Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments
The ability to maintain body temperature has been shown to bring about improvements in sporting performance. However, current solutions are limited with regards to flexibility, heating uniformity and robustness. An innovative screen-printed Nanocarbon heater is demonstrated which is robust to bendin...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-01-01
|
| Series: | Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/2/573 |
| _version_ | 1797492437383380992 |
|---|---|
| author | Andrew Claypole James Claypole Neil Bezodis Liam Kilduff David Gethin Tim Claypole |
| author_facet | Andrew Claypole James Claypole Neil Bezodis Liam Kilduff David Gethin Tim Claypole |
| author_sort | Andrew Claypole |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The ability to maintain body temperature has been shown to bring about improvements in sporting performance. However, current solutions are limited with regards to flexibility, heating uniformity and robustness. An innovative screen-printed Nanocarbon heater is demonstrated which is robust to bending, folding, tensile extensions of up to 20% and machine washing. This combination of ink and substrate enables the heated garments to safely flex without impeding the wearer. It is capable of producing uniform heating over a 15 × 4 cm area using a conductive ink based on a blend of Graphite Nanoplatelets and Carbon Black. This can be attributed to the low roughness of the conductive carbon coating, the uniform distribution and good interconnection of the carbon particles. The heaters have a low thermal inertia, producing a rapid temperature response at low voltages, reaching equilibrium temperatures within 120 s of being switched on. The heaters reached the 40 °C required for wearable heating applications within 20 s at 12 Volts. Screen printing was demonstrated to be an effective method of controlling the printed layer thickness with good interlayer adhesion and contact for multiple printed layers. This can be used to regulate their electrical properties and hence adjust the heater performance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:03:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9cb3f039908f4907bba2e738c1597033 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:03:10Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-9cb3f039908f4907bba2e738c15970332023-11-23T14:31:22ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442022-01-0115257310.3390/ma15020573Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure GarmentsAndrew Claypole0James Claypole1Neil Bezodis2Liam Kilduff3David Gethin4Tim Claypole5Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating, College of Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKWelsh Centre for Printing and Coating, College of Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKApplied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKApplied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) Research Centre, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKWelsh Centre for Printing and Coating, College of Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKWelsh Centre for Printing and Coating, College of Engineering, Bay Campus, Swansea University, Swansea SA1 8EN, UKThe ability to maintain body temperature has been shown to bring about improvements in sporting performance. However, current solutions are limited with regards to flexibility, heating uniformity and robustness. An innovative screen-printed Nanocarbon heater is demonstrated which is robust to bending, folding, tensile extensions of up to 20% and machine washing. This combination of ink and substrate enables the heated garments to safely flex without impeding the wearer. It is capable of producing uniform heating over a 15 × 4 cm area using a conductive ink based on a blend of Graphite Nanoplatelets and Carbon Black. This can be attributed to the low roughness of the conductive carbon coating, the uniform distribution and good interconnection of the carbon particles. The heaters have a low thermal inertia, producing a rapid temperature response at low voltages, reaching equilibrium temperatures within 120 s of being switched on. The heaters reached the 40 °C required for wearable heating applications within 20 s at 12 Volts. Screen printing was demonstrated to be an effective method of controlling the printed layer thickness with good interlayer adhesion and contact for multiple printed layers. This can be used to regulate their electrical properties and hence adjust the heater performance.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/2/573Nanocarbon inkprinted heaterwearableflexiblestretchable |
| spellingShingle | Andrew Claypole James Claypole Neil Bezodis Liam Kilduff David Gethin Tim Claypole Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments Materials Nanocarbon ink printed heater wearable flexible stretchable |
| title | Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments |
| title_full | Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments |
| title_fullStr | Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments |
| title_short | Printed Nanocarbon Heaters for Stretchable Sport and Leisure Garments |
| title_sort | printed nanocarbon heaters for stretchable sport and leisure garments |
| topic | Nanocarbon ink printed heater wearable flexible stretchable |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/15/2/573 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT andrewclaypole printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments AT jamesclaypole printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments AT neilbezodis printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments AT liamkilduff printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments AT davidgethin printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments AT timclaypole printednanocarbonheatersforstretchablesportandleisuregarments |