The Study On Manufacturing Engineering And Performance Of The Special Thermal Active Kapok Material

It is found that polyethylene glycols （PEG） can physically or chemically conjoint with fibers, so it has the possibility to add to fabrics and some other textile materials, and endure the fabrics the function of regulating temperature. When the finished textile has reversible heating and cooling, its super molecule structure will have some change in macro scale of its properties called phase transition. The PEG has a special accumulation of heat and regulation to temperature. These prosperities are showed when it storages heat at high temperature and release heat at low temperature. Because the temperature in phase change of PEG are in the range of natural environmental condition. The melting temperature of PEG is proportional to the molecular weight when its molecular weight is lower than 200000.Usually,temperature is used from -10°C to 29°C closed to animal heat in clothing. As a natural plant fiber, kapok has many better properties than other natural fibers. The hollow ration can reach 97%. And it consists of more cellulose than cotton fiber, bigger specific surface area which allows the finishing reagent to be cross-linked and added easily.The task plans to develop and use the nature fiber in the new field, and widen the function of the nature fibers. The thermal activity of Kapok textile, which got from treating, can satisfy the necessary of safe, comfortable and energy saving.In this paper, the special thermal activity of the Kapok fabrics and fibers finished by PEG has been discussed in detail. At the same time, the treated process and factors have been studied preliminarily. The research work has been focused on the main affection factors of thermal activity, changes of garment properties of the kapok fiber and fabrics finished by PEG. Based on experimental results, this paper has presented a synthetically valuation on the fabrics finished by PEG in order to lay a good foundation for following research works. Through analyzing and discussing, the results show that:（1） Finishing of kapok textile with formulation of PEG, a dimethyloldihydroxyethy-leneurea（DMDHEU） cross linking resin and MgCl₂·6H₂O/citric acid produce fabrics that are thermally active. Fabrics were immersed in aqueous PEG solutions containing the resin and acid catalysts and put through squeeze rolls under pressure to obtain pickups of 80-200% over dry substrate weights. Fabrics were then dried and cured. Finally, the treated fabrics were laundered in hot water and dry;（2） The consistency of resin is the main affection factors of thermal activity. And the additive of inorganic salt can improve the use rate of resin;（3）Finished and unfinished kapok/cotton fabrics were compared using SEM techniques to determine changes brought by the finish. Finish polymer deposited heavily within yarns, forming a fiber-polymer matrix. Polymer was also distributed throughout fibers; （4） There are changes in the thermal activity properties of PEG cross-linked. But the temperatures of phase change are still suitable to use in the clothes. So it is worth to develop the thermo-regulated Kapok textile;（5） Compared to the pure PEG, the melting temperature（T_m） and the crystallization temperature both change;（6） After finishing ,the heat of melting and crystallization of the kapok/cotton fabrics are both lower than the pure kapok fiber .It is because that the smaller specific surface area may reduce the possibility of the PEG’s cross linking;（7） The influence of the thermal-wet comfort depends on the weave structure, and roll compacting finishing may be more suitable for tight and light-minded fabrics. So the treated processes for massive and fleecy fabrics need to be studied in further; （8）The handle and mechanical property were changed because of the resin add-on. However, they were not great influence on the performance properties.