Search

Global warming is one of the alarming issues, which is impacting humans globally. It is preferred to adopt a lifestyle that promotes heat dissipation from the human body. One approach to cool a human body is improvement in personal apparel, which can help the human body to cool quickly. The required characteristic for cooling performance can be achieved by employing materials with excellent thermal conductivity. Nanodiamonds (ND) have exceptional thermal conductivity properties and can help overcome the poor thermal conductivity of fabrics. This manuscript presents a study on a one‐sided coated fabric where NDs are applied to the skin side of the fabric to promote heat dissipation toward the atmosphere while the other side of the fabric, exposed to the hot atmosphere, remains uncoated to delay the transfer of out from atmosphere to human body. ND was applied onto cotton fabric through electrospraying polyurethane (PU) and carboxylated ND (NDCOOH). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscopy images indicated a homogeneous distribution of the sprayed ND/PU solution over the fabric surface. The samples were chemically analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The thermal resistance was measured by a sweating guarded hot plate (SGHP), which confirmed lower thermal resistance of fabric from the ND‐coated side to atmosphere as compared to control, and thermal resistance from the uncoated to atmosphere was the same for both controlled and treated samples. Similarly, thermal conductivity, radiant heat transfer, and infrared spectroscopy characterizations strengthened the findings of SGHP results. Real‐life simulated experiments were also conducted to verify the performance of developed samples. The electrosprayed samples also showed higher ultraviolet protection than the control sample. Air permeability and moisture absorption of the samples slightly decreased after applying the coating but remained within an acceptable range of comfortability. The developed fabric can promote energy conservation, as it will warm slowly but cool quickly. This allows home or office temperature setpoints for localized cooling to be 2–3°C lower with a projected energy savings between 20% and 30%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigated the transport properties (such as thermal resistance, water vapor resistance and air permeability), moisture management capacity and sensorial properties of some knitted structures of superabsorbent polyacrylate in order to explore their potential as next-to-skin layers in firefighters’ protective clothing in Australia. Test results using these fabrics were compared with the currently used next-to-skin woven fabric. Three different knitted structures (i.e. jersey, rib and interlock) were selected for the study in addition to the current woven fabric in use by Australian firefighters. It was observed that the knitted fabric samples of superabsorbent polyacrylate retained higher amounts of water compared to the fabric sample currently used in the firefighters’ clothing. However, the woven fabric sample dried at a faster rate. Hence, a blended fabric of polyacrylate with the current Nomex® fabric can help in higher sweat absorption and faster drying. The thermal and water vapor resistance of jersey fabric was the lowest, which may better facilitate the transfer of metabolic heat and vapor to the environment, resulting in better thermal comfort. Furthermore, all the fabric samples showed a low coefficient of friction (∼0.2), which indicated less tactile discomfort if the fabrics are worn as the next-to-skin layer in the firefighters’ clothing. The overall moisture management properties of the fabric samples were rated as fair to good. The findings of this research suggest that the superabsorbent material has the potential to be used in place of the existing next-to-skin layer of firefighters’ protective clothing, with better sweat absorption capacity and thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, super absorbent materials were incorporated into the internal layer of the firefighters’ protective clothing with the aim of increasing absorption of sweat to improve the thermo-physiological comfort properties. The performance properties were evaluated following the standard test methods (ISO 6942:2002 and ISO 9151: 1995(E)) and the thermo-physiological comfort-related properties were evaluated by measuring the transport properties such as air permeability, water sorption and evaporation, thermal resistance and water vapour resistance of the fabric assemblies with super absorbent materials. The results indicated that it is possible to improve the comfort properties of the protective clothing by the incorporation of super absorbent materials into the internal layer. The use of super absorbent materials is likely to help in the absorption of sweat in higher amount and keeping the skin and internal microclimate dry, which in turn improves the comfort level. The performance properties of all the combinations satisfied the requirements for firefighter’s clothing as mentioned in AS/NZS 4967-2009. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]