[9C] Design Evaluation, Kansei Engineering, Ergonomics

[9C-03] Impression evaluation of ramie fiber and silicone rubber composites

Study on the effect of visual and tactile characteristics of ramie fiber and silicone rubber composites

*YUXIN ZHANG¹, KOICHIRO SATO², FUMIO TERAUCHI² (1. Chiba university - Graduate school of Science and Engineering - Division of Creative Engineering - Department of Design, 2. Chiba university - Faculty of Engineering - Department of Design)

Keywords:Composite material, Impression evaluation, Ramie fiber

In this study, we fabricated ramie fiber and silicone rubber composites, and evaluated their impressions. A total of 16 types of ramie fiber and silicone rubber composites were prepared by varying the softness of the silicone rubber and the state of the ramie fibers. All samples were evaluated for visual and tactile impressions to clarify the relationship between filler (ramie fiber) and sensory properties of composites, and to improve the sensory properties of silicone rubber composites by incorporating ramie fiber. In the impression evaluation experiment, factor analysis was performed and using the maximum likelihood method as well as Promax, and changes in sensory characteristics were confirmed by factor scores. The research findings are important for application to the field of product design.