Waterproof garments

Highly porous membranes are prepared by a process based on the fibrillation of high-molecular-weight PTFE. Since they have a high permeability for water vapor and none for liquid water, it is combined with fabrics and used for breathable waterproof garments and camping gear. Other uses for these membranes are for special filters, analytical instruments, and in fuel cells.13... 

Charles Macintosh patents a method for making waterproof garments... 

These have become commercially important as a means of obtaining a flexible membrane of controlled water-vapour permeability which finds applications as a replacement for leather, laminates for waterproof garments and various medical uses. Polyurethanes are superior to other plastics and rubbers due to their following combination of properties ... 

Rubber becomes brittle in cold weather and tacky in hot weather, and it is odorous and perishable. It also has very low tensile strength and low resistance to abrasion. One of the major advances in the improvement of rubber was in the discovery by Charles Macintosh in Scotland in 1820 that coal-tar naphtha is a cheap and effective solvent for rubber. He placed a solution of rubber and naphtha between two fabrics, and in so doing he covered up the sticky or brittle surfaces that had been common in earlier single-texture garments treated with rubber. Macintosh patented the process in 1823. These double-textured waterproof cloaks, which were first introduced to the public in 1824, have been known ever since as mackintoshes. 

The second part of the claim, which has for its object the removal of the odor of articles fabricated of india-rubber or gutta-percha in which solvents have been used, consists in subjecting the waterproof cloths, whether before or after being made up into garments or... 

Similarly, fabric-supported materials can be welded vinyl sides together, and plain welds can be made over stitched seams in such materials when, as in the protective garment trade, it is required to make the seams waterproof. 

Motor Cycling. One- or two-piece protective suits normally are made from fabric-supported flexible vinyl or from polyurethane materials. A typical garment would be sewn but with welds over the seams to ensure that it is waterproof. With polyurethane, welding alone often is quite satisfactory. In some parts of the garments, patches are over-welded as re-inforcement. 

Again, a combination of the above seams is used in manufacturing sportswear designed of waterproof materials. Acute needle-point needles are used on these types of products. Monofilament yams can be used on certain parts of the garment. Welding is also used particularly for waterproof zips and eyelets for cords. 

In order to offer an optimal protection against cold, sportswear basically has to be waterproof, windproof and breathable. The test requirements in standards such as the European Standard for protection against cold EN 342 (EN 342, 2004) are therefore thermal insulation, air permeability, resistance to water penetration and water vapour permeability. In addition, the mechanical stability of the fabrics (tear resistance) is assessed. The thermal insulation of the complete garment is measured with an anatomically formed manikin (as shown in Figure 9.1) placed in a climatic chamber at defined climatic ccmditions (ISO 15831, 2003). The surface of the manikin is heated to skin temperature and the thermal insulation is calculated by measuring the heating power needed to maintain its temperature for a defined temperature gradient. 

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