Performance Apparel Markets - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Performance Apparel Markets - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Performance Apparel Markets - Grado Zero Espace Srl
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<strong>Performance</strong> <strong>Apparel</strong> <strong>Markets</strong>, 1st quarter 2006<br />
Product developments and innovations<br />
The project, known as<br />
Safe&Cool, aims to develop<br />
a protective material with a<br />
built-in cooling system<br />
Existing protective clothing<br />
can hinder a worker’s<br />
ability to stay cool, resulting<br />
in heatstroke—<br />
—and heat stress<br />
The objective is to<br />
develop a high quality<br />
thermal and moisture<br />
management layer using<br />
three technologies—<br />
—a three-dimensional<br />
textile structure for the<br />
thermal and moisture<br />
management layer—<br />
—the cooling apparatus<br />
based on that designed for<br />
space suits and—<br />
Space suits are designed to protect astronauts from overheating when<br />
carrying out space walks in direct sunlight. One aim of the Safe&Cool<br />
project is to develop a protective material with a built-in cooling system<br />
similar to that used in the space suits.<br />
According to the research team, existing protective clothing can in many<br />
cases hinder a worker’s ability to stay cool. In Europe, there are over<br />
1,500 cases of heatstroke each year as a result of workers being unable<br />
to shed excess heat and moisture through clothing.<br />
Another more common, but less serious, problem is heat stress, which<br />
affects around 50,000 workers each year and may increase the risk of<br />
injury due to loss of concentration.<br />
The objective for Safe&Cool is to develop a high quality thermal and<br />
moisture management layer based on a three-dimensional warp-knitted<br />
fabric coated with a water binding polymer. Its structure will mimic the<br />
physical mechanisms for thermoregulation in the human body. To<br />
achieve this, the consortium will use three technologies.<br />
First, a three-dimensional textile structure is used for the thermal<br />
and moisture management layer. The materials in this layer will be<br />
a combination of hydrophobic thermal comfort fibres and<br />
hydrophilic fibres. These ensure that the body feels dry as moisture<br />
is transported away from the skin.<br />
Second, a cooling apparatus is used, based on that designed for<br />
space suits. It consists of tubing inserted into cavities in the threedimensional<br />
textile structure. The tubes have liquid circulating<br />
through them and remove heat in a similar manner to blood vessels<br />
in the body (see Figure 1).<br />
Figure 1<br />
Cooling tubes woven<br />
into the textile<br />
Source: Safe&Cool<br />
Project Consortium<br />
—a water-binding<br />
polymer which absorbs<br />
excess moisture migrating<br />
through the semipermeable<br />
membrane to<br />
maintain the temperature<br />
below a given threshold<br />
Third, a water-binding polymer is applied as a coating or in powder<br />
form dispersed inside the fabrics. It absorbs excess moisture<br />
migrating through the semi-permeable membrane to maintain the<br />
temperature below a threshold controlled by the cooling apparatus.<br />
If a sudden increase in temperature occurs and the cooling system<br />
cannot remove heat fast enough from the body, the polymer will<br />
release the liquid accumulated and reproduce the natural sweating<br />
14 © Textiles Intelligence Limited
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