Far IR Emission and Thermal Properties of Ceramics Coated Fabrics by IR Thermography

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop the warm-up suit that is comfortable as well as has good thermal performance. The function of warm-up suit is to keep the body warm and thus to lose it’s weight by sweating. Ceramic powders, such as zirconium and magnesium oxide have been incorporated into the textile structures to utilize the far infrared radiation effect of ceramics, which heat substrates homogeneously by activating molecular motion. Thermal manikin tests were conducted to determine the clothing insulation and evaporative resistance of the selected warm-up suits. Also, the far IR emission effects of ceramics containing laminate on the body heat transfer were evaluated with the thermogram data using IR camera. The results showed that the ceramics inside laminate slightly increased the thermal insulation and the evaporative resistance. Thermogram showed that when the fabric was heated with the thermal manikin, surface mean temperatures of fabrics were increased as the ceramic incorporated, and the heat storage performance was confirmed.