New Human Skin-Like Fabric Is Waterproof

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, CA, USA. A group of researchers were able to develop a new type of fabric that drains away fluid just like how the human skin forms excess sweat into droplets to easily drain it away. Waterproof fabric is not something new in the industry. However, the technology used for this new type of waterproof fabric is something that would surely change the way we see waterproof fabrics.

Conventionally, waterproof fabrics just slide off liquid from top to bottom. This time, the inventors behind this waterproof fabric technology made sure that excess liquid won’t slide off from all over the fabric when it repels liquid. Instead, it will systematically drain off excess liquid through its tiny channels to manipulate it, creating a capillary effect.

The capillary effect will cause the liquid to get directed to the threads created to suck droplets of water from one side of the fabric to another. This will then cause the water to get expelled from the fabric in a very systematic manner.

Aside from the capillary effect, the water-repellent properties of the fabric will also play a very important role in expelling the excess liquid. The inventors also had to create a pattern using hydrophilic (water-attracting) threads that will drive down the water down the channels to easily repel water from the fabric. To make sure that the excess liquid will be drained off almost instantly, the threads were stitched into a highly water-repellent fabric as well.

The new textile microfluidic platform was developed by Siyuan Xing and Jia Jiang who are both graduate students from University of California in Davis. To make sure that the new fabric will be compatible with the textile manufacturing process, they didn’t use any fancy microfabrication techniques. That way, it will be very easy to reproduce and scale up for many uses.

Currently, athletes, workout enthusiasts and clothing manufacturers are much more interested in fabrics that don’t just repel sweat but also let the skin breathe. That way, it will be much more comfortable during heavy work out and exercise.