Consumer/Home/Recreation
Thermal Clothing
How best to lessen the prospect of having your toes and fingers freeze
in winter conditions or keep you from that one last ski run? Gateway Technologies,
Inc. of Boulder, Colorado is marketing and developing textile insulation
technology that can keep a sunny smile even in bone-chilling climes.
Licensed to Gateway by Triangle Research and Development Corporation
(TRDC) of Raleigh, North Carolina, the enhanced thermal insulation stems
from Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) agreements with NASA's Johnson
Space Center and the U.S. Air Force. The effectiveness of the insulation
stems from microencapsulated phase-change materials (microPCMs) originally
made to keep warm the gloved hands of space-strolling astronauts. The materials
were considered ideal as a glove liner, to help thwart temperature extremes
of the space environment.
"Our technology has the capability of making products thinner,
of making people or objects warmer longer, or of keeping people cooler,"
says Gateway president Ed Payne. Founded in 1990, Gateway has further developed
the innovative thermal regulating system after obtaining exclusive license
to the technology developed for NASA that same year, Payne says.
| NASA-sponsored work on gloves that can
keep an astronaut's hands from freezing while working in space has been
applied to ski gear. |
MicroPCMs, when applied to textile fibers or textile substrates, the
rate of heat transfer is slowed and can boost heat capacity by 1,000 percent.
That enhanced thermal characteristic is made possible in manmade fiber
by adding microPCMs to a chemical solution or polymer prior to fiber extrusion.
In the process, microPCMs are integrated inside the fiber itself. In essence,
by applying microPCMs, "smart fabrics" can be made.
The applications for the product appear great, from outer wear, housing
insulation, blankets, as well as protective firefighting gear and scuba
diving suits. Gateway has developed and has begun marketing thermal regulating
products under the trademark, OUTLAST. Bringing the insulation to the garment
and textile industries is part of Gateway's strategic marketing plan.
Products made from OUTLAST, such as ski parkas, hunting jackets and
thermal underwear, is an approach far different than traditional insulation
methods that rely on trapping air within fiber or fabric. Thanks to microPCMs,
heat is absorbed causing the microencapsulated material to change phase
(from solid to liquid) at the molecular level, storing or releasing heat
in response to temperatures next to the skin. By efficiently holding on
to heat and disbursing it evenly within the fabric yields a thinner, but
more dynamic and protective thermal barrier between the body and the exterior
environment. This, in turn, eliminates the need for garments that are awkward
and unwieldy for their wearer.
Several products using OUTLAST have already made their way to the activewear
marketplace. For instance, Gateway Technologies has granted Boston-based
Tempo Shain Corporation exclusive license to feature its OUTLAST in boot
and shoe liners.
| An electromicrograph shows the microencapsulated
phase change materials in the insulation for cold-thwarting ski apparel. |
Gateway has also granted an exclusive agreement with Bula, Inc. to use
OUTLAST in winter headgear, hats and caps for hunting and other outdoor
sports. Also, C.F. Ploucquet GmbH & Company in Germany has entered
into a licensing agreement with Gateway to produce fabrics using OUTLAST
throughout Europe.
Yet another example is the Grandoe Corporation who is developing prototype
OUTLAST fabrics for use in a variety of men's and women's ski gloves.
From space gloves to ski gloves, microencapsulated phase change material
has become an innovation you can easily get your hands on.
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