Heat Buffering Property of Phase Change Materials in Textiles

The research reported here examines heat buffering property changes of phase change materials used in textiles. In the study, six types of fabrics with different warmth retention rate catalogued in two groups were used to determine how warmth retention rate of fabric affect heat buffering time of PCM when fabric was wrapped around PCM pouches. It was found that the greater the warmth retention rate of the wrapped fabric, the longer the heat buffering time of the PCM pouch, we also found that the heat buffering time prolonged in direct proportion to the warmth retention rate in different manners for fabrics weaved by fibers that have different heat conductivity. Greater warmth retention rate and smaller fiber conductivity lead to greater increase of the heat buffering time of PCM pouches. The results in this research suggested a possibility about how to control heat buffering time of PCM-containing textiles.