articles. The complete reference is provided in the

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tentative class schedule at the end of this document and the link to the online version of the
paper is provided in the corresponding lecture boxes on e-Class (you may need to be on a UofA
computer to access them through the library website).

Recommended Readings
Additional readings are proposed to supplement your in-class learning experience and give you
a deeper insight into some aspects covered by the class. These additional readings are
scientific papers and book chapters published by researchers working in these areas. They are
listed at the end of each lecture handout and are available at the UofA Library (online resource).

Lectures
Lectures will done remotely using Zoom. The link and passcode are provided on eClass. The
lectures will be offered synchronously to provide an opportunity for students to ask and answer
questions. As not all students may be able to attend all the lectures because of possible time
conflicts (e.g. to travel to the UofA to attend in-person labs), the lectures will also be recorded
and posted on eClass within 24h after each lecture for asynchronous learning. However, it is
recommended that you try to attend lectures at least once a week.
The lectures will include several periods when students will be able to ask questions about the
lecture content. Each lecture will also start with a question and end with some exercises. During
the question/exercise periods, students are encouraged to switch their microphone on to
interact with the instructor and with each other. They can also use the chat box to ask questions
if they prefer. On the other hand, student’s mics should be muted during the lecturing periods.
Information regarding lectures will be communicated using the eClass Announcement platform.
The lecture recording will be disclosed only to the students enrolled in this class. You have the
right to not participate in the recording and are advised to turn off your cameras and audio prior
to recording; you can still participate through text-based chat. If students are having their
camera on, it is recommended that they remove all identifiable and personal belongings from
the space in which they will be participating. Recordings will stored in a Google Drive folder and
accessible by a link on eClass. They be made available until April 30, 2021. Please direct any
questions about this collection to Patricia Dolez (pdolez@ualberta.ca).

Assessment
Policy about course outlines can be found in Course Requirements, Evaluation Procedures and
Grading of the University Calendar.
Grades will be based on two take-home assignments; the proposal, report, and presentation of
an individual mini-project; a mid-term exam; and a final exam (see Table below, MDT/MST
times provided). Rubrics for written assignments/mini-project report and the mini-project
presentation are provided on e-class.
Assessment component Due date Value
Mini-project proposal Thursday Jan. 21 5%
Take-home assignment # 1 Tuesday Feb. 9 10%
Mid-term exam Tuesday Feb. 23 20%
Take-home assignment # 2 Tuesday March 30 10%
Mini-project report Friday April 9 15%
Mini-project presentation T R April 13-15 10%

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 Final exam Tues. April 20, 2pm 30%
Total 100%

Term Work, Course exams, and Due Dates

The take-home assignments and mini-project will be posted on eClass (2nd assignment posted
after 1st assignment has been submitted).
The assignments and the mini-project are individual activities. The assignments and the mini-
project proposal and report should be typed and presented in a proper format (spacing 1.5,
Font: e.g. Arial 11 or Times New Roman 12). References should be cited in APA format.
The due dates for the assignments and the mini-project proposal, report and presentation are
provided in the Table above. The Word and pdf versions of the assignment/mini-project reports
should be sent by 4pm (MDT/MST) on the due date by email to Patricia Dolez
(pdolez@ualberta.ca). Other than in exceptional (and justified) circumstances, grades on late
submissions will be reduced by 25% for each day of delay.
There will be a 10 min PowerPoint presentation for the mini-project. You will be asked to send
the files of your slide deck by email to Patricia Dolez (pdolez@ualberta.ca) by 7am the morning
of the presentation day. The mini-project presentation sessions will not be recorded.
The midterm and final exams will be conducted synchronously using the eClass Quiz tool. They
will be accessed and answered on eClass. The exams will be closed book tests conducted with
the SEM proctor system. The midterm exam will be 80 minutes long and cover the course
content, including the guest lecture, to the date of the exam. The final exam will be 120 minutes
long and cover the whole course. The eClass messaging tool (chat box) will be used if needed
to communicate with students during exams.
If, due to exceptional circumstances, the student misses his/her midterm exam, its weight will be
moved to the final exam. Please inform the instructor as soon as possible in the case of a
conflict with an exam or an assignment for instance.
Excused absences are not automatic, and, in the case of term work or midterm exams, are at
the discretion of the instructor. Instructors may request supporting documentation from students
to support the request.
It is to be noted that mini-project presentations, guest lectures and field trips are a major
learning component of the class; student participation to these activities is not optional.

