Intelligent bidirectional thermal regulation of phase change material incorporated in thermal protective clothing

Coating of fabric by organic phase change materials (PCMs) loaded with paraffin wax changed thermal properties of the fabric. The PCM coated fabric with intelligent bidirectional thermal regulation was designed and prepared. The basic and thermal physical properties of the PCM coated fabric were measured. The PCM layer was incorporated into thermal protective clothing, and the thermal protective performance was evaluated under hot contact exposure. High thermal capacity of PCM increased the potential of thermal protective clothing for heat accumulation during the hot contact exposure, but also modified heat release from the thermal protective clothing after the end of exposure. The incorporation of the PCM coated fabric increased greatly the thermal protective performance during the heat exposure, which was influenced by melt temperature, PCM content and enthalphy. The thermal hazardous effect caused by the PCM coated fabric was slightly increased, but presenting no significant correlation with the skin absorbed thermal energy after the exposure. Therefore, the PCM showed great potential applications for developing intelligent thermal protective clothing. The conclusions obtained from this study contributed to development of PCM with high thermal capacity and low heat release suitable for the thermal protective clothing.