Executive Summary : | Wool and synthetic fibres have become increasingly important materials for fashion garments and active wears used for cold weather protection with known benefits for providing comfort to its users. Woollen fiber has a high thermal conductivity of 165 mW/ mK and when exposed to humid environment, its high-water absorbency will increase the thermal conductivity of their fabrics up to 400% which leads to poor insulation performance. In severe winters thick and heavy woollen fabric is required to provide thermal insulation against cold weather. Similarly, downs and the synthetic insulations are often bulky and heavier, which may cause discomfort and restrict mobility. These properties make such fibres undesirable candidates for providing ultra-light performance under cold conditions without compromising comfort of wearers. Though, the conventional clothing can provide basic protection against cold weather, It is equally important to develop advanced methods to overcome the problems of low thermal insulation, heaviness, and bulkiness of textiles. The thermal insulation of textile material can be enhanced by increasing the air trapped inside the fibres. This can be achieved by generating nano porosity by introducing aerogel component which has low thermal conductivity close to air or even lesser 10-30 mW/mK. There were number of attempts to use silica-based aerogel in textiles to improve thermal insulation. Silica aerogels have poor mechanical stability and dusting issues which poses health risks to end users, which makes them unsuitable for commercial market. This project aims to solve the issues of traditional insulating textile materials by penetrating functionalized biodegradable polymers from natural resources or chemically synthesized polymers inside a textile framework to form aerogels. The aerogels will be fabricated using ice nucleation followed by low temperature and low-pressure dehydration process confined inside a natural fiber textile material. Natural fibre textile materials are selected as they are abundant, easily processable, cost-effective and sustainable. This project will lead to development of a new category of advanced sustainable clothing which are thermally insulating, thinner and lighter compared to traditional textiles that can offer excellent warmness and ease of mobility. The technology arising from this work will be appreciated in scientific community which will lead to high quality peer-reviewed publications and patents. The final products arising from this project will enhance competitiveness of Indian made cold weather clothing in international markets. |