Heat transfer through glassfiber fabrics coated with silicone resin

Abstract

Coatings can improve the performance of textiles, including flame retardants, water repellents and for heat resistance and weather resistance. Experimental methods are used normally to prepare heat insulation fabrics using coating technology. But there are many problems such as long processing time, high energy consumption, and the production of fumes. As computer technology develops, it is important to use numerical methods to predict the heat transfer performance of the coated fabrics. In this work, based on the yarn paths and their cross-sectional shapes, geometry models of the coated fabrics have been established. The finite element method was used to solve the heat transfer equations, and the numerical model was established to predict heat transfer performance. It was found that: (1) when comparing with the SEM images, the geometry model can represent well the structure and appearance of the coated fabric; (2) validation of the experimental data indicates that the numerical simulation model of heat transfer through the coated fabric is reliable and useful to predict the heat transfer performance, and the average relative deviation between the numerical data and experimental data was less than 7.0%; (3) when the thickness of the silicone coating layer is less than 0.50 mm, the temperature of the back face of fabric rapidly increased between 1 and 10 s, and it remained more than 510 °C as the heating time was extended. When the coating thickness is between 0.75 and 2 mm, the rising tendency of the temperature becomes gradually slower, and their temperatures remained 489, 455, 369 and 281 °C when the thickness of the coating layer is 0.75, 1.00, 1.50 and 2.00 mm, respectively.