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Protective Textiles

Technical textiles are the materials and products manufactured primarily for technical and performance properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics. Hence the definition does not depend on the yarn or fiber used, but on the end-use of the product itself. Technical textiles are the fastest growing branch of textile industry world-wide. The world consumption of technical textiles in 2000 was approx 16.7 million tons of fiber and polymer with a finished textile product value of US$92.9 billion [1]. In weight terms, it represents over one-quarter of the fibers consumed (62.2 million tons) in that year as shown in fig 1. This expansion is largely due to the advancements in the fields of new fibers, yarns, fabrics, coatings and processes/machinery.
25000 20000 160 140 120

Volume (,000 Tons)

80 10000 5000 0 1995 2000 Volume (,000 Tons) 2005 2010 60 40 20 0

Value (US$ billions)

Fig 1: World end use consumption of technical textiles, 1995-2010 in volume and value terms An exceptional aspect of technical textiles industry is the diversity of raw materials, processes, products and application areas that it encompasses. Technical textiles are classified into 12 major application areas and Protective textile is one of those.

Introduction
Protective textiles are the textile materials used to protect humans from hazards, which may be natural or artificial. The hazards include heat, cold, rain, snow, wind, ultraviolet light, abrasion, micro-organisms and the effects of static electricity. These can cause problems during occupational, recreational and routine activities. Man-made threats which are caused accidentally include fire, heat, flash, industrial chemicals, bio-hazards, high-velocity and blunt impacts, and cutting/slashing by sharp objects. The range of hazards has continued to grow and become even more complex with time. It has resulted in the development of new textile fibers, structures, and clothing systems, which not only provide us

Value (US$ billions) 0

15000

100

protection, but also comfort and well-being. All these properties are obtained by employing high performance or flame retardant fibers in the textiles.

Classification
The classification of Protective clothing is based on the basis of hazards to mankind, but no single classification can clearly summarize all kinds of protection. Overlap of the different areas is common, as most of the cases clothing protects us from more than one hazards. Depending on the end use, personal protective textiles can be classified as thermal (cold) protection, flame protection, chemical protection, mechanical impact protection, radiation protection, biological protection, electrical protection and wearer visibility. The schematic of protective textiles classification is illustrated in Fig 2.

Fig 2: Schematic Classification of Protective Textiles [2] The major fields of protective textiles are: Protection from fire/heat Protection from extreme cold Mechanical impact protection Biological Protection Electrical Protection Protection from UV radiation Nuclear radiation protection 1

Chemical Protection Protection from weather Protection from Fire In the primitive era, fire was a source of survival for mankind from extreme cold, but it can be dangerous too. Fire disasters are very frequent and the textiles are the most commonly ignited materials, resulting in large number of casualties. Main cause of death in a fire accident is not direct burning but suffocation due to the smoke and toxic gases released during burning. The clothing designed for flame protection must be flame-resistant and act as a heat barrier, if the wearer needs to stay near flames for long time. Most commonly used fibers for textiles are easy to burn, so inherently flame-retardant materials such as Kevlar, Nomex, PBO, Polyacrylates, etc are used. A flame retardant finish can also be employed to make clothing and textiles flame retardant. Protection from Extreme Cold The temperature around us depends on the atmosphere and circumstances that we live in. The human comfort zone for physiological thermoregulation of body, wearing shirt and trousers is between 22.2C and 25.5C [3]. The requirement of our body in summer is to transfer the metabolic heat outside, while in cold conditions, the heat loss from body is not preferable. Heat is transferred from body either as conductive, convective, radiant heat or a combination of these modes. Temperatures below -30C are classified as extreme cold [4]. Specifically designed protective clothing is necessary to survive such conditions. Most efficient way is to avoid or decrease conductive heat loss. Clothing for such purposes is usually multi-layered; a nonabsorbent inner layer, a middle insulating layer capable of trapping air but transferring moisture, and an outer layer impermeable to wind and water. Mechanical Impact Protection It is a protection commonly required for security personnel, involving protection against projectiles of various shapes, sizes and impact velocities. Previously, metals were employed in ballistic protection devices and were too heavy to wear. Ballistic protective textiles provide same level of protection in relatively lower weight. Ballistic protective clothing dissipates the energy of the projectile by stretching and breaking the yarns and transferring the energy from the impact at the crossover points of yarns. The most commonly employed fibers for ballistic protection include Kevlar and Ultra high modulus polyethylene. Some other examples of mechanical impact protection are seat belts, air bags used in automobiles, and in sport like knee braces, wrist braces, ankle braces, helmet, etc. Biological Protection Most of the natural textile fibers are subject to biological degradation by bacteria, fungi, etc. Biologically protective textiles perform two functions: protecting the wearer from microorganisms attack which cause hygienic and medical problems, and secondly protecting the textile itself from bio-deterioration.

