Assessment of Thermal Performance of Textile Materials Modified with PCM Microcapsules Using Combination of DSC and Infrared Thermography Methods

The aim of the study was the combination of two measurement methods, the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and infrared thermography to evaluate thermal performance of woven and knitted fabrics coated with acrylic pastes containing 20% (P/20) and 40% (P/40) of microcapsules of phase change materials (MPCM) with transition temperatures of 28 °C (MPCM28) and 43 °C (MPCM43). The DSC analysis showed that the phase transition processes for materials modified with pastes P/20 occur in a narrower temperature range than those modified with P/40 pastes. The initial temperatures T(Onset (S-S)) and T(Onset (S-L)) are higher for materials modified respectively with pastes P/20 and P/40. The melting and crystallization enthalpy values of both P/20 coated materials are lower by about 45% and 35% compared to P/40. Infrared thermography analysis showed that materials modified with P/20 are heating up faster than modified with P/40 for both MPCM. In the cooling process for modified fabrics the highest temperature decrease was observed in the first 30s. Materials modified with paste P/40 were cooled more slowly in comparison with paste P/20, both for MPCM28 and MPCM43.