Dr SHOU Dahua, Member of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR), the Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology (RISports) and the Research Centre of Textiles for Future Fashion (RCTFF), Limin Endowed Young Scholar in Advanced Textiles Technologies and Associate Professor in the School of Fashion and Textiles, and his team have developed first-of-its-kind thermally insulated and breathable soft robotic clothing that can automatically adapt to changing ambient temperatures, thereby helping to ensure worker safety in hot environments. The team’s research findings have been published in the international interdisciplinary journal Advanced Science (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202309605).
The protective clothing developed by the team uses a soft robotic textile for dynamic adaptive thermal management. Soft actuators, designed like a human network-patterned exoskeleton and encapsulating a non-toxic, non-flammable, low-boiling-point fluid, were strategically embedded in the clothing. This thermo-stimulated system transforms the fluid from a liquid into a gas when the ambient temperature rises, causing the expansion of the soft actuators and the thickening of the textile matrix, thereby widening the gap of still air and doubling the thermal resistance from 0.23 to 0.48 km²/W.
The protective clothing can also keep the inner surface temperatures at least 10 °C cooler than conventional heat-resistant clothing, even when the outer surface reaches 120 °C. This unique soft robotic textile, made of thermoplastic polyurethane, is soft, resilient and durable. Notably, it is far more skin-friendly and conformable than temperature-responsive clothing embedded with shape-memory alloys and is adjustable for a wide range of protective clothing styles. The soft actuators have exhibited no signs of leakage after undergoing rigorous standard washing tests. Furthermore, the porous, spaced knitted structure of the material can significantly reduce convective heat transfer while maintaining high moisture breathability.
Without the need to rely on thermoelectric chips or liquid circulation systems for cooling or heat conduction, the lightweight, soft robotic clothing can itself effectively regulate temperature without any energy consumption. This innovation will have a wide range of potential applications, from activewear, winter jackets, healthcare apparel and outdoor gear, to sustainable textile-based insulation for infrastructure and buildings.
