W. Hurley

Capacitive fiber-meshed transducers for touch and proximity-sensing applications

Capacitive sensing is used in manufacturing E-textiles for touch and proximity-sensing applications. The common approach is to construct electrodes on top of a nonconductive fabric structures. Woven and knitted fabric structures are used for the construction; metallic wire and conductive coated fibers are primarily used. Due to the performance degradation and poor comfort of these constructions, we have constructed electrodes with inherently conductive polymers and multifilament metallic fibers by integrating them into fiber-meshed structures such that the electrodes are a part of the nonconductive base structure. We have used capacitive and resistive measurement techniques for the detection. Out of many mechanical methods of fiber-integrating processors, we have used flat bed-knitting technology and Jacquard weaving technology. In this paper, we have discussed the construction, sensing, and applications of capacitive fiber-meshed transducers and their applications.

Development of electrically active textiles

The current generation of textiles, including technical textiles are passive. However the next generation of textiles will have the ability to monitor its environment and interact accordingly in order to accomplish a pre-programmed functionality. Such textiles can be considered as truly smart textiles, and they would consist of three basic components: 1. sensing and measuring capability; 2. activation capability; 3. intelligence (programming capability).

Design and manufacture of heated textiles

Abstract Textile-heating systems represent one of the major growing sectors in textiles. This is due to the development of conductive yarns and the emergence of computerized knitting systems. These together made possible the introduction of heating systems that are made directly from textiles. The main advantage of this improvement is the generation of heated materials with built-in flexibility provided by textile structures. This chapter will look at different types of textile-heating systems, their applications and important criteria required in design and production of polymer-based heated textiles.

A knitted textile waveguide

The electromagnetic performance of a flexible knitted waveguide is examined. The waveguide is designed to operate in the X- band region and is manufactured by knitting a conducting yarn in the form of the sleeve. Measured data on transmission and return loss are presented and compared to simulated results.

The study of applying heat to enhance moisture transfer in knitted spacer structures

The aim of the article is to report the research of the Advanced Textiles Research Group on the application of heat to enhance the moisture transmission in knitted spacer structures. The current trend in the design and development of moisture management textiles is to use knitted spacer structures. Generally, in moisture management textiles, the moisture is transmitted through the fabric due to capillary forces, which are influenced by the hydrostatic pressure difference between the two fabric layers and the geometry and the dimensions of the capillaries of the sandwiched fibre layer of a knitted spacer structures. However, the hydrostatic pressure difference is also influenced by the outer environmental changes. The research has demonstrated that the moisture transfer rate of up to 30% per 100 cm2 of fabric area can be achieved by creating a temperature gradient between the two layers of a knitted spacer structures. This temperature gradient was achieved by application of heat at one layer of the knitted spacer structures, which influenced the hydrostatic pressure difference of the knitted spacer structures. Application of heat to the knitted spacer structures was achieved by knitting small heater elements on side of knitted spacer structures to create an active moisture management structure. Wash tests, temperature rise rates and moisture wettability experiments of the active moisture management structure were performed, and the results are discussed in the publication.

Moisture effects on a knitted waveguide

Previously, we proposed a knitted textile waveguide working at X-band. Such wearable devices will experience various environmental conditions such as getting wet when applied in practice. In this paper, we have investigated the impact of moisture on the performance of a knitted textile waveguide. The results show that moisture has significant influences on the knitted waveguides performance. Therefore, the knitted waveguide needs to be water-proofed properly in real-life applications.