Reversible Humidity Sensitive Clothing for Personal Thermoregulation

Journal Article · Fri Mar 10 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44208· OSTI ID:1424913

Zhong, Ying ^[1]; Zhang, Fenghua ^[2]; Wang, Meng ^[3]; Gardner, Calvin J. ^[4]; Kim, Gunwoo ^[4]; Liu, Yanju ^[5]; Leng, Jinsong ^[2]; Jin, Sungho ^[6]; Chen, Renkun ^[6]

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1. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Program; Harbin Institute of Technology (China). State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining
2. Harbin Institute of Technology (China). Center for Composite Materials and Structures
3. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States). Department of Structural Engineering
4. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Program
5. Harbin Institute of Technology (China). Department of Astronautical Science and Mechanics
6. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States). Materials Science and Engineering Program and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Two kinds of humidity-induced, bendable smart clothing have been designed to reversibly adapt their thermal insulation functionality. The first design mimics the pores in human skin, in which pre-cut flaps open to produce pores in Nafion sheets when humidity increases, as might occur during human sweating thus permitting air flow and reducing both the humidity level and the apparent temperature. Like the smart human sweating pores, the flaps can close automatically after the perspiration to keep the wearer warm. The second design involves thickness adjustable clothes by inserting the bent polymer sheets between two fabrics. As the humidity increases, the sheets become thinner, thus reducing the gap between the two fabrics to reduce the thermal insulation. The insulation layer can recover its original thickness upon humidity reduction to restore its warmth-preservation function. Such humidity sensitive smart polymer materials can be utilized to adjust personal comfort, and be effective in reducing energy consumption for building heating or cooling with numerous smart design.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• Grant/Contract Number: AR0000535
• OSTI ID: 1424913
• Journal Information: Scientific Reports, Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Mechanical engineering
Polymers