Thermal Textile Pixels: The Characterisation of Temporal and Spatial Thermal Development

Abstract

This study introduces the concept of a thermal textile pixel, a spatially and temporally defined textile structure that shows spatial and temporal thermal contrast and can be used in the context of thermal communication. A study was performed investigating (a) in-plane and (b) out-of-plane thermal signal behaviour for knitted structures made of three different fibre types; namely, polyamide, wool, and metal containing Shieldex yarn, and two different knitting structures: plain knit and terry knit. The model thermal source was a Peltier element. For (a), a thermography set-up was used to monitor the spatial development of thermal contrast, and for (b), an arrangement with thermocouple measuring temperature development over time. Results show that the use of conductive materials such as Shieldex is unnecessary for the plain knit if only heating is required, whereas such use significantly improves performance for the terry knit structures. The findings demonstrate that the textile pixel is able to spatially and temporally focus thermal signals, thereby making it viable for use as an interface for thermal communication devices. Having well-defined thermal textile pixels opens up potential for the development of matrices for more complex information conveyance.