Production of fabric with enhanced thermoregulation properties

Abstract

Compositions of matter, methods, and systems for producing fibers, yarns, and fabrics with enhanced thermoregulation properties are provided. The composition may be created from a cellulose solution derived from natural sources, into which nano-sized phase change materials and high-specific heat minerals are incorporated. These additives form a mesoporous structure within the fiber, enabling the capture and retention of the nanomaterials. The method involves spinning this composite solution into yarn, which can be blended with additional fibers to produce a bespoke yarn. This yarn can then be knitted or woven into fabrics that maintain thermoregulation.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for producing a cooling fiber with enhanced thermoregulation properties, the method comprising:
 embedding particles of phase change material into a mesoporous base material;   blending the base material that has been embedded with the phase change material particles into a compound powder; and   forming one or more strands of a cooling fiber from the compound powder, wherein the phase change material particles are distributed along the strands of the cooling fiber.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising mixing particles of a high specific heat material into the base material embedded with the phase material. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the high specific heat material includes one or more of jade, diatomaceous earth, sepiolite, talc, zeolite, kaolinite, monazite, mica, serpentine, basalt, and oxides of silicon, aluminum, magnesium, sodium, calcium, phosphide, nitride, and silicate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming the strands of the cooling fiber includes blending the compound powder with a cellulose source into a mixture. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein forming the strands of the cooling fiber further includes dissolving the mixture in a viscose solution. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein forming the strands of the cooling fiber further includes viscose spinning of the mixture using a spinning machine. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein forming the strands of the cooling fiber further includes extruding the mixture through spinnerets into a coagulation bath. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising spinning the strands of the cooling fiber into a yarn, and adding one or more other fibers to the cooling fiber during spinning, wherein the other fibers are added in a predetermined proportion relative to the cooling fiber. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising adding one or more additional types of yarn into the yarn spun from the cooling fiber, and interlacing the yarn with the additional types of yarn to form a fabric structure. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the base material includes a network of nanopores, within which the phase change material is distributed. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the phase change material is distributed via impregnation dispersion technique. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the phase change material is distributed via encapsulation dispersion technique. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein embedding the phase change material particles into the base material includes dissolving the phase change material particles into pores of the base material using solvents. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising micronizing the base material, wherein a particle size of the base material is reduced to nanometer range. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein micronizing the base material includes high-energy milling. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising drying the base material and the phase material prior to blending. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein blending the base material into the compound powder includes high shear mixing. 
     
     
         18 . A yarn spun from the cooling fiber produced in accordance with the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         19 . A fabric woven from the cooling fiber produced in accordance with the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         20 . An article made from a fabric that includes the cooling fiber produced in accordance with the method of  claim 1 .