The Charm Of Discoloration And Camouflage Clothing

In the fashion week of Paris, Hongkong actor Nicholas Tse wore Valentino2014 autumn and winter camouflage suit to debut in the fashion show. Just like the charm of the two characters of camouflage, the color of illusion can be used for camouflage and fashion chase. In fact, the development of camouflage clothing is closely related to war. In order to achieve invisible effects visually, after World War II, all countries developed their own camouflage patterns rapidly, especially in developed countries.

According to different environment and technical means, camouflage fabrics can be divided into many kinds. At present, the most mature technology and widely used applications are visible and near infrared camouflage. Discoloration camouflage is a camouflage that can achieve different colors in the visible range. It can also meet the camouflage demand under the typical background. Camouflage combat clothing mainly includes four elements, namely, color, camouflage pattern, fabric function and so on. clothing Structure. Dr. Xiao Hong, a General Logistics Department Quartermaster Equipment Research Institute, shared with us her research results in discoloration camouflage.

To a certain extent, camouflage camouflage is the first protection for soldiers on the battlefield, which is why the developed countries will devote a lot of manpower and financial resources to research and development.

"At present, the study of discoloration camouflage by foreign army is mainly confined to the understanding of" chameleon "which can change color. The camouflage garment that can change color is the starting point to meet the camouflage demand under different circumstances, which has led to the fact that no country has equipped such physical samples so far. Xiao Hong said. However, the US army recently developed and equipped the general camouflage pattern MultiCam combat clothing, which has expanded the research and development ideas of camouflage clothing to meet the camouflage needs in different environments. This camouflage dress has a dual structure and intelligent camouflage pattern through the rational design of the pattern size, shape and color matching, and the principle of visual perception of human eyes. This camouflage pattern can highlight the color of the environment in different environments, and thus has a visual discoloration effect. clothes The color itself does not change.

In the secret competition of camouflage fabrics, experts from the general Quartermaster Research Institute are also striving for the leading edge of our army's camouflage clothing. Dr. Xiao Hong focuses on the performance and characteristics of three color discoloration camouflage products.

First of all, thermochromic discoloration camouflage is a color change camouflage realized by thermal paint or dye. (see Fig. 1) the color change in the temperature threshold range varies according to the discoloring temperature of the discoloring dye. For example, if the dye is used at 30 degrees of discoloration temperature, the dye can present a color above 30 C and can appear another color below 30 C. "This discoloration camouflage is similar to ordinary fabric, and its wearability and washability are very good. The color can be changed many times. Its color change temperature range can be adjusted according to actual demand. However, because the external environment temperature can not be artificially controlled, its discoloration can not be controlled artificially. " Xiao Hong explained further.

Secondly, it is the color changing camouflage of electrochromic polymers. This kind of camouflage uses electrochromic polymers as discoloring camouflage systems. Polyaniline or polythiophene and other conductive polymers are used as chromophoric polymers. Based on the structure of electrochromic period, the green main color patches in Woodland Camouflage are changed into the Yellow main color patches in camouflage pattern by camouflage pattern design, so as to achieve the two camouflage interchanges. About two pieces of fabric can change color in less than 10s time. The Yellow patches in the left picture are all transformed into green patches in the right picture, and the conversion voltage is not more than 1.0V. However, the washing performance and wearing performance need to be further improved. (see chart 2)

Finally, based on the electrophoretic display technology of color change camouflage, this kind of research and development is to encapsulate two kinds of electrophoretic fluid with different colors and charged particles in microcapsules or microcups, to apply voltage on both sides of microcapsules or microcups, to transfer positive charged color particles to the negative electrode, and to move the negative charged color particles to the positive electrode. When changing the direction of external electric field, the charged color particles move in the opposite direction, so that the color changes can be realized. This technology has been successfully applied to e-books, erasable display screens or table markers.

The color changing camouflage technology can achieve 4 color changes, that is, green, grayscale green, grayscale red and red. After power failure, the pattern can be maintained for more than March and above. The voltage 10V and color response times are not less than 10000 times, and the response time is not more than 5S. (see chart 3)

Whether it is the envy of Harry and Potter, or the jealousy of the chameleon as the environment disguises, ordinary people's enthusiasm for entering the life of science and technology continues to heat up. Thermochromic technology can be widely used in various types. Spin Products, such as temperature detection fabrics for infants and old people, temperature indicating fabrics for bedding, etc. With regard to the popularization of such technology, a fabric that can display the temperature of electric blanket is a good policy. Xiao Hong, for example, shows that its convenience is that when the electric blanket reaches 40 degrees, it displays a color. It is known that the temperature is suitable at this time and needs to be kept at this temperature. If the temperature exceeds the temperature that the human body can bear, it will show another color as a warning.

"Of course, the application of controlled electrochromic technology or controlled electrophoretic display of color change technology to textiles also needs to solve the problem of sealing and washing." From the perspective of rigorous technology, Xiao Hong pointed out that such technology still needs to be solved in the civil field. She also said that if combined with conductive fabrics, developing various flexible and erasable display signs, such as small items such as name brands, qualification badges, or large, erasable flexible advertising fabrics, will be a great way to expand the application of high performance blended fabrics in the future.