Concepts for Energy-Interactive Textiles
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Concepts for EnergyInteractive Textiles Yong K. Kim and Armand F. Lewis Abstract This review examines textile fibers and fabrics in the context of their interaction with various forms of energy, such as electromagnetic (photolytic), electrical, magnetic, thermal, chemical, and mechanical. This interaction can involve conversion, storage, or management of energy. Examples are described suggesting some new material configurations that could be incorporated into textiles to create special energy-interactive textile (EITX) structures. Areas discussed are the management of electron flow (electrical resistivity) and the absorption of mechanical energy in textile fibers and fabrics. Surface resistance studies on carbon nanotubes and conductive carbon-blackfilled films of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and paraffin wax show that the electrical conductivity of these materials depends upon the matrix material type and the amount of charge-carrying particles in the matrix. PMMA films filled with carbon nanotubes are found to be more electrically conductive than matrices filled with conductive carbon black. Mechanical-energy interactions of flocked textile surfaces show that in compression, they exhibit unique, gradual load-deflection behavior. This effect should be useful in applications requiring impact-energy absorption. Finally, the functional steps in an integrated energy-interactive textile system are discussed. Keywords: advanced fabrics, carbon nanotubes, electrical resistance, fiber coatings (textile flocking), polymers.
Introduction Many existing textiles can be considered to function as “energy-interactive” materials. The ability of clothing to insulate the wearer from hot or cold temperatures (management of thermal energy) and to cushion body parts from abrasion (management of mechanical energy), as well as the ability of carpeting and wall treatments to absorb sound energy are just a few examples of the broad energy-interactive applications of textiles. This article reviews today’s technologies and their possible adaptation to new generations of energy-interactive textiles (EITXs). The presentation of these EITX concepts will be grouped according to function: energy conversion, storage, or management, and combinations of these three modes. Some of the possible functional modes of EITX systems encompass the fields of polymer materials, fiber science, and electrical and mechanical engineering. We realize that it will require great scientific skill, resourcefulness, and ingenuity to successfully accomplish even the simplest form of these EITX concepts. The development of EITXs has already started, with the integration of electronic 592
circuits into textiles to serve a particular function. For example, electronic circuits sewn or woven into fabrics can be used in medical devices for human health monitoring, including remote temperature and heart-rate feedback. Textiles integrated with Global Positioning System electronics are also in development.1,2 These applications represent the ingenuity of combining electron
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