E-textile garments

M. Blake, An Ambulatory Monitoring Algorithm to Unify Diverse E-textile Garments (M.S. thesis), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, February 2014. 

There is an increasing interest in the emerging area of E-textiles, by which the idea of endowing garments and fabrics with new electronic functions is meant, in particular aimed at monitoring physiological parameters in patients [56] and in subjects exposed to particular risks or external harsh conditions [57]. 

Fabric-assembling process in this step, the textile fabric is cut into shaped panels and sewn together to form a three-dimensional shell (i.e., a garment). 

The major objectives while designing future textiles for military applications will focus on combining high-tech electronics with light weight and comfort in textile garments. Furthermore, the application of nanotechnology in e-textiles can be used to endow soldiers with improved performance, endurance and communication capabilities. In this chapter, various applications of electronic textiles in military are summarised. Electronic textiles not only increase performance, but also add various other functionalities that have never been realised before. In addition, the difficulties... 

The potential applications are several and e-textile technologies have a direct link with human body monitoring. Clothes are our own personal house (Van Langenhove, 2007) and there are no other devices continuously in contact with the human body like garments. hi this way, the combination of smart materials, wearable electronics, and sensors with fabrics opens the doors to many apphcations, especially in the clinical monitoring field. Textiles and clothes can be produced on fast and productive machinery at a reasonable cost, and the health and beauty industry is also taking advantage of these innovations. 

There are several companies offering EL panels that can be attached to T-Shirts, bnt the panels must be removed prior to washing. The panels may be sound responsive or proximity-responsive that is, when two people wearing paired EL T-Shirts are in close proximity certain areas, the garment may become illuminated or the lighting effect may be decreased as the distance increases. Interactivewear is one such company offering interactive E-Textile apparel. 

The draping and motion of the cloth in response to the underlying movement of the wearer may also have to be modeled to fully accoimt for the movement of the sensors because most garments do not fit tightly on the hmnan frame. For the successful simulation of e-textiles, the areas to be encompassed include physical environment, sensor behavior, human body and motion, motion/draping of clothing, manufacturability (weaving and piece work). 

SPMs can now be found in commercial markets and specialty clothing due to their lightweight structure, liquid and aerosol repellent properties, and facilitation of moisture vapor transport. However, for military use, SPMs have limitations (Wilusz 2007). SPMs may act as liquid-repellents but may allow vapors to pass and therefore need an activated carbon layer to add extra protection capabilities. Moreover, military garments experience tremendous stress on a day-to-day basis. SPM-based ensembles are more susceptible to tearing as compared to activated carbon-based textile fabrics (Wilusz 2007). Optimizing the permselectivity of the membrane by surface modification or other such techniques is necessary to achieve a balance between comfort (e.g., moisture vapor transmission) and chemical vapor barrier properties. Furthermore, SPMs or membrane-carbon ensembles must possess acceptable mechanical strength to sustain daily military operations. 

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