Specialty Fabrics Review December 2022 - 15

A tactical air control party specialist assigned to the 3rd Air Support Operations
Squadron, descends while conducting training at Joint Base ElmendorfRichardson,
Alaska. Photo: U.S. Air Force / Alejandro Peña.
Facing the Arctic
D
r. Braden Li, a materials research engineer with the Air Force
Research Lab, is working on developing clothing for the Air Force
designed for protecting personnel in extreme-cold environments-
to minus 60 degrees (F). His presentation outlined the Air Force
requirements, and he explained the Heat Enhancing Arctic Textiles
(HEAT) approach in meeting its list of Key System Attributes (KSAs).
Li and colleagues in the Air Force Research Lab Liquid Electronics
Group are experimenting with Textile-Integrated Liquid Metal Electrodes
(TILEs) and have developed a blade coatable ink to create HEAT for
active heating wearables designed to specifically meet KSAs. Li says the
problem with a polymerized liquid metal is that it oxidizes in air, but with
their process, as it stretches, it becomes more and more conductive.
" It's really cool material, " he says.
Do-it-yourself microneedle
tattoos developed
S
cientists at the Georgia Institute of
Technology (Georgia Tech) have reported the
development of a microneedle patch that can
be self-administered and painlessly deposit a
tattoo onto skin within minutes. The technology
is initially proposed for simple human medical
or animal uses, but a number of cosmetic uses
may be possible in the future. Microneedle
technology has been available for a few years.
Researchers have proposed various uses for the
patches including delivering vaccines and insulin
or measuring alcohol and glucose levels in real
time. Initial uses for the technology proposed by
the researchers include medical applications,
such as tiny tattoos communicating blood type
or medical conditions. Other more immediate
uses could be in veterinarian contexts to note
an animal's vaccination status.
Partnership creates
more sustainable shoes
T
he textile industry continues to look
for ways to reduce its CO2
footprint,
for example in the fabrication of sports
shoes. HUAFENG, a textile technology
company based in China, chose to
apply INSQIN®
PU by Covestro, a
waterborne polyurethane technology,
as a coating binder in its HAPTIC®
printing technology.
The sports footwear industry has
traditionally used solvent-borne
polyurethane in textile coatings, but
with increased consumer demand
for more sustainable products,
manufacturers are switching
over to waterborne polyurethane
solutions, which reduce hazardous
dimethylformamide emissions.
The challenge for Covestro was
Georgia Tech researchers
have developed microneedle
tattoos for use in human or
animal health care. Photo:
Song Li, Georgia Tech
combining two different technologies.
The company's partially biobased
INSQIN polyurethane coating was
used for durability, and HUAFENG's
advanced HAPTIC printing technology
was used on recycled PET (rPET) mesh
fabrics manufactured with CYCLONE®
yarns instead of a virgin fossil product.
Uniting both techniques integrates biobased
raw materials into waterborne
polyurethane textile coatings, then
3D printing these more sustainable
coatings onto recycled post-consumer
material. Photo: Covestro
SpecialtyFabricsReview.com 15
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Specialty Fabrics Review December 2022

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