Thermal behavior of a multi-layer laminated fabric containing PCMS

Abstract

Phase change material (PCM)-incorporated fabrics have been developed for personal temperature regulation. To avoid leakage of melting PCMs from the fabric, various methods have been developed, including microencapsulated PCM (MPCMs), form-stable PCMs (FSPCMs) and solid-solid PCMs (SSPCMs). However, the poor physical property and the limited thermal behavior of such materials are found. To keep the thermal behavior of PCM-incorporated fabrics without leakage as high as possible, a multi-layer PCM fabric consisting of PEG-coated viscose fabric and PA 6-laminated fabric was proposed in this work. The leakage and thermal buffering effect of the multi-layer laminated fabric containing PEG were investigated. As a result, the PA 6-laminated fabric successfully resisted against the melting of PEG and no leakage was found. Correspondingly, the thermal buffering effect was found. We propose that this work provides a facile method to fabricate PCM fabrics and extends the application of laminated fabrics.