Biomimetic thermal regulating fabric and method for constructing the same

Abstract

A biomimetic thermal regulating fabric (BTRF) imitating army ant bivouacs and a method for constructing the same are provided. The BTRF comprises a plurality of yarns formed of textile fibres having a water-actuated crimp behaviour, wherein the plurality of yarns is knitted by means of transfer stitch to form an unsymmetrical fabric structure which has a positive water-actuated expansion rate along a first axis and a negative water-actuated expansion rate along a second axis orthogonal to the first axis. Surfaces of the textile fibres are plasma-treated to have one or more hydrophilic functional groups. One or more colorimetric fabric sensors are incorporated to generate colours in response to one or more ambient environmental conditions or user physiological conditions respectively. The present invention has excellent scalability, biocompatibility, and great dynamic durability, and is advantageous for applications in athletic wear, outdoor wear, and medical textiles.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.