Smart Use of PCMs

In clothing, the use of PCMs can be divided into two general areas of active coolant and passive thermal storage. In coatings or foams, their presence can enhance the effective thermal capacitance of the materials by up to ten-fold. 

Other applications of PCM are in cold storage transport for maintaining product temperature under controL 

In the patented ComforTemp nonwovens [19] polyurethane-based foams, the incorporated PCMs surround the wearer with dynamic climate control (DCC). When the wearer is active - for example, during skiing, snowboarding or mountaineer- 

Another example of a comfortable garment is made from microencapsulated PCMs, packed into a space between two fabric layers in order to produce a garment with passive, regenerative thermal protection. The garment offers improved comfort due to not only enhanced thermal control but also by enabling the transport of humidity through the PCM layer and away from the body. 

At higher temperatures PCMs could also provide cooling to those working in a hot environment, though in this case the material would need to be re ooled after the phase change has occurred. 

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