Development of heating and cooling materials for sports apparel

• Main Author: Thum, Kai Yang
• Other Authors: Alfred Tok Iing Yoong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials::Functional materials; Engineering::Materials::Material testing and characterization
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/138412
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Nowadays, clothing designs are based on their specific function to regulate body temperature with regards to the surrounding. Wearers will prefer to wear thinner and lighter clothing such as a dry-fit shirt during a hot day outdoors to keep cool or a thicker clothing such as a down jacket to keep the body warm in a cold weather. However, having a clothing or fabric to be capable of exhibiting both functions is not common. This project investigates the dual-layer capabilities of textiles which can keep the body warm and cool, depending on the wearer’s preference. This is done by having an emissive layer coated with Carbon Black and reflective layer on the opposite side of the fabric with various additives added into the reflective layer, namely Graphene, MICA White( MICA + TiO2), MICA Red( MICA + Fe2O3) and Titanium Oxide (TiO2). Efficiency of the dual-layer pairing is calculated by the difference in temperature of the skin between heating and cooling mode. It was found that the MICA White-Carbon Black and the MICA Red-Carbon Black pairing have the best efficiency in terms of its dual-layer properties by using various test such as the Skin Test as well as the Lamp Test which will be further explained in Section 4 of Experimental Methods. The results are also further backed by experimental testing of percentage reflection and absorption of the fabric in the UV-Vis-NIR and MIR range using the Lambda 950 and the Nicolet Is-50. This is important as our body loses heat via radiation in the MIR range and heat absorb via solar irradiation falls under the UV-Vis-NIR range. However, the list of types of additive coated fabrics to be used in this mechanics of dual-layer properties is not exhaustive where additives not investigated in this project can have better efficiency.