MAINTENANCE OF MILITARY TEXTILESTanja PUŠIĆ, Edita VUJASINOVIĆ & Sandra BISCHOF

The military requires lighter, more durable uniforms and apparel loaded with high-performance characteristics to meet the needs of today's men and women.Garments must protectsoldiers while keeping them as comfortable as possible.

• When protection is a driving force, other factors must be taken into consideration. In addition to fabric durability, air permeability, pore size and moisture transport, factors such as dust infiltration, dirt and sand resistance, are expected to play a vital role in both, comfort and protection. Treatments like anti odor, germ-killing and antibacterial finish will be become important.

New generation of fabrics for military applications

• Kermel-meta aramid: non-flammable, provide an excellent thermal insulation, good resistance to mechanical stress and chemicals. Spun dyeing in the manufacturing process, gives it a lifelong color fastness, resistance to UV light and washing.

• Viscose, FR viscose, printable

• The blending of both fibres

Enhanced heat and flame protection using non-FR textiles

Lamination of polyamide, polyester and other fabrics, with special FR finish provides excellent protection against heat and fire by balancing flame resistance, thermal insulation, and thermal stability.

• breathable laminated textiles

Usesanti-microbial membrane to laminate onto fabrics

in order to produce waterproof, breathable and anti-microbial textiles with Oeko-Tex-100-listing

and EPA-authorisation

Field of application

shoe material medical textiles

motorbike clothes

MILITARY TEXTILES

Composition crosslinked urethane polymer with the addition of hygienic silver

APPEARANCE translucent filmWeight/Layer thickness 25 g/m² (± 2.5 g/m²) / ca. 25 µ

Hydrostatic head >7000 mmBreathability Ret 5 (m²PA/W)

Care propertiesresistant to washing 95°C, can be sterilised with

steam, resistant to dry cleaning, suitable for tumble driers (if professionally bonded onto suitable outer

fabrics)

• Smart textiles are products that integrate textiles and electronic components to provide enhanced functionality.The ability to integrate electrical functionality into textile garments is becoming increasingly desired for consumer devices and military applications.

• One of the major hurdles that has hindered the wedding of electronics and clothing has been the need to wash and dry clean the resulting garment.

• electronic textiles to be realistic, they need to be really durable and most importantly washable.

• Copper wire was woven along with yarn to create a highly stretchable fabric that when tested could withstand millions of stretches along with multiple washes and even bullet impacts without losing its electrical properties. This type of advancement could have major implications for those in the military and police.

Washability is a big plus for e-textiles

• Tests showed that the textile could be stretched about a million times before any of the fiber failed. It could also cleaned in a normal washing machine in warm water for 30 washes without damage and also dried. Then the fabric was placed behind a Kevlar vest and shot at with bullets. While not bullet-proof, despite the impacts, the fabric was not harmed and continued to function normally.

In the last decade, the introduction of nanotechnology into textile production processes has opened new possibilities for the creation of textile fibres with novel functional and protective properties, such as super- and ultra-hydrophobicity and oleophobicity. This permanence lasts through washing and wearing. In the future, smart clothes will need less cleaning and repairing because they will perform these tasks themselves.

What can nanotechnology do for the military?

• Modification of textile surfaces at nano level is a very effective method for modification of textile materials’ properties and therefore it represents a chance for production of innovative, high functional and high performance textile materials with a high added value.

• Textile materials can be modified by different methods, e.g.:

• introduction of specific functional groups, • adsorption of specific molecules, • addition of micro and nano particles, • nanocoating

• creation of ultrahydrophobic surfaces (waterproof) using a technique chemical vapor deposition (CVD). It is possible to deposit nanolayers of Teflon on the material.

The adhesion properties of the fibre surfaces can be altered and cage molecules, microcapsules and nanocapsules can be incorporated into the textile structure.Reload of micro/-nano capsules can be performed in washing. Control of released micro/-nano capsules can be determined by special sensors.

Antimosquito net

Self cleaning, lotus effect

Distribution of contaminant particles by a water droplet that slides off a smooth surface (left) and their removal by a water droplet that rolls off a rough surface (right)

Oil resistant and waterproof

Reprocessing

Problem:- Detergents contain surfactants that are able to decrease water/oil repellency. - Mechanical and thermal effect

Residual surfactants deteriorate effects

Sufficient rinsing

Detergent with optimized surfactant formulation

Disinfectant that will be able to prevent a cross-contamination of textiles

Health, safety and environmental controls related to nanotextiles will be enhanced by standards.

What can nanotechnology do for the military?

ConclusionsWashing should not cause excessive damage to textiles, since they should be returned in an aesthetic, clean and refreshed state for reuse. One of the most important aspect is to restore regularly the properties of water-and oil resistance, as well as the resistance to various chemicals. Textiles should be regularly inspected and checked for waterproofing, with the aim to establish possible need for re-impregnation. In general, gentle low temperature procedures, lower pH value and shorter duration are selected as fovourable for the preservation of functional properties.