The main functions of outdoor sportswear fabrics are as follows:
1. Warmth retention:
Although warmth retention is closely related to fabric thickness, outdoor sports do not allow clothing to be too heavy. Therefore, it must be both warm and lightweight to meet the special requirements of outdoor sports clothing. A common method is to add special ceramic powder containing chromium oxide, magnesium oxide, zirconium oxide, etc. to the spinning solution of polyester and other synthetic fibers, especially nano-scale fine ceramic powder, which can absorb visible light such as sunlight and convert it into heat energy. , and can also reflect the far-infrared rays emitted by the human body itself, so it has excellent thermal insulation and heat storage properties. Of course, far-infrared ceramic powder, adhesive and cross-linking agent can also be formulated as a finishing agent, and the woven fabric can be coated, and then dried and baked to make the nano-ceramic powder adhere to the fabric surface and yarns. between. This finishing agent emits far-infrared rays with a wavelength of 8 to 14 ohms, and also has health-care functions such as antibacterial, deodorizing, and promoting blood circulation.
In addition, based on the principle of bionics and referring to the structure of polar bear hair, the polyester fiber is made into a porous hollow shape inside, so that the fiber contains a large amount of stagnant air, and the outside is made into a spiral curl shape to maintain fluffiness, all of which can ensure a light texture. It has a good thermal insulation effect. Of course, making clothes or even fabrics into double or even triple layers to increase the stagnant air layer is also one of the traditional measures to keep warm.
2. Waterproof and breathable:
Sports will emit a lot of sweat, and it is inevitable to encounter wind and rain outdoors. This is a contradiction in itself: it must be able to prevent rain and snow from being soaked, and it must be able to discharge the sweat emitted by the body in a timely manner. Fortunately, the human body emits water vapor in a single molecule state, while rain and snow are liquid water droplets in an aggregated state. Their volumes are very different. In addition, liquid water has a characteristic called surface tension, which is the characteristic of gathering its own volume. The water we see on the lotus leaf is in the form of granular water drops rather than flat water stains. This is Because there is a layer of waxy hair tissue on the surface of the lotus leaf, water droplets cannot spread and penetrate on this layer of waxy hairs due to surface tension. If you dissolve a drop of detergent or washing powder into water beads, the water beads will immediately disintegrate and spread out on the lotus leaf because the detergent can greatly reduce the surface tension of the liquid.
Waterproof and breathable clothing takes advantage of the surface tension characteristics of water and coats the fabric with a layer of PTFE (which has the same chemical composition but different physical structure as polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE, the “king of corrosion-resistant fibers”) to enhance the surface tension of the fabric. The chemical coating makes the water droplets tighten as much as possible without spreading and infiltrating the surface of the fabric, making it impossible to penetrate the pores in the fabric tissue. At the same time, this coating is porous, and single-molecule water vapor can smoothly penetrate the capillary channels between fibers and emit to the surface of the fabric.
If you stop to rest in the wild after performing a large amount of exercise, water droplets may form on the inner layer of the clothes due to the low outside temperature and the inability of sweat to escape in time, making people feel very uncomfortable. This is the so-called ” condensation” phenomenon. There is a special moisture permeability finishing process called “low condensation”. It uses polyurethane (PU) and hydrophilic nano-ceramic powder to coat the fabric and absorb it when the body evaporates a large amount of sweat. This prevents the water vapor inside the clothes from exceeding the saturation vapor pressure and converting into water droplets.
In addition to thinking about fibers and coatings, the fabric structure can also try to absorb moisture and sweat as much as possible. For example, a double-layer tissue structure is used. The inner layer of the skin-fitting layer is made of hydrophobic fibers, while the outer layer is made of hydrophilic fibers. In this way, sweat can be transferred from the skin to the inner fibers by capillary action, and then due to the hydrophilicity of the outer layer. The binding force between fibers and water molecules is stronger than the hydrophobic fibers in the inner layer, and the water molecules are transferred from the inner layer of the fabric to the outer layer again, and then dispersed into the atmosphere.
