BIFT collaborative research results with Tsinghua University on temperature-adaptive fabrics was recently published in the international academic journal Science Advances.
BIFT’s sustainable intelligent design technology team and an interdisciplinary team from Tsinghua University have worked closely together to jointly design a "temperature-adaptive smart fabric".
The link to the original paper published in the journal Science Advances
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr2062
The cover of that issue of Science Advances, Vol. 10, No. 41
The research results demonstrate an innovative thermal management solution that operates without additional energy consumption, realize the adaptive temperature regulation function of artificial fabrics, and provide a new sustainable solution for future lifestyles.
The research project was launched in 2021 and successfully developed a temperature-adaptive fabric capable of reflecting sunlight at high temperatures to achieve radiative cooling and absorbing visible light at low temperatures for solar heating.
The link to the introduction of the results of the project on Nature’s Research Highlights search engine
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03350-0
To validate the thermal management capabilities and scalability of the smart fiber in actual scenarios, the team used smart fibers with a critical temperature of 25°C as a substrate to prepare clothing and tents that adapt to real environments. The smart fabric can be adjusted bidirectionally according to the ambient temperature: at low temperatures, the fabric is black and absorbs about 80 percent of the visible light for solar heating; at high temperatures, the fabric turns white, reflects sunlight, achieves radiative cooling, thereby expanding the thermal comfort range by approximately 8.5°C.
Prototype of temperature-adaptive clothing design
Prototype of a temperature-adaptive tent design 3.5 m × 2.9 m × 1.3 m
Smart fiber materials are easy to prepare, highly scalable and exhibit excellent thermal management performance, which provide broad application prospects for regulating human body temperature across diverse living environments, and also demonstrate great potential of design-science collaborative innovation.
Schematic diagram of temperature-adaptive dual-mode photonic fabric
Dr. Song Jiajia, the principal researcher of the project, pointed out: "This project is a practical attempt at multidisciplinary cross-integration, committed to realizing integrated innovation of design, materials, technology and manufacturing methods."
Dr. He Shuang, a professor with the School of Fashion Accessory at BIFT, added: "In the design and production process, we always adhere to the concept of 'sustainable and intelligent integration' , striving to realize the goal of sustainable fashion."
Thermal responsive clothing design
In addition, the team's design work. "Thermal Responsive Clothing Design" won the 2022 Red Dot Design Award and was nominated for a 2023 German Green Product Award. It was invited to participate in the 2022 Dutch Design Week, Dutch Innovation Days and the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference and other exhibitions, demonstrating the international community's strong recognition and expectations for this innovative technology.
BIFT President and Professor Jia Ronglin, head of the Interdisciplinary Apparel Discipline, commended the project’s achievements.
Jia said: "BIFT is committed to advancing high-level scientific research, establishing a knowledge system of clothing, and promoting the quality of high-level talent training through the construction of interdisciplinary apparel disciplines. On the other hand, it cultivates high-level academic research teams and trains a group of young academic backbones. This project is an important practice of BIFT's open innovation and resource integration to build interdisciplinary apparel disciplines. We should encourage young academic backbones to cooperate extensively with domestic and foreign resources and actively produce influential research outcomes."
Professor Lan Cuiqin, director of the BIFT Academic Committee and head of the sustainable intelligent apparel design technology research team, said: "This project represents an important practical direction for our school to build an interdisciplinary apparel discipline. It is an effective exploration of the feasibility path of design integrating technology, engineering, and artistic innovation. This result provides an important practical case for the construction of an interdisciplinary knowledge system in clothing."
BIFT strongly supports the growth and development of young teachers, provides extensive research and development platforms, and encourages collaborative innovation and cooperative research. The co-first authors of the study are Song Jiajia, a young scholar from the School of Fashion Accessory, and Zhu Kaixuan and Yao Houze, teachers from Tsinghua University. The corresponding author is Professor Qu Liangti of Tsinghua University, with additional team members comprising Song Jiajia and He Shuang, young teachers from the School of Fashion Accessory.
The core team members (in no particular order)
As one of the first approved units for the construction of emerging interdisciplinary platforms in Beijing, BIFT continues to innovate in the field of "clothing studies", focusing on clothing technology and design applications, and actively exploring the forefront of sustainable design. The clothing sustainable intelligent design technology research team integrates design and technological innovation, driving sustainable development and enhancing new quality productive forces.