Marking and Grading

Evaluation of assignments and exams will be expressed in raw marks throughout the term.
Letter grades will be assigned only to the final distribution of total marks for the full course.
Assignment of grades will be based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative
performance based on the following description.
The first table is for undergraduate students (taking HECOL 470) and the second one for
graduate students (taking HECOL 570).

For undergraduate students

Excellent A+ Outstanding: The student has demonstrated an extraordinary grasp of the
course content and performance reflects creativity and innovation, in
addition to a high level of analytical ability.

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 A Excellent: The student has demonstrated superior understanding of the
course content and a high level of analytical ability.

A- The student has demonstrated superior understanding of the course

content, but has not shown the same level of analytical ability as students
receiving an A.
Good B+ The student has demonstrated a sound understanding of course material,
with superior understanding being evident in some topics.
B The student has demonstrated a uniformly sound understanding of course
material.

B- The student has demonstrated a generally sound understanding of course

material, but there are some areas in which depth of understanding is
limited.
Satisfactory C+ The student has demonstrated adequate awareness of course content
with sound understanding of some topics.
C The student has demonstrated adequate awareness of all of the central
dimensions of the course.

C- The student has demonstrated adequate awareness of most of the central

dimensions of the course, but lacks knowledge of one or two topics.
Poor D+ The student has demonstrated a lack of knowledge in one or more of the
central dimensions of the course, and has very superficial understanding
of most topics.
Minimal D The student’s performance is only minimally acceptable due to a lack of
Pass understanding of several central dimensions of course content.
Fail F The student has demonstrated a lack of knowledge of most of the course
content.

For graduate students

Excellent A+, A, A-
Good B+, B
Satisfactory B-, C+
Failure C, C-, D+, D, F

Code of Student Behaviour

“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and
honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty
and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to
familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at
www.governance.ualberta. ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in
suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the
University.”

“All students at the University of Alberta are subject to the Code of Student Behaviour, as
outlined at: https://www.ualberta.ca/governance/resources/policies-standards-and-codes-of-

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conduct/code-of-student-behaviour.html.
Please familiarize yourself with it and ensure that you do not participate in any inappropriate
behavior as defined by the Code. Key components of the code include the following statements.
30.3.2(1) No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the
Student’s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or
poster in a course or program of study.
30.3.2(2)c. No Student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional
assistance on an assignment as the Student’s own work.”
Students should speak with the course instructor about any questions or concerns about the
code. Students should be particularly aware of the code as it pertains to internet and library
research, use of previous class notes, reclamation plans of former students and interviews or
discussions with others.
An appendix at the end of this document provides some guidelines about academic integrity in
reports and presentations. You are expected to follow these rules. Please speak with the course
instructor about any questions or concerns about it.

Electronic Devices
Guidelines about technology for remote learning can be found at:
https://www.ualberta.ca/information-services-and-technology/services/software-hardware-
vendors/technology-requirements.html. You will need a microphone (embedded into your laptop
or as part of headsets) for the presentation of your mini-project.
For the midterm and the final exam (with the SEM proctoring system), you will also need a
desktop, laptop or chromebook (iPads and tablets are not supported) with any of the following
operating system: OSX, Windows, or ChromeOST, the “Chrome” browser, a Webcam and a
microphone (https://support.ctl.ualberta.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/434/1/using-
smart-exam-monitor-sem---students).
Please make sure that your cell phone is turned off during the class in case you want to unmute
your microphone during the question/exercise periods.
Unless expressly otherwise indicated, the use of electronic devices is restricted during
examinations. Only approved non-programmable calculators are permitted.
Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching
environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a
part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise,
created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and
is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the
content author(s). This includes the recording of the lectures posted on eClass.