3. Antibacterial and deodorizing:
Due to the characteristics of exercise, sweat and sebaceous glands are secreted in large quantities. In outdoor conditions, it is impossible to change clothes frequently. In a suitable temperature and humidity environment, microorganisms will multiply in large numbers, causing people to emit an unpleasant odor and cause itching. Therefore, regular outdoor sportswear is finished with antibacterial and deodorizing chemicals. The finishing method is generally to fix organic quaternary amine type, imidazoline type surfactants or heavy metal ions such as silver and copper with bactericidal effect on the fiber through resin and cross-linking agent, so that it has a certain degree of washing resistance. Of course, an important principle when choosing a fungicide must be non-toxic or low toxicity, otherwise it will be a waste of time. In recent years, Japan has done a lot of research on natural antibacterial finishing agents. For example, it uses aromatic oil extracts with bactericidal effects such as aloe vera, mugwort leaves, eucalyptus leaves, roses, etc., and coats them in porous organic microcapsules or porous The biodegradable ceramic powder is attached to the fabric and cross-linked with resin to fix it. The bactericide is slowly released through mechanical effects such as friction and accumulation to achieve the purpose of durable antibacterial finishing. This type of natural antibacterial agent is not only non-toxic and harmless, but also has certain health care functions. It should be the development direction of antibacterial finishing. However, because the means of fixing antibacterial agents are currently very limited, the washing resistance of antibacterial agents is not good enough. The antibacterial performance decreases every time it is washed, and usually disappears completely after dozens of times.
4. Anti-fouling and easy decontamination:
Outdoor sports often involve walking in muddy and humid mountains and forests, and it is inevitable that clothes will get dirty. This requires that the appearance of the clothing should be as difficult as possible to be stained, and once stained, it should be easy to wash and remove. It changes the surface properties of the fiber and greatly increases the surface tension of the fabric, making it difficult for oil and other stains to penetrate into the interior of the fabric. Slight stains can be removed by wiping with a damp cloth, and heavier stains are also easy to clean. Anti-fouling finishing can not only prevent oil pollution, but also has waterproof and moisture-permeable properties. It is generally called “three-proof finishing” (water-repellent, oil-repellent, and anti-fouling). It is a relatively practical and effective advanced chemical finishing method. It is often used in the outer layer of clothing and the fabric finishing of backpacks, shoes and tents.
5. Antistatic and anti-radiation finishing
Mountaineering is the core content of outdoor sports. In addition to virgin dense forests, the environment in high mountain plateau areas above 3,000 meters above sea level is generally relatively dry due to low air pressure and easy evaporation of water. Outdoor clothing is basically made of chemical fiber fabrics, so static electricity The problem is more prominent. The harm of static electricity is generally manifested in that clothes are prone to fluffing and pilling, are easily contaminated with dust and dirt, and feel electric shock and stickiness when close to the skin, etc. If you carry sophisticated electronic instruments such as electronic compasses, altitude meters, GPS navigators, etc., they may be interfered by static electricity from clothing and cause errors, which may lead to serious consequences.
Any objects rubbing against each other may generate static electricity, but only dry insulating objects can accumulate static electricity and cause harm.
Therefore, good antistatic fabrics are of course made of natural fibers. However, as mentioned above, purely natural fibers are difficult to meet the special requirements of outdoor sports, and even natural fibers will deteriorate due to lack of water molecules in very dry environments. Static electricity occurs. There are two main methods for antistatic finishing of fabrics: First, simply weave metal wires into the fabric to make a conductive fabric (which is also an electromagnetic wave shielding fabric and a radiation-proof fabric), so that the static electricity generated by friction can be conducted and dissipated to the outside world in a timely manner. . However, this kind of fabric is not suitable for sportswear, mainly because it has poor softness and is not comfortable enough. Another method is to use hygroscopic antistatic agents such as block polyether and polyacrylate to coat the surface of the fabric with a chemical film that can absorb water molecules, forming a continuous conductive water film on the surface of the fabric. Dissipate static electricity.
Due to the relative thinning of the atmosphere in high-altitude areas, the blocking and filtering effect on ultraviolet rays is greatly reduced, and the intensity of ultraviolet rays is much higher than that in low-altitude areas. Ultraviolet rays can effectively promote the production of vitamins and have a bactericidal effect, but excessive exposure can cause damage to human skin. The penetrating power of ultraviolet rays is very strong, and ordinary fiber fabrics cannot completely shield its irradiation. Using resin, we combine nano-scale inorganic titanium dioxide (TIO2), nano-zinc oxide (ZNO) and other ultraviolet shielding agents and organic salicylic acid, cyanoacrylate, benzophenone, benzotriazole and other ultraviolet absorbers. The cross-linking method is fixed on the fabric, which can play a certain role in radiation protection.
It can be said that outdoor sportswear represents the new cutting-edge technology in the development of today’s textile science. This is also an important reason why a seemingly inconspicuous mountaineering jacket or jacket can easily cost hundreds, thousands or even thousands of yuan (of course, this is not excluded) Factors such as brand value and functional style). Although the price is indeed not low, a set of professional outdoor sportswear that integrates windproof, breathable, moisture-proof, warm, radiation-proof and other properties may sometimes have the same meaning as life for a climber! However, due to the diversity, complexity and unpredictability of outdoor sports, the functions of clothing may have many completely different requirements depending on the environment and movement methods. Therefore, as far as current science and technology are concerned, outdoor sports clothing The overall performance is still difficult to achieve perfection.
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