PROTECTIVE TEXTILES

Definition: Protective textiles refer to garments or other items

designed to protect the wearer from harsh external effects
which may harm the users by injury or death.

Classification of Protective textiles:

Thermal protective textiles
Flame resistant protective clothing
Chemical protective clothing
Ballistic protective clothing
Mechanical protective clothing
Electrical protective clothing
Bacterial protective clothing
Radiation protective clothing
U.V. protective clothing
High visibility textiles
Space suits
Requirements of Protective Clothing
General Requirements In Case Of Protective Clothing Are
• Light Weight And Low Bulk
• High Durability And Dimensional Stability
• Good Handle And Drape
• Low Noise Emission
• Water Repellant
• Water Proof
• Wind Proof And Snow Shedding
• Thermal Insulating
• Water Vapour Permeable
• UV Resistant
• Air Permeable
• Biodegradable
• Flame Retardant
• Heat And Melt Resistance/Low Smoke Emission
• Safety From Radar Spectrum
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Fibre Uses
Materials Used
Filter bags for hot stack gas, Industrial protective clothing
Meta aramid Racing driver’s suit, Cargo covers, Boat covers, Fire hose reinforcement

Body armour, Tyre cords, Radiator hose and brake shoes of racing cars,
Para aramid Reinforced composites for aircraft, High speed boat components

Aircraft and Space shuttle, Automotive, Medical Implants, Marine

Carbon
Aircraft and aerospace, Consumer goods, Roofing Tiles, Corrosion
Glass resistant products used in highway overlay
Polypropylene Sail cloth, Marine ropes and cables, Protective clothing, Boat hulls
Spandex Sports and leisure garments, Foundation garments, Support hose
Racing driver’s suit, Hot gas filtration, Thermal protective clothing
PBI

Tencel Filtration media for oil industry, Medical Textile, Industrial fabric
Inorganic Fibre Military Application. Aircraft, Automobile, Sport, Electrical Application

Fluorine Filtration media for corrosive material, Packing Material, Refrigeration

Containing Fibre
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 Areas of Application

• Ballistic protection
• Chemical splash and vapour protection
• Clean-room apparel
• Cut resistant gloves
• Fire fighting
• Protection from radiation
• Hospital textiles
• Dry chemical handling
• High visible warning clothing
• Clothing against cold
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Thermal Protection

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 Thermal protective textiles

• Protection from heat (high temperature)

• Protection from cold (thermal insulation)

Thermal risks against which human skin has to be

protected are the following:
• Flames
• Contact heat
• Radiant heat
• Spark and drops of molten metal
• Hot gases and vapours
 Protection from cold

Protection from extreme cold climate (ECC) is required for sub-zero

conditions upto – 40 deg. C
Mostly intended for defence applications or mountaineers,
For example, sleeping bags, snow ski cloths, ECC garments like suits,
gloves and caps

The combat efficiency of a soldier in high altitude depends on:

 Heat generated due to activities like marching, climbing, sleeping

 Effect of wind velocity, temperature, oxygen level etc.
 Rate of evaporation of sweat or water vapour
 Breathability parameters like air & water vapour permeability,
wicking, diffusion and sorption of moisture
 Protection from cold (Contd.)

Design of the protective clothing from cold climate has to meet both
functional as well as comfort properties.
The selection of fibres and design of clothing should aim to reduce the level
of discomfort and physical stress of the wearer.

Testing parameters for protective clothing:

 Thermal resistance – T.I.V. value, K value, Tog value, Clo value
 1 clo= 1.55 togs
 clo = 1.6 X thickness in cm
TIV=1- (Heat loss from covered hot body/Heat loss from uncovered hot
body) X 100%
K= 25.4 (Togs per inch)
Instruments used: Togmeter (SDL), Thermolobo (Kawabata).
 Water vapour permeability
 Air permeability
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 Flame resistant protective clothing

They are used for protection against fire and flame. They are designed
to resist ignition and self- extinguish when ignited. They also prevent
the spread of flame.
For example, Fire-fighter’s suit

Important factors for flame resistant clothing:

 Ease of ignition
 Rate of burning
 Heat release rate
 Melting and shrinkage properties of synthetic fibre fabrics
 Emission of toxic gases during burning
 Points to be considered during design of
F.R. protective clothing
• Thermal or burning behaviour of textile fibre
used
• The influence of fabric structure and garment
shape on burning behaviour
• Selection of non-toxic, smoke-free F.R. finishes
and auxiliaries
• Design of the protective clothing with comfort
properties depending on the uses
• The intensity of ignition source
• The oxygen supply
 Test parameters for F.R. properties

• Vertical flammability test :ASTM 03659

BS 5438
• Horizontal flammability test :BS 4790
• Inclined plane flammability test :IS 11871
• Limited Oxygen Index (LOI) : ASTM 02863
*The choice of a particular test method will depend on
particular end-use
Flame Resistance

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 Flame Resistance

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Protection index in seconds

50
40
30
20
10
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Total w eight of fabric layers (g/m2)

Fig. Dependence of Flame resistance on fabric weight

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Fire Retardant Furniture

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Biological Protective Textiles

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 Chemical protective clothing

Chemical protective clothings are used for protection

against harmful chemicals
Applications include
• In agro, pharma and other chemical industries
• In military applications, for protection against nuclear,
biological and chemical (NBC) warfare for mass
destruction, in spite of ban on their uses by international
conventions
NBC protective garments include suits, gloves, boots
and caps. Most of them use activated carbon on textile
substrates to absorb the toxic gases and vapour.
 Comfort in chemical protective clothing

