HONG KONG SAR – August 13, 2024 – Media OutReach Newswire People are experiencing excessive heat more frequently as global warming worsens. Maintaining thermal comfort becomes especially important for people who operate in high-temperature environments, whether they are indoors or outside. A group under the direction of Dr. Dahua SHOU, an associate professor at the Hong Kong University’s School of Fashion and Textiles and the Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textile Technologies In order to assist assure worker safety in hot situations, Polytechnic University (PolyU) has created first-of-its-kind soft robotic clothing that is both breathable and thermally insulated. This clothing can adjust automatically to changing ambient temperatures. Advanced Science is an international multidisciplinary publication that has published its research findings.
The first-ever soft robotic clothing that can automatically adjust to changing ambient temperatures has been developed by a team led by Dr. Dahua Shou, an associate professor at PolyU’s School of Fashion and Textiles and the Limin Endow Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies. This technology ensures worker safety in hot environments.
Keeping one’s body temperature steady is one of the most important things one can do to survive and operate. Elevated energy consumption from high temperatures results in increased heat stress, which in turn exacerbates chronic illnesses including mental health disorders, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and asthma. It also raises the chance of infectious disease transmission. The World Health Organization estimates that between 2000 and 2019, there were over 489,000 heat-related fatalities worldwide, with 36% and 45% of those deaths happening in Europe and Asia, respectively.
For the safety of anyone working in extremely hot conditions, such as firemen who must attend fire scenes or construction workers who spend a lot of time outside, thermal protection gear is a must. Though its heat insulation would not provide enough protection in extreme fire situations and other high-temperature settings, statically fixed thermal resistance has restricted traditional gear and might cause discomfort and overheating in moderate conditions. To address this issue, Dr Shou and his team have developed intelligent soft robotic clothing for automatic temperature adaptation and thermal insulation in hot environments, offering superior personal protection and thermal comfort across a range of temperatures.
Their study was motivated by natural biomimicry, such as the pigeons’ adaptive heat control system, which mostly relies on structural alterations. To prevent heat loss to the environment, pigeons utilize their feathers to trap a layer of air around their skin. They keep warmth by increasing thermal resistance and trapping a large volume of still air in their feathers as the temperature lowers.
The team’s protective gear utilizes dynamic adaptive temperature management with soft robotic textile. Strategically inserted throughout the garment were soft actuators, shaped like an exoskeleton inspired by a human network and containing a non-flammable, low-boiling-point fluid. When the outside temperature rises, this thermo-stimulated mechanism converts the fluid from a liquid to a gas. increasing the still air gap and doubling the heat resistance from 0.23 to 0.48 Km2/W by thickening the textile matrix and forcing soft actuators to expand. Even when the outside surface hits 120°C, the protective gear can maintain inside surface temperatures that are at least 10°C lower than those of traditional heat-resistant apparel.
Thermoplastic polyurethane is used to create this unusual soft robotic cloth, which is tough, soft, and long-lasting. Notably, it is customizable for a wide variety of protective garments and is significantly more skin-friendly and conformable than temperature-responsive apparel integrated with shape-memory alloys. Despite going through extensive conventional washing testing, the soft actuators have not shown any indications of leaks. The material’s spaced, porous knitting structure allows for exceptional moisture breathability and a considerable reduction in convective heat transmission. Lightweight and soft robotic clothing that regulates temperature without requiring energy consumption, as it does not rely on circulatory liquid cooling systems or thermoelectric chips for cooling or heat conduction.
Wearing bulky firefighting gear can feel quite oppressive, according to Dr. Shou. Firefighters may have almost a pound of perspiration on their boots after leaving a scene and taking off their gear. This has inspired me to create a unique garment with outstanding breathability that can adjust to different ambient conditions. Our soft robotic clothing can smoothly transition between indoor and outdoor settings, adjust to various working and living circumstances, and change with the seasons to provide users with continuous thermal comfort even in extremely hot weather.”
Dr. Shou believes that the breakthrough has a wide range of possible uses in the future, including sustainable textile-based insulation for buildings and construction, outdoor gear, healthcare garments, and activewear that may help save energy. Along with developing inflatable, breathable jackets and warm apparel, Dr. Shou and his colleagues have also expanded the thermo-adaptive idea with support from the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. This comfortable robotic apparel can help people who are abandoned in the bush maintain a normal body temperature in cold climates or during unexpected temperature decreases.
The announcement’s content is entirely the issuer’s responsibility.