Fabrics designed for microbial protection act as barriers to bacteria and other microorganisms. Films generally have high barrier properties against microbes. However, films used in combination with fabrics make them impermeable causing heat stress. Using breathable membranes with fabrics provides effective protection from microbes without causing heat stress. Electrical Protection Protection from electromagnetic sources is necessary for those working close to power lines and electrical equipment. They have the possibility of being exposed to electric shocks and acute flammability hazards. Generally rubber gloves, boots, sleeve protectors, rubber blankets and nonconductive sticks are used for electromagnetic protection. Electrostatic charge can easily accumulate on ordinary textiles, and is difficult to dissipate. It can be hazardous in an atmosphere of shocks and sparks causing flames. The basic principle of making an antistatic garment is to decrease the chance of electrostatic accumulation on a fabric. Protection from UV Radiation Sunlight is the source of a number of radiations and is necessary for human health in a reasonable amount. Penetration of UV radiation into the top layer of the skin leads to damage in the lower layer, producing effects like roughening, blotches, sagging, wrinkles, skin cancer, etc. The UV protection extended by the textile materials, accessories and sun screen lotions is denoted by different terminologies known as UPF and SPF. UV Protection involves a combination of sun avoidance and the use of protective garments and accessories. Textile materials and accessories such as hats, shoes, umbrellas, awnings, etc are largely used for UV protection. Titanium dioxide and Ceramic materials have an absorption capacity in the UV region between 280 and 400 nm. These absorbers are also used as dope additives. Nuclear Radiation Protection Exposure to nuclear radiations is detrimental for human beings. Special clothing like goggles, respiratory masks, gloves, light weight protective clothing, etc is required for people working in radioactive environments. Woven cotton, polyester/cotton or nylon/polyester fabrics with a twill and sateen weave are the major types of fabric forms used for nuclear protective clothing. Chemical Protection Chemical protection can be broadly classified into two categories: protection in chemical industry, and protection from chemical weapons. Most of workers are affected by chemicals used in industries and work areas. Chemical protective clothing should be the line of defense in any chemical-handling operation. Important concerns in designing chemical protective clothing are the amount of chemical penetration, time for penetration, liquid repellency, and physical properties in specific conditions. Many countries around the world have capacity to use chemical weapons. So it is vital to protect the soldiers from chemical hazards in war field. Chemical protective clothing is used to overcome this problem and their property depends on the end use. Routes of chemical entry into the human body are oral, respiratory, and dermal. The dermal exposure is considered the primary mechanism.

Protection from weather Waterproof breathable fabrics are designed to provide protection from the weather, which is from wind, rain and loss of body heat. Fabrics can be made waterproof by coating it with an impervious flexible material. Earliest coating materials were animal fat and wax, nowadays synthetic polymers PVC and polyurethane are used [5].

Market Potential
Rapid industrialization and developments have resulted into increasing emphasis on human protection. Also the introduction of health, safety and environmental legislation has helped to make the technical textile market to afloat. Fig 3 shows the market share of each area of technical textiles market in volume terms in 2000.
Sporttech, 6% Agrotech, 8% Buildtech, 10% Protech, 1%

Packtech, 15%

Mobiltech, 15%

Clothtech, 7% Geotech, 2% Hometech, 13% Indutech, 13%

Medtech, 9%

Fig 3: World end use consumption of technical textiles in 2000 by Application Area (by volume) [a] The world market for technical textiles in 2005 was about 20 million tons per year, out of which Protech accounted for about 280,000 tons (value of about $3.3 billion). So, the protective textiles account for 1.4% of the total technical textiles. The market was increasing by between 3.3 and 4.0% per annum. Consumption of protective clothing has increased linearly in last 10 years and in 2010 it is expected to be about 340,000 Te, an increase of 85% over consumption in 1995 (David Rigby Associates, 2004). The Americans (mainly USA and Canada) have the highest consumption of protective clothing per annum at about 91300 Te followed by Europe 78200 Te and Asia with 61300 Te.

100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 USA & Canada Europe Asia Rest of the World

Fig 4: End-use consumption of protective textile in different regions of the world

Reference
[1] David Rigby Associates, Technical Textiles and Nonwovens: World Market Forecasts to 2010 [2] R. A. Scott, Textiles for Protection, Wood Head Publishers [3] R. F. Goldman, Biomedical Effects of Clothing on Thermal Control & Strain, in Handbook on Clothing, NATO Research Study Group 7 on Biomedical Research Aspects of Military Protective Clothing, 1988 [4] Shweta S. Joshi, Advanced Protective Textiles, D.K.T.E.s Textile & Engineering Institute, Ichalkaranji [5] A. R. Horrocks and S. C. Anand, Handbook of Technical Textiles, Wood Head Publishers

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