Lot of research works are going on to increase

comfort properties of CPC while maintaining the
level of protection
They are normally 3-layer garments:
 Outer layer is high strength fabric made of nylon,
polyester or Nomex with F.R. finish
 Middle layer is absorbing layer based on
activated carbon
 Innermost layer is treated cotton or polyester-
cotton, used next to skin
 Testing of CPC

In addition to physical tests, test parameters for evaluating

chemical resistance of CPC are:

 Permeation resistance – to measure the process by

which a chemical passes through CPC at molecular
level.
 Degradation resistance – to measure the change or loss
of chemical resistance of the fabric.
 Penetration resistance – to measure the movement of
chemicals through stitched seams, zippers or
imperfections in CPC.
Chemical Protective Clothing

Fig. Permeation Mechanism in Fabrics

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 Chemical Protection

Chemical Spray Protection Chemical Splash Protection

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 Chemical Protection

C.P. Mask & Garment Asbestos Removal

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 Ballistic protective clothing

Ballistic protection involves protection of body and eyes against projectiles

with various size, shape and impact velocity. The principle of BPC is to
dissipate the energy of the shrapnel through stretching and breaking the
yarns in layers of woven fabrics used in ballistic vests. Used for both
military and civilian uses.

Fibres used: Aramid fibres, Kevlar, Para-aramid, Dyneema, UHMPE, Glass/

Ceramic
etc.

Factors influencing the efficiency of BPC:

 Light weight and comfortable clothing
 Properties of constituent fibres
 Fabric design parameters, layers of vests used etc.
 Impact conditions, e.g. projectile mass, striking velocity etc.
 Testing of ballistic protective clothing

They are tested by actual performance tests on the

armour conducted in firing range.
Test parameters:
• V50 – ballistic velocity limit, defined as the
statistical minimum velocity at which 50% of the
projectiles will pass through the test subject and
50% will be stopped by the ballistic barrier.
• Vc or V0 – critical velocity, defined as highest
velocity at which no penetration occurs at all,
which is an ideal situation.
 Ballistic Protection

Bullet Proof Vest Soldier Wearing Vest25

Radiation Protection is necessary for

• Employees of Nuclear Plant

• X-Ray Professionals
• Workers Working in Cancer Treatment
Centres

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 Textiles for clean room

Meant to protect the environment from the wearer.

They are used
• to keep the atmosphere clean
• prevent contamination of items in the room, like
food, medicine, microelectronics, aerospace
components, optical components etc.
They should be lint free, antistatic and resistant to
human contaminations like hair or dead skin.
Woven, non-woven and laminated fabrics with
filament yarn are used to avid lint generation.
 Clean Room Textiles

Anti-contaminant mask and dress

Reusable Clean room textiles

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 High visibility textiles

High visibility jackets are used for working in outdoor

activities, e.g. by police, security staff, highway patrol,
municipal & utility workers etc. Their uses are now
mandatory in many countries.

• Reflective safety jackets display high glow

• Fluoroscent orange/yellow industrial cloth are used for
fabrication
• Innovative prism technology is used reflecting light from
inner surfaces
• Jackets use reflective tapes which enhance visibility
during night
• They have high flame resistance
The 3 major types of HVM are as follows:
• Reflection Materials Which Shine When Struck by
Light
• Photo Luminescent Material Which give Yellow Light
in Dark
• Fluorescent Material Which is Visible during the Day

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 High Visibility Textiles

High Visibility Orange Fabric. High Visibility Jacket

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Inorganic UV Blockers
• Titanium dioxide
• Zinc oxide
• Silicon dioxide
• Aluminum dioxide

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 UV protective clothing

UV radiation is a major cause of degradation of textile

materials due to photo-oxidation resulting in decrease in
elasticity and strength, extent of which depends on
nature of fibre used.

Sun protection involves both avoiding exposure to sun and

use of protective items like hats, sunscreens,
sunglasses and garments.

In UV protective clothing UV absorbers are incorporated in

the fibres. UV absorbers are organic or inorganic
compounds with high absorption in the UV range.
 Sun Protective Clothing
• Electromagnetic radiations of wave-
length between 150 and 400 nm are
termed as UV rays. Approximately
10% of sun’s energy is in the form of
ultraviolet radiations.

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 Textiles for mechanical protection

Meant for protection against mechanical hazards

like cut, tear, puncture, splash, impact and
abrasion.
Applications: in construction, food production,
forest service, metal works, tree trimming etc.
Examples: gloves, aprons, sieves & chaps, chain-
saw clothing etc.
Materials used: HDPE, para-aramides, special
fabrics with metal yarns, nylon-cotton blends etc.
 Electrical protective clothing

Electrical protective clothings are of 2 types:

 For electromagnetic protection
 For electrostatic protection
Items for electromagnetic protection are:
Rubber gloves, sleeve protectors, rubber blankets,
dielectric conductive boots & hats etc.
Electrostatic protective clothings are used to avoid
static built-up which may damage electronic
parts, computer system or may cause explosion.
 Electrostatic protective clothing

Textile fabrics made of metallic and textile fibres

intimately blended together are used to control
static build-up.
Garments made of such fabrics dissipate the static
generated by the wearer before it reaches
dangerous level.
Test parameters:
• Resistance to static charge generation
• Material surface resistivity
• Measurement of electrostatic decay