THE BIG PICTURE IS SMALL
SELF-CLEANING CLOTHING
Self-cleaning clothing has a special coating that repels liquids and does not attract dirt or dust. The coating can also be applied to protective lenses, goggles and visors to shed water, oils and chemicals. (Photo by David Kamm, NSRDEC)
Soldiers better complete the vision-dependent aspects of their missions, including driving, firing, viewing maps and operat- ing electronic equipment in multiple environments, especially under wet and rainy conditions.
To bring Soldiers the very best science has to offer, NSRDEC is combining its expertise with the expertise of academia and industry. Quoc Truong, an NSRDEC physical scientist, emphasized the importance of these collaborations. “NSRDEC provides concepts and ideas, technical approaches and guidance and methods of testing and evaluation to best meet our Sol- diers’ needs,” he said. “We also have a thorough knowledge of user requirements and materials specifications, while our col- laborators have expertise, technical knowledge, resources and personnel who are academically trained and also have experience” in a range of related disciplines. Tose collaborators include nanomanufacturing experts at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; fiber spinning experts at Clemson University; experts in re-entrant nanosurfaces, theories and modeling at MIT; and experts in omniphobic coating processes at Luna Innovations.
“Single inventors, such as Edison and Einstein, are now much rarer,” said Truong. “Our world remains complex, but more and more scientists and engineers are trained in their spe- cialized areas. Terefore, collaboration is a necessity for new
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inventions and discoveries. Tis way, we can put our heads together in solving longstanding problems or coming up with new and innovative products and practical solutions, to help our Soldiers complete their mission in the safest and most effi- cient manner.”
INHERENTLY SO According to Truong, the characteristics of the SO coating will provide a significant improvement over the omniphobic coating. Moreover, SO surfaces will cause most liquid droplets to roll off and will minimize dirt and dust attraction. In addition to coatings, NSRDEC researchers are now working with academia and industry partners to develop fibers and transparent films that are inherently super-liquid-repellent based on their surfaces’ physical nanoscale structures and features.
“Clothing and shelters fabricated from fabrics woven using inher- ently SO fibers will simply stay clean,” said Truong, adding that yarns made from inherently SO fibers, then woven into cloth and made into clothing, are expected to be much lighter and more flexible and, therefore, more comfortable to wear. Te fabric made from SO fibers will be more breathable because of a physical structure that has multiple “micro-scale” air chan- nels (with nano features on its fiber surface) that run the entire length of the fibers. Since the inherently SO fibers will no longer
Army AL&T Magazine
April–June 2015
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