Textiles translucency

Delusterants reduce the transparency, iacrease the whiteness, and alter the fiber s reflectance of light. Ti02 is the delusterant of choice for aU melt-spun fiber types because of its high cover, whiteness, and chemical and thermal stabUity. Nylon is translucent and requires ia most textile and... 

Stegmaier, T., Linke, M., Planck, H., 2009. Bionics in textiles flexible and translucent thermal insulations for solar thermal apphcations. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A Math. Phys. Eng. Sci. 367 (1894), 1749-1758. 

Uses Urethane for textiles, artificial leather, furniture, flooring, industrial primers and coatings, and masonry sealants Features Exc. adhesion to plastics, metal, and wood produces coatings with exc. resist, to abrasion, UV and hydrolytic stability low VOC Properties Translucent disp. colloidal particle size dens. 8.98 Ib/gal vise. 200 cps flash pt. (PMCC) > 100 C pH 7-9 surf. tens. 49 dynes/ cm VOC 151.41 g/l Film props. tens. str. 6500 psi tens, elong. 450% (ultimate) anionic 40% solids Witcobond W-240 [Uniroyal]... 

Already many lightweight membrane structures are in existence, and an increasing number of them are planned for the future, e.g. football stadium roofs. For such structures the combination of materials produces widely differing properties. Some projects are very cost-effective, while others are used for more expensive building constructions. Some constructions are of a temporary nature, some are erected at a fixed location some are required to be portable, while others may remain in place for decades. Textile roofs or walls may be open or closed according to the time of day or the position of the sun others stay fixed in one position. Some materials are required to have high translucency others may be designed for maximum insulation. 

Sun protection elements (aluminium and ETFE lamellae, or mobile textile membranes, cf. Fig. 6.6) can be integrated for further building-physics improvement in the clearance of dual-chamber systems with separate layers. In variants with a curved middle layer and decoupled volumes, and different pressures, the middle layer can assume the sun protection role. For this, the outer and middle foil layers display a print of inversely arranged patterns. The translucency of the cushions is controlled by adjusting the middle layer through pressure control of the two air-chambers. 

Because of its high translucency (approximately 95% over a wide spectrum) there is a growing tendency to use ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoro-ethylene) foil either in place of, or in combination with, coated woven textiles. Illustrations of a selection of membrane and foil materials and coatings, and a table giving an overview of properties, are presented by Pudenz (2004). 

Biomimetic textiles are under development and these include hydrophobic, self-cleaning surfaces analogous to the behaviour of leaf surfaces occurring in nature, such as the lotus plant, and flexible, translucent thermal insulated membranes analogous to the behaviour of the polar bear s fur (Stegmaier and Planck, 2007). 

---