Access to Representative Evaluative Material

Sample questions are provided on e-Class. Examples of questions are also provided at the end
of each lecture (slides posted on e-Class).

Tentative Class Schedule

A tentative course schedule is provided below. It may be altered at the discretion of the
instructor. Any changes will be announced in advance.

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Week Date Topic Readings
Lecture 1: Course
Jan. 12 • Syllabus, including Appendix
introduction
• Chap 1 (Introduction to advanced characterization
Week 1 and testing of textiles), Advanced Characterization
Lecture 2: Design
Jan. 14 and Testing of Textiles.
process
• Chap 11 (Specific testing of protective clothing),
Advanced Characterization and Testing of Textiles
• Sections 11.2.1 (para. 2), 11.3.1 (para. 2), &
11.10.3 (Chap 11 - Specific testing of protective
clothing), Advanced Characterization and Testing
Lecture 3: Protection
Jan. 19 of Textiles
against cuts
• Section 7.3 (Chap 7 - Technical textiles for knife
and slash resistance), Handbook of Technical
Week 2 Textiles – V2: Technical Textile Applications
• Section 11.2.1 (para. 3) (Chap 11 - Specific testing
of protective clothing), Advanced Characterization
Lecture 4: Protection and Testing of Textiles
Jan. 21
against puncture • Sections Elastomers (pages 120-123) & Rubber
processing (pages 133-134), (Chap 7 – Nonmetallic
materials), Manufacturing Processes & Materials
• Sections 11.3.2, 11.3.3, & 11.5.3 (Chap 11 -
Specific testing of protective clothing), Advanced
Lecture 5: Ballistic Characterization and Testing of Textiles
Jan. 26
protection • Section 6.3 (Chap 6 - Technical textiles for ballistic
protection), Handbook of Technical Textiles – V2:
Technical Textile Applications
Week 3 • Sections 2.13 (Chap 2 - Advanced strength testing
of textiles) & 11.2.1 (para. 4), (Chap 11- Specific
testing of protective clothing), Advanced
Lecture 6: Protection
Jan. 28 Characterization and Testing of Textiles
against abrasion
• Section 5.3 (Chapter 5 - Synthetic Textile Fibres:
Polyamide, Polyester and Aramid Fibres), Textiles
and Fashion: Materials, Design and Technology
Lecture 7: Thermal • Chap 4 (Testing thermal properties of textiles),
Feb. 2
protection Advanced Characterization and Testing of Textiles
Week 4 • Chapter 19 (Flame resistant textiles for structural
Lecture 8: Protection
Feb. 4 and proximity fire fighting), Handbook of Fire
against flame
Resistant Textiles
• Chap 9 (Testing of Hot-water and Steam
Lecture 9: Protection
Feb. 9 Protective Performance Properties of Fabrics),
against hot substances
Advanced Characterization and Testing of Textiles
Week 5 Guest lecture: flash fire
manikin testing & • Chapter 18 (Flame resistant textiles for flash
Feb. 11
Virtual visit of Flash Fire fires), Handbook of Fire Resistant Textiles
Facility

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 Feb. 16 Reading week -
Week 6
Feb. 18 No class
Feb. 23 Mid-term exam
Lecture 10: Protection • Chap 12 (Civilian protection and protection of
Week 7
Feb. 25 against chemicals: micro industrial workers from chemicals), Textiles for
level protection
Lecture 11: Protection
• Chap 3 (Solvent-Polymer Interactions), Chemical
March 2 against chemicals:
protective clothing
Week 8 molecular level
Lecture 12: Protection • Chap 16 (Microorganism protection), Textiles for
March 4
against biological agents protection
March 9 No Class: Symposium, Institute of Textile Science, March 9-10, 2021
Lecture 13: Protection • Chap 10 (Personal Protection (Safety)), Electric
Week 9
March 11 against electrical Power System Basics for the Nonelectrical
hazards Professional
• Chap 9 (Durability of protective clothing),
March 16 Lecture 14: Durability Understanding and Improving the Durability of
Week 10 Textiles
Lecture 15: Comfort- • Chap 3 (Comfort testing of textiles), Advanced
March 18
thermophysiological Characterization and Testing of Textiles
• Chap 15 (Specific testing for performance
Lecture 16: Comfort-skin
March 23 sportswear), Advanced Characterization and
sensorial
Testing of Textiles
Week 11 • Dianat et al. (2012). Methodology for evaluating
Lecture 17: Comfort- gloves in relation to the effects on hand
March 25
ergonomic performance capabilities: a literature review .
Ergonomics, 55(11), 1429-1451
Lecture 18: Comfort- • Chap 2 (Psychology and comfort), Science in
March 30
Psychological Clothing Comfort
Week 12 Guest lecture: Visit of • Chap 3 (Textile product development and
April 1 protective clothing definition), New product development in textiles:
manufacturing facility innovation and production
Lecture 19: New trends- • Chap 22 (Smart materials for personal protective
April 6
smart textiles equipment), Smart Textiles and their Applications
Week 13
Lecture 20: New trends- • Yetisen et al. (2016). Nanotechnology in Textiles.
April 8
nanomaterials ACS Nano, 10(3), 3042-3068
April 13 Student mini-project presentations
Week 14
April 15 Student mini-project presentations

Writing & Studying Support

Assistance and strategies for writing, studying, and preparing for exams are available on
campus:
• Student Success Centre: http://www.studentsuccess.ualberta.ca/
• Centre for Writers: http://www.c4w.ualberta.ca/

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Appendix: Guidelines about Academic Integrity in Reports and Presentations
Reminder about some rules (this is not an exhaustive list)
• When using information for other sources in the text:
o Always include the reference (at the end of the first sentence for the series of successive
sentences using information from a source; put the reference again if you are starting a new
paragraph).
o Paraphrase the original text with your own words (preferred solution).
o If reproducing some sentences or phrases word-for-word, put the cited text between
quotation marks. Include the reference at the end of the cited text with the page number.
o This applies both to reports and presentations. For presentations, the best is to list the
relevant reference(s) on the slide (e.g. in small font size at the bottom of the slide) rather
than listing them all on a dedicated slide at the end of the presentation.
• When including figures or tables reproduced from other sources:
o Just include the figure or table, not its caption.
o For reports, you need to create your own caption for the reproduced figures/tables,
including the numbering.
o For presentations, you can choose to include a figure/table title if needed.
o For both reports and presentations, you need to provide the reference to the original source
of the reproduced figure/table. For presentations, it should be mentioned at the end of the
figure/table caption for reports and at the end of the figure/table title or below the
figure/table if no title.
o It also applies to pictures and cartoons found over the internet and used as illustrations on
slides.
• This applies to any type of source, including:
o Scientific papers, Books (electronic or paper), …
o Material found over the internet: e.g. manufacturers’ websites, blogs, Newsletters, …
Procedure in case of a suspected case of plagiarism
• Any instance of not referencing other people’s work is considered to be plagiarism, which is a
specific type of academic misconduct.
• The instructor has the obligation to take action in case of a suspected case of academic
misconduct. However the decision regarding the eventual consequences is made by the relevant
Associate Dean (Academic for undergraduate students; Graduate Studies for graduate students).
• 1st step: the instructor meets with the student to describe what they have noticed and allow the
student to provide an explanation. Generally, someone else from the Department attends this
meeting to be able to clarify any question that the instructor or the student may have. The
student can also ask someone from the Ombuds office to attend. If the suspicion proves to be
unfounded, no further action is taken.
• 2st step: if the suspicion of academic misconduct is confirmed, the instructor submits a report to
the relevant Associate Dean with supporting documents providing evidence about the case.
• 3rd step: the relevant Associate Dean meets with the student to hear their explanations and
makes a decision. The instructor is informed by the Associate Dean about the decision and
eventually revises accordingly the student’s mark/letter grade.
UofA resources on how to cite properly sources of information
• https://www.ualberta.ca/current-students/academic-resources/academic-integrity/index.html
• https://www2.library.ualberta.ca/tutorials/foundational/5-1-plagiarism.mp4
• https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/ld.php?content_id=14270787