Temperature regulating fibers of high latent heat and strength: Mass production, characterization and applications

A kind of temperature regulating fibers (TRFs) with excellent mechanical and thermal properties were prepared by bi-component melt spinning technology on an industrial mass production equipment, in which the core material chips are composed of paraffin wax (PW), polyethylene (PE) and olefin block copolymers (OBC), having the preferable latent heat and thermostability at an onset volatilization temperature of 224.91 °C, and the sheath layer is polypropylene (PP). The prepared TRFs have significant heat absorption and release processes in the range of 20-35 °C with a latent heat up to 26.96 J/g. At the sheath/core ratio of 6:4, the TRFs are 2.09 cN/dtex in the breaking strength and 30.4 % in the elongation after further drawing at a winding speed of 1400 m/min, which fully meet the requirements of the fabric manufacture. After woven with cotton yarn, the TRF/cotton fabrics can effectively reduce the temperature fluctuation by 3 °C in the cooling process, displaying good thermal storage and regulating ability.