Waterproof breathable fabrics

Mukhopadhyay, V.K. Midha National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India 

4 Methods of incorporation of membranes and application of coatings in the layered construction of breathable fabrics 39 

Traditionally, fabrics were made waterproof by coating them with a continuous layer of an impervious flexible material such as animal fat, wax, hardened vegetable oils, and so on this can make them uncomfortable to wear because of their relatively high stiffness and non-permeability to the escape of perspiration and sweat vapour. 

With technological advancements, however, waterproof breathable fabrics can provide the wearer with a greater level of comfort in many adverse situations. 

Waterproof breathable fabrics prevent the penetration of liquid water from the outside to the inside of clothing while permitting water vapour from the inside of clothing to pass to the outside atmosphere (Fig. 2.1). Because waterproofing and moisture permeability are two mutually contradictory functions, producing a material which has both these properties has proved to be a major challenge for manufacturers of so-called waterproof performance fabrics. In this chapter, the fundamental principles of vapour permeability of different kinds of breathable fabrics, along with different techniques for construction, are discussed. 

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Mukhopadhyay, A., Vinay Kumar, M., 2008. A review on designing the waterproof breathable fabrics part I fundamental principles and designing aspects of breathable fabrics. J. Ind. Text. 37, 225-262. 

Ren, Y.J., Ruckman, J.E., 2004. Condensation in three-layer waterproof breathable fabrics for clothing. Int. J. Cloth. Sci. Technol. 16, 335-347. 

Fig. 2.1 Construction of a typical waterproof breathable fabric (accessed from http //www. evo.com/waterproof-ratings-and-breathability-guide.aspx).

One of the important developments in, and applications of, textiles is the manufacture of intelligent waterproof breathable fabrics based on shape memory polymers using shape memory polyurethanes. The fabric restricts the loss of body warmth by stopping... 

Another distinct development of smart breathable fabric is based on biomimetics. Biomimetics is the mimicking of biological mechanisms, with modification, to produce useful artificial items. The water vapour permeability of fabric coatings can be improved by incorporating an analogue of the leaf stomata which open when the plant needs to increase moisture vapour transpiration and close when it needs to reduce it. Currently, there are several developments in the area of waterproof breathable fabrics based on biomimetics, as discussed below. 

However, the performance evaluation of waterproof breathable fabrics is done mainly by measuring three properties ... 

To clarify the principles and mechanisms of water vapour transfer by diffusion in waterproof breathable fabrics for clothing, experiments using a simple glass dish were carried out under steady state conditions with and without a temperature gradient in the climatic chamber. It was found that both vapour pressure and natural convection... 

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Mukhopahdyay A, Midha VK. A review on designing the waterproof breathable fabrics, part II construction and suitability of breathable fabrics for different uses. J Ind Text 2008 38(l) 17-fl. 

Of great significance when technical textiles are used in contact with the human body are aspects such as moisture transport and breathability, as described in Chapters 2 (waterproof breathable fabrics), 5 (medical textiles), 9 (personal thermal protection) and 10 (survival). Medical textiles (Chapter 5), which has been a particular growth area in recent years, demonstrates the need for novel fibres, fabric structures and treatments that are revolutionising chnical science. 

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