Effect of a Superabsorbent for the Improvement of Car Seat Thermal Comfort

Abstract

The use of super absorbent polymers (SAP) for moisture absorption and comfort is still unexplored. The aim of this work was to observe the application of super absorbent fibres in car seats for comfort purposes. In this research the efficiency of different SAP fibrous webs were determined under different moisture percentages to examine the sorption and desorption efficiency. A SAP fibrous web with low thickness and high moisture absorption were tested with a multilayer sandwich structure of a car seat cover to determine moisture absorption through the cover material. The standard Cup method was used to determine the moisture permeability of different car seat covers with a superabsorbent layer closed with impermeable polyurethane foam. It was observed that the SAP fibrous layers are very effective in absorbing and desorbing water vapour under extremely high and low moisture percentages. In extreme humid conditions (95%RH), 20g of the SAP layer absorbs nearly 70% of its weight in water vapour, reaching the maximum absorption capacity in 6 hours.