Durability of Shield Effectiveness of Copper-Coated Interlining Fabrics

The protective shield effectiveness (SE) of copper-coated polyamide and polyester interlining fabrics at frequen¬cies of 1.8 GHz, 2.1 GHz and 2.4 GHz are presented in this study. These fabrics were treated through 10 cycles of dry and wet cleaning. After the characterization of shield effectiveness, fabrics were stored in a dark and dry place. On the basis of the SE values at all measured frequencies, it was confirmed that the copper-coated protective polyester fabric had better SE durability under storage conditions than the copper-coated polyamide fabric. Accordingly, the copper-coated polyester interlining fabric is more suitable for integration into functional clothing due to its use cycle.

Green Reduction of Graphene Oxide Coated Polyamide Fabric Using Carob Extract

A green reduction processes for graphene oxide using carob extract is reported in this work. In this study, graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were synthesized using the improved Hummer's method and applied to polyamide fabric thorough the simple dip coating method. Then, the graphene oxide was reduced with a chemical reduction process using carob extract as a green reducing agent to give the reduced graphene oxide (RGO) material. The reduction time was studied. The structure, morphology, and thermal behavior of the material was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The electrical resistivity results clearly revealed that the GO coated polyamide fabric was successfully converted to the RGO coated polyamide fabric with the effective elimination of oxygen containing functional groups.

Ceramic Armour for Armoured Vehicles Against Large-Calibre Bullets

Modelling the armour-piercing bullets B-32 calibre 12.7 mm penetration into the double-layer ceramic-composite armour has been performed for the armour blocks of two designs. The first one is a layer of ceramic square tiles supported by the glass or polyamide fabric. Modelling and subsequent ballistic tests have shown that the conical Hertz crack localized in the ceramic tile is formed. The tile is destroyed from the spread of radial cracks, and the entire armour unit becomes unable to sustain the repeated hit of the bullet. In the second case, the armour block consists of the discrete epoxy-filled cylindrical ceramic elements with spherical ends. The advantage of this "discrete" armour is localization of the damage zone and thus an ability to sustain the multiple bullet hits. The ballistic tests of the compared armour units have shown that both provide effective additional protection of light-armoured vehicles against the normal impact of the calibre 12.7 mm bullet.

Polyamide fabric coated with a dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogel for a cosmeto-textile application

Cosmeto-textiles, which allow the administration of molecules when in contact with the skin, are increasingly being developed by cosmetic industries. We have designed an innovative approach for cosmeto-textile products, based on the impregnation of textile fibers with chitosan hydrogels, which have been cross-linked with genipin and loaded with dihydroxyacetone, which is an active component that induces sunless tanning. Dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels have been prepared and characterized by means of cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). The images showed that genipin cross-linking decreases the mesh distance of hydrogels. The release of dihydroxyacetone from these cross-linked genipin chitosan hydrogels has been studied by a dialysis membrane method. These dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels have been incorporated to polyamide textiles by a simple padding technique. The presence of dihydroxyacetone on these textiles has been detected by hyperspectral imaging on a dark field high resolution optical microscope. Finally, the performance of fabrics as cosmeto-textiles, with a tanning effect, has been evaluated by skin-colorimetry measured with an evaluation panel of 10 people. The results have demonstrated that dihydroxyacetone-loaded textiles produce a tanning effect on skin, and incorporation of dihydroxyacetone-loaded chitosan hydrogels into polyamide fabrics represents a friendly and appropriate strategy to obtain a cosmeto-textile with tanning effect.