Investigation of thermal comfort in nanofibrous three‐layer fabric for cold weather protective clothing

Abstract

The development of functional nanofiber materials with high specific surface area and porosity has been a highly interesting field of research in recent years due to its versatile properties for diverse applications. The combination of nanofibers into material clothes can open up new opportunities to improve comfort performance and thermal management properties. In this work, we demonstrated that the porous lightweight nanofibrous membrane could be coated on the fabric and laminated to improve its thermal comfort. The polyacrylonitrile was electrospun onto the surface of the polyester fabric with three different fineness and laminated with a warp knitted interlining in a controlled condition by sewing/fusing. The effect of the nanofibers diameter, sewing and fusing process on thermal insulation, air permeability, breathability, and water resistance of the obtained threelayer samples were studied. The results showed that the presence of the nanofibers thin layer could improve the thermal comfort by controlling the studied parameters compared to the external face fabric as control. It was obtained that the fusing technique is more efficient than sewing for this purpose. The fused samples are waterproof and windproof, while instantly venting moisture and had good thermal insulation to protect the body from cold.

Functional Fibers, Composites and Textiles Utilizing Photothermal and Joule Heating

“…These days, the scope of application of functional textiles has been further extended to clothes for health care [20][21][22], medical treatments [23][24][25], sports and leisure [26][27][28], environmental pollution [29][30][31], and wearable optoelectronics [32][33][34][35]. Therefore, special functions including antimicrobial [36][37][38][39], warming or cooling [40][41][42], waterproof [43][44][45], or windproof properties [46,47] need to be incorporated into the fibers. As a representative technology, photocatalytic nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been combined with fibers to degrade odor-causing chemicals and microbial species under light irradiation to remove any unhealthy odor or bacteria [48][49][50].…”

“…As a representative technology, photocatalytic nanomaterials such as titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been combined with fibers to degrade odor-causing chemicals and microbial species under light irradiation to remove any unhealthy odor or bacteria [48][49][50]. In addition, textiles that have not been wet by rain or snow but can transport sweat across clothes, have been fabricated by laminating, coating, or densely packing fibers to provide micropores or hydrophilicity, thereby providing waterproof and windproof properties and maintaining body temperature by controlling the transport of heat, water, and moisture [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47].…”

Investigation of thermal comfort properties of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane fiber coated knitted fabrics for wind‐resistant clothing

“…[ 11 ] So that, wind permeation inside the clothing's microclimate and consequently body heat loss could be prevented. [ 12 ] However, such low air permeability usually results in low water vapor transmission, which make these clothing uncomfortable especially when the wearer generates a lot of heat and sweat. [ 7 ] Instead of conventional coatings, applying an ultra‐thin water vapor permeable membrane can provide sufficient permeability properties without affecting the breathability and increasing the weight of the light jersey fabric.…”

“…Besides, the pore sizes of nanofiber membranes, which were much smaller than a rain drop (>100 μm, fog) and much larger than a water molecule (~0.275 nm), prevent the passage of liquid water through, while allowing the transfer of water vapor. [ 12 ]…”

“…[ 16 ] In recent years, some research has been done using nanofibers to fabricate protective clothes. [ 4,9,12,17–25 ]…”