Process of making a fabric
A fabric for thermal management including the cooling of an object, such as a person's skin. The fabric is formed of a plurality of materials including at least one liquid transport enhancing material and at least one evaporative transport impeding material. When the fabric is in use, the transport enhancing material is located near an object to be cooled, while the evaporation impeding material is spaced away from the object. The fabric is peached so that there is an entanglement of the two materials. Peaching is performed on both sides of the fabric, but initially on the side with the transport enhancing material such that a portion of the evaporation impeding material is pulled into the fabric core. A method of making the fabric is also described.
1. A method of making a fabric having a front side, a back side and an interior between the front side and the back side, wherein the front side of the fabric is the side adjacent to the environment when the fabric is in use and the back side is the side adjacent to an object to be cooled when the fabric is in use, the method comprising the steps of:
a. forming the fabric with one or more fiber materials wherein at least one of the one or more fiber materials has a liquid diverting trait and wherein the at least one of the fiber materials is positioned at the back side of the fabric; and
b. physically modifying the one or more fiber materials to establish a network of interstices in the interior of the fabric sufficient to slow the progression of liquid from the interior out of the fabric through the front side thereof.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more fiber materials include a first fiber material and a second fiber material, wherein the second fiber material is the at least one of the one or more fiber materials.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein one of the one or more fiber materials is a hollow fiber material.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the step of adding an additive material to the fabric.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the additive is a silver fiber.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:
a. pretreating at least the front side of the fabric; and
b. dyeing or printing at least on the front side of the fabric.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising the step of forming the back side of the fabric to be more porous than the front side of the fabric.
8. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of physically modifying the one or more fibers is achieved by knitting the one or more fibers together to establish the network of interstices.
9. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the step of physically modifying the one or more fibers is achieved by weaving the one or more fibers together to establish the network of interstices.