Functional textile
As a functional textile apparel and home furnishings is known from fibers, yarns, woven and knitted fabrics or fabrics with a functional value.
properties
Depending on the intended use, functional clothing can have the following properties:
- windproof
- waterproof
- breathable
- thermoregulating
- dirt-repellent
- antimicrobial
- flame retardant
- UV-resistant
- electrically shielding
- elastic
- durable
- easy to care for
- chemical resistant
- light
- warming / cooling
materials
For the production of functional textiles, both man-made fibers and natural fibers , as well as a mixture of both materials (so-called mixed fabrics ) are used.
Natural fiber
Merino wool is mainly used for natural fibers . Due to the antibacterial effect, this has a very low odor and can therefore be worn for several days in a row without taking on an unpleasant odor. Although natural fibers cannot release body sweat as well as synthetic fibers, they are still popular because they can absorb up to a third of their mass in liquid without feeling wet. Merino wool was first used in 1994 by the manufacturer Icebreaker and is still processed by this company on a large scale today.
Chemical fiber
In ski underwear made from synthetic fibers, polyester , nylon (polyamide), polyacrylic and polyurethane ( elastane ) are used. Man-made fibers can absorb sweat very quickly and pass it on to the next layer of clothing. This means that the wearer is always kept dry and the body can warm up well and does not cool down so quickly. However, odor-causing bacteria can multiply well in man-made fibers. To prevent this, silver ions are woven into the material, which, however, can trigger so-called textile dermatitis in some wearers.
Breathability
Breathability of so-called climate substances refers to the ability to let water vapor escape. It is measured in grams (g) of water vapor per square meter (m²) over 24 hours. This means that with a breathability of z. B. 5000 in 24 hours 5000 g of water vapor can escape through one square meter of this textile. 30 to 300 g of steam per hour can escape through a 1 m² membrane . The measure for this is the water vapor permeability ( MVTR ). Under extreme stress, the body secretes ten times as much , up to two liters of sweat per hour, so that the limits are quickly reached here even with highly breathable functional textiles. In warm, humid weather with temperatures above 15 ° C, climate membranes only function to a very limited extent.
The purpose of "breathability" is to prevent damp textiles and allow them to dry off while they are in use. Moist material conducts heat better and at the same time the thermal insulation capacity decreases. Both of these effects cause the body to lose heat. Together with wind chill effects, the body would cool down faster. In addition, the moisture increases the weight of the clothing or luggage.
For information on breathability, see also Breathing Wall .
Multilayer clothing
Outer and underwear ( onion skin principle ) must be coordinated with one another. The underwear should transport sweat and moisture from the skin surface through the textile. This requires fibers with a good moisture transport capacity that absorb little moisture themselves. Examples of synthetic fibers are: polyester (PES), polyamide (PA) or polypropylene (PP). In addition, good thermoregulation behavior is desirable. Wool (WV) and wool blends have proven to be advantageous here. Cotton or viscose (CV) with a high storage capacity for water are unsuitable.
The inner outerwear , sweaters made of wool or fleece , insulates the body against the cold. Fleece is a knitted fabric made from polyester fibers. It's lighter than wool. Although it is not windproof, it retains its shape even when wet, is easy to wash and dries quickly.
The outer outer clothing protects against wind and weather. The fabrics are robust (where rucksack straps could chafe, for example), particularly soft and cuddly where freedom of movement is important, and they are more water vapor permeable in areas of high perspiration.
Soft shells are the latest generation of clothing. They combine the outer and middle layers of clothing in one jacket. The material is soft and supple.
Smart clothes
Under Smart Clothes refers clothing with intelligent function. Above all, it is “smart” through the integration of intelligent, mostly electronic components ( electronic wear ).
Functions of the intelligent textiles:
- Luminous textiles
- Integration of electronic modules
- Energy producing textiles
- Identifying textiles
- Protective textiles
- Textiles that emit substances
- Adaptive textiles
- Sensory textiles
- Warming / heating textiles
Everywear
This includes items of clothing that have a wide range of uses due to their functional material or their variable wearing properties, e.g. B. for every weather, for every day. That can be B. Jackets are mostly made of functional materials that can be changed from summer to winter jackets by installing or removing the inner jacket. But pants with variable leg lengths also fall into this category. Heat-regulating materials are the basis for garments that are z. B. compensate for temperature differences and thus offer pleasant and consistent wearing comfort in different weather conditions.
Membrane systems
Well-known brand names for functional textiles are Gore-Tex and Sympatex . They are also examples of different functional principles for membranes. Gore-Tex contains a Teflon film with microscopic pores that form a barrier against water but allow water vapor to pass through. Foils based on the Sympatex principle are macroscopically closed and contain no pores. Water vapor can still pass through, since functional groups in the plastic enable water vapor to be exchanged.
criticism
Materials containing halogenated hydrocarbons, fluorocarbons , fluorotelomer alcohols, or perfluorooctanoic acid pose problems for disposal and use. Since these substances are only broken down very poorly and accumulate in organic tissue, they represent a long-term health problem. This is the case with many membranes, including Gore-Tex.
See also
literature
- Petra Knecht (Ed.): Functional textiles. High-tech products in clothing and home textiles. Basics, marketing concepts, sales arguments. Deutscher Fachverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-87150-833-0 .
Web links
swell
- ↑ Materials - sensitive skin? - Ski underwear in comparison. In: www.skiunterwaesche-test.de. Retrieved October 22, 2016 .
- ↑ How it all began | Icebreaker. In: eu.icebreaker.com. Retrieved October 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Textile dermatitis: Allergy due to clothing is difficult to avoid. In: www.berlin.de. January 16, 2012, accessed October 21, 2016 .
- ↑ http://www.outdoorseiten.net/wiki/WVT/WVR-Tabelle
- ↑ http://www.shelby.fi/tips/breathability.pdf
- ↑ Waterproof, breathable and green - Sustainable finishing of outdoor textiles - Comparative risk assessment of short-chain poly- and perfluorinated alkyl compounds with fluorine-free substitutes In: dbu.de , November 2018, accessed February 7, 2019
- ↑ Contaminated outdoor clothing: Back to Chemistry - Spiegel Online from October 30, 2012