Phase Change Materials in Textiles for Thermal Regulation

Phase change materials (PCMs) can have a certain temperature range during their phase transition meantime the thermal energy is adsorbed or released. PCMs are characterized to adsorb/release thermal energy during the phase transition process over a certain temperature range. PCMs have been applied in textiles for thermal regulation since the last century. The significant parameters related to thermal property and comfort of PCM-incorporated textiles as well as PCM types have been described in numerous research works. Although there has been a big progress in PCM-incorporated textiles, there are still some problems. In this book chapter, we reorganize and summarize present research work related to PCM textiles, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of technologies for PCM textiles. We believe that this chapter can provide more alternatives for the design of PCM textiles.