Developing fabrics with enhanced thermal protection is a cutting-edge topic in area of thermal protective clothing (TPC) for workers under heat hazards. Here, temperatureresponsive NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) filaments, which transform into a sinusoid form under a stimulus of temperature exceeding their austenite start temperature of 45.1 ℃, were prepared. Nine composite fabrics (CFs) using SMA filaments and aramid yarns, different in filament interval, air gap orientation, aramid yarn type and fabric density, were fabricated and incorporated into traditional three-layer TPC fabric system, resulting in a four-layer smart fabric system (SFS) with adaptive structure. Thermal protective performance (TPP) tests demonstrated the addition of CF could significantly slow down the rise of temperature at skin surface and prolong the time to the first-degree burn. With the decrease of filament interval or increase of fabric density, TPP of SFS was improved due to more heat accumulation within and less heat conduction through the fabric. This study would inspire engineering CFs with enhanced TPP, thus pushing forward the development of smart technology in textile engineering.
The utilization of shape memory alloy (SMA) in shape memory fabric (SMF) has revolutionized thermal protective clothing, significantly enhancing its thermal protection. However, the cost- and time-consuming process of SMA shape memory training and performance testing can be optimized for improved efficiency. This study addresses this challenge by developing machine learning models to predict the thermal protection of a smart fabric system (SFS) with a SMF. The training data was sourced from the previous experimental studies, and six features significantly impacting thermal protection were identified. Results demonstrated that gradient boosting regressor (GBR) model exhibited the highest accuracy, with the SMA interval emerging as the most critical feature in determining thermal protection. Moreover, the GBR model predicted that SFS presented the best thermal protection when the dry SMF was woven by SMA of 2 cm interval and aramid 1414 of 20 roots/cm density, located between the moisture barrier and thermal liner vertically.
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