The dry-heat loss effect of melt-spun phase change material fibres

Abstract

Phase change materials (PCM) have the ability to store latent heat when they change phases, a property that gives clothing that incorporates PCM its cooling effect. This study investigated the effect of dry-heat loss (cooling) of a novel melt-spun PCM fibre on the basis of the area covered, mass, the latent heat of fusion and melting temperature, compared to a known PCM clothing product. PCM fibres with melting temperatures of 28.4 and 32.0°C and PCM packs with melting temperatures of 28.0 and 32.0°C were studied. The results showed that the PCM fibres had a larger initial peak cooling effect than that of the PCM packs. The duration of the cooling effect of PCM fibres was primarily dependent on the PCM mass and the latent heat of fusion capacity, and secondly on the covered area and melting temperature of the PCM.

Abstract

Practitioner Summary: This study investigates the cooling effect of PCM fibres on a thermal manikin. The PCM fibres had a high but short-lasting cooling effect. This study contributes to the knowledge of how the body's temperature regulation may be affected by the cooling properties of clothing that incorporates PCM.

Keywords::

• melt-spun phase change material fibres
• covering area
• mass
• heat of fusion
• phase change temperature
• thermal manikin

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by EU FP7 NoTeReFiGa project NMP2-SE-203831-2 (http://extra.ivf.se/noterefiga/). We particularly thank Swerea IVF AB for providing the test clothing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

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^3. Email: [